May might just be one of my favorite months. Every year it rolls around I’m pleasantly reminded of all the reasons why that is: warmer weather but not yet sweltering, mosquitoes and ticks are not quite out in full force, everything is just about as green and soft as it will be all year, and it just feels like a hopeful beginning. I think a big part of this feeling comes from the abundant colors that surround us all in the month of May. I recently spent some time at the historic Ney Homestead which consists of a variety of buildings that date back to the late 1800s, with a few exceptions such as the newer machine shed and the original family log cabin.
I don’t always get to spend a lot of time in this part of the park, but it’s a place that I’ve been drawn to since first visiting Ney. I’ve always been a bit of a history nerd, and I’ve spent many years researching genealogy (a hobby I inherited from my mother) which has led me into exploring countless old buildings, wandering through cemeteries, and combing through US Census records and other documents. It’s a fun way to stay connected to the past with the added challenge that the farther back you go, the harder it gets! And while I can never fully set this inquisitive mindset aside and remove myself from that lens, my most recent visit to the Ney Homestead focused less on trying to unravel mysteries of the past, and more on appreciating the present.
In early May we were experiencing some of the first “really warm” days — with no trace of snow or biting edge of cold wind. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, and everything, everything was in full bloom. Probably the most striking were the apple trees that dot the landscape around the homestead, a few crabapples, but several cidering trees, including one historic specimen. I was reminded of last fall when we had harvested apples from those trees and enjoyed fresh cider during our annual Fall Festival, and had to check myself from wanting to hurry spring and summer along in order to get back to that harvest time of year! There’s just too much to enjoy in the now without focusing only on what’s to come.
Another thing that struck me continuously on this visit was that it wasn’t just the flora that was putting on a show. The buildings themselves were a sort of bouquet themselves – they were particularly eye catching in the sunshine, and I think were also highlighted and enhanced by the framing of what was growing around them. You can see how farms continue to be the focus of art. There’s an inherent charm about a red-sided barn surrounded by green grass, and a blue sky overhead. When I’m looking at something like the historic Ney dairy barn, I feel like I’m caught between two worlds — a family of the late 1800s focused on utility and facing the hardships and joys of their time, and a modern world moving on while still trying to preserve pieces of the past as best it can. On the dairy barn, you can see these layers of preservation alongside remnants of what was simply practical to a family making ends meet at the end of the 19th century.1
Photo credit: Stephanie Rathsack
When you have a chance to explore the Ney Homestead, it quickly becomes clear that there is a huge focus on the past – the buildings themselves are the focus in and of the fact that they are big and they are numerous. They catch your attention and there always seems to be one more to discover as you move further and further in. As we work to maintain and preserve this site though, there’s also the need to bring in something new occasionally. And as you leave the gravel parking lot, one of those new things is an improvement on existing garden spaces. In the spring of 2025, metal raised beds were acquired and placed strategically all around Ney Nature Center, including two garden sites at the homestead: the pumpkin patch and the kitchen garden. And though it’s too early to have anything growing in these beds yet, I get excited thinking about all the new colors those will be overflowing with come summertime.
Photo credit: Stephanie Rathsack
Photo credit: Stephanie Rathsack
Photo credit: Stephanie Rathsack
It’s hard to describe the sensory experience of this beautiful day in early May without waxing too poetic. But the colors, the sights, the smells, all came together to remind me of just how alive the earth is as we enter spring. “Vibrant” was the word that consistently sprang to my mind as I walked around, and I was struck with the thought of despite being surrounded by the old, it was inspiring me to appreciate not only the present, but to become more enthusiastic for the future too.
By the time I left the homestead, I felt like I was in the center of something immensely profound, but at the same time, incredibly normal. It was life. It was the natural world. It was the little things that too often go unnoticed. Something that when you take a moment to truly look and experience, is full of beauty, and vibrancy beyond description, but can so easily be missed in the hustle and bustle of daily life. I had the opportunity to put that aside for one morning in May, and for a short while, I was both a Ney Naturalist in 2026 looking at some flowers and some old buildings, and an 1800s visitor to the Ney family admiring what they had built. Both versions of myself perhaps meeting in the middle of a shared experience: of being fully aware of the beauty of the moment, and taking the time to see it.
In my exploration of history, and historic sites, I will sometimes have these moments of connection, of realizing that despite how many years may stretch between, that there are some experiences that are just fundamentally human, and are not restricted to a specific time or place. And I think it’s experiences like these that can open a window to, can truly connect us to, the past as well as to the future.
With all this reminiscing and exploration and taking moments to appreciate the coming of spring, I’m also reminded of another area of Ney which will soon be vibrant. Our annual summer camp program has a huge selection of camps for kids ranging from 4 all the way up to 14, and as we begin the prepare for a summer of laughter and adventure, I want to showcase a bit of what we have in store. Planning for summer kicked off all the way back in January, probably the last month you’d think of when you mention “vibrancy”, but that never puts a stop to the creativity of the Ney staff. We are so excited for a whirlwind summer, but while still taking time to slow down and appreciate the little things.
We hope to see many of our campers from years past return again this year, as well as many new faces as well! Our summer camp offerings this year include some brand new camps that we are very excited to share, and hope that they will add to the fun. If you’re looking to register a camper, you can do so at https://ney-nature-center.square.site/ and for more information about the camp program overall, visit: https://neycenter.org/camp/ We hope to see you at Ney this summer!
1 I cannot speak of 19th century struggles of the farming family without making it abundantly clear that such farm sites were built on stolen land and years of colonial abuse towards the indigenous people who had been calling that land home for countless generations, displacing an entire people and subjecting them to unspeakable atrocities. And while the Ney family, like so many families like them, may not have been active participants in those atrocities, they benefited from them by the mere fact that they were able to “settle” the land. The scope of this history and present day injustices are beyond the focus of this blog post, but I seek to acknowledge their existence nontheless so that they may be a point of reflection for the reader.