It's not always about the waterfall.
The residents of "The Farm" were the unexpected highlight!
Big Swan Creek Falls was not even on my radar. It is southwest of me, and generally away from the direction I typically travel for waterfall hunting. Plus, it isn’t a well-known trail, and all indications were it was private. And pretty much, it is.
Big Swan Creek Falls, a 20ft waterfall which is known as “Tall Falls” to the locals, is under the protection of the Swan Conservation Trust, in conjunction with the TennGreen Land Conservancy. A joint hike was held by the two organizations. But more than that, the area is under the daily supervision of the residents of “The Farm”. The waterfall, on the Western Highland Rim, was fairly dry, but the creek was lovely and clear even though it was shallow. The trails were mostly old logging trails, so they were pretty well cleared. But don’t try to navigate this area on your own. You would be trespassing, and you might get lost!
If you are from Middle TN, you may be aware of The Farm. We all think of it as a very old hippie commune. If you have been paying attention, you may have heard about the highly acclaimed midwifery program there. But most of us in Middle TN go on about our lives without realizing that one of the oldest “intentional communities” in the world is right in our backyard. The Farm was founded in 1970 when Stephen Gaskin led a caravan of 60 vehicles from San Francisco to 1200 acres in Summertown TN to live a communal and spiritual life. The Farm has changed over the years in population, demographics, and organization, but I had the honor to meet several original members, as well as members who had grown up there, left and later returned.
I didn’t take a lot of pictures of The Farm or the residents. I felt like this was their home and private space, but many pictures are available at thefarm.org . Their stories were really amazing. These are people who could sell books of their life stories, on and off The Farm. They are nurses, doctors, engineers, musicians and everything in between. They focus on educating the younger generation at The Farm School and through their Midwifery program. Their care for each other and the elderly in their community-they rarely use a funeral home, and caskets are homemade. Residents are buried at the Farm if they chose. Some work outside of the property and some are retired. I could really feel a genuine joy and peace from everyone I spoke with. If you are interested in visiting, they offer lodging. There may be an April hike and I will NOT miss it!
I am definitely joining the TennGreen Land Conservancy. They seem to be doing solid work in helping individuals protect their land through conservation easements. They host a number of hikes that are free to members. I am not typically a group hiker, but this experience may have changed my mind. I also ordinarily don’t notice moss much, but maybe since it was one of the only green things around, it spoke to me this time. I have no idea what variety these are, but if you do, please leave a comment!
