The following lines are taken from one of the songs that Johnny Cash sings, on his CD album entitled Bitter Tears, in celebration of American Indians:

There are drums beyond the mountains,

Indian drums that you can’t hear.

There are drums beyond the mountains,

and they’re getting mighty near.

Although borrowing these lines for another cause, and ultimately, to honor some of our own, I hope they lead all of us to realize emotionally, amidst our penchant for trashing our planet—our only home—that there are drums beyond the mountains that are getting mighty near.

How much polluted soil and water, how much habitat loss, how many changing weather patterns, how many demands from a growing world population will prove to be too much? We never know beforehand how much is too much until too late.

Because of that blind spot, we need to begin to think seriously about the concept of limits, and on a wide variety of human activities. That is one reason why the protected NW corner of our MLH Campus is so important, so special. And it is time to pause and thank those who made possible the funds that fueled the work of the Natural Area Restoration Team.

So, to members of the Meadowlark administration, to those individuals who funded particular projects, and also to those who planned the structures and trails within our Natural Area, a sincere thank you.

Our Natural Area—safe now—rests in the stillness of winter, but it waits through the cold, snow, and ice for the next season of growth and reproduction. Then it will again burst forth into its exuberant, mysterious, and beautiful displays of new life.