There is a fungus among us!

When I first moved to Weiser I was met with suspicion which turned into a polite tolerance which then turned into appreciation and respect. Suspicion maybe a little because I was an outsider but for the most part because I was taking a small piece of what was once a thriving farm. Tolerance because I admire and respect the farmers and ranchers that surround me and have always let them know that. Appreciation and respect because I support and promote our local farm community and, even though it is on a very small scale, practice family farming. I used to chuckle at the established farm families, who were leary of me at first, thinking to myself that, "...they will be glad I am here when they get to know me." But now the tables have turned.

When I came to this little valley in Weiser, (affectionately known as "the flats"), I was told that no property could be subdivided into less than 5 acre parcels. I thought that the flats would be a perfect place for me to settle because no one anticipated much growth and what growth would occur would take quite some time. Alas, this was not an accurate assessment. Just across the road and kitty corner from me a large piece of property has been bought by "some dude from California". I'm not sure exactly how much property he has purchased but it is somewhere between 20 and 40 acres. Rumor has it that said property was subdivided into 1 acre parcels before the 5 acre rule came into effect. Now, because of some kind of "grandfather clause", the "dude" plans to put in a subdivision of houses on 1 acre lots! That means that 20 to 40 houses are going to go up right before my eyes (literally)! That is one heck of note and not at all what I had bargained for. A subdivision of one acre lots and 20 to 40 houses is much different than 4 to 10 houses on 5 acre lots!!! I now have a new appreciation of how the established farm families felt when I, and several others, moved in. There is nothing to do but watch helplessly as one house after another creeps over this beautiful rich farmland until it is overcome with houses, cement, cars and everything else that goes along with PEOPLE, i.e. septic systems, wells, phone and electric lines overloading the already stressed landscape, soil, and water table. This in turn will create a demand for outside services and soon the city will get involved with providing water, sewer and utilities which in turn will raise taxes...blah, blah, blah...the list goes on and on.

A friend of mine put it well when he compared this invasion to the growth of fungi. Now, we all know that a little bit of fungi is a good thing. Take cheese for example. Before curds ferment and become cheese they are somewhat tasteless and bitter. A variety of fungi act on the curds during fermentation which actually gives cheese its flavor. Fungi also can form a protective shell on cheese allowing the core to be preserved thus being able to be used latter on. BUT, if the fungi gets out of control, or the wrong kind of fungi gets in the mix, the cheese becomes inedible and putrid.

Isn't that the way it is with people too? Just like fungi creeps and spreads over an area, so do people creep and spread over the beautiful earth that God has created, (and given us charge of I might add). Hopefully, there are people left who choose to manage the earth and protect it for future use (like the good fungi) rather than consuming it until nothing is left to value (like the out of control fungi). I could go on and on but I won't.

Here is hoping the fungi creeping in on the flats
will be good fungi :)