O’Neill: My old friend the oak tree (column)

Casey O’Neill is a farmer and owner of Happy Day Farms in Laytonville, Calif. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mendocino Voice. If you’d like to write your own column for The Mendocino Voice, send your idea to info@mendovoice.com.

I’ve been thinking about the words that we use in relation to land and animals; tend, shepard, steward, husband. To live in ministry to something bigger than oneself, to serve the principles of growth in the joy of green abundance, of vibrant landscape, of happy animals. The wheel of the seasons turns as I stride through the days with a sense of purpose that drives me, sometimes to excess.