Thank You, Miss Edith, for Diversity and Inclusion!

I was savoring the first warm May day when a friend called asking if I felt like meeting at Topsmead for a dog walk.  She cautioned, "Remember I have Sherlock as well as Maggie, and Amy will be joining us with her dog Remy."  Of course!  The more the merrier.  We met at the main parking lot, introduced the dogs to each other, grabbed poop bags from the Friends of Topsmead poop bag station, and set off on our walk.

I was struck by the diversity represented by our four dogs:  Gloria the Standard Poodle, Maggie the Labrador Retriever, Remy the Rottweiler, and Sherlock the Springer Spaniel.  Each dog had its own coloring and coat quality: curly black, smooth yellow, black and tan, silky red and white.  Each dog had its own breed-specific behavior:  100% focus on its owner, nose to the ground sniffing, relaxed but alert, and tail-waving ADHD-ness.  And yet all four of them got along famously.   

With diversity on my mind, I noticed the variety of plants in the Butterfly Garden, soon to explode into colorful blossoms that will attract our diverse local pollinators.  Meandering across the fields to the house, I took a closer look at the mix of grasses that will grow to become the fall's hay crop.   Approaching the house, my nose caught the multiple fragrances of the flowering trees:  lavender lilacs, pink cherry and white apple trees, and the newest trees of the FTSF Memorial Tree Program.  Walking along under the pine trees on the way back to the parking lot, the richness of bird songs filled my ears.  Opening up the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Merlin Bird ID app on my iphone, I identified at least five bird songs in the short while that I was recording:  American Robin, Cardinal, Red-Wing Blackbird, and several sparrows.

Towards the end of our walkabout, I was also struck by the diversity of humans enjoying Topsmead that afternoon.  Yes, the regular dog walkers and trail hikers were out, but with no Merlin People ID app, it took me a minute to figure out who the colorfully dressed young women and the formally attired young men were--high school prom goers.  The more drably attired folks trailing after them and carrying cameras were family and friends who were taking prom photos. One youngster clutching a toy truck, clearly a little brother, was stubbornly resisting being in a family prom photo.  I asked him why, and I had to chuckle when he pouted, "I didn't ask to come."

My afternoon at Topsmead reinforced for me that there is joy in diversity and satisfaction in inclusion.  Heading home, I felt as if Miss Edith and I were on the same wave length.  After all, in her will, she gifted her beloved Topsmead to the Connecticut State Forest System for the enjoyment of all the people of Connecticut.  Surely she, too, understood that embracing diversity and inclusion has the power to promote sustainability and joy.

Margaret Hunt
BlogMistress