Living and learning with nature is much more educational than trying to transform it into something parklike. But, our sense of being orderly is often in conflict with our sense of the randomness of nature. But if we're lucky enough to be starting out with a piece of property with a real bit of woods, some grass and shrubs it's worth our while to carefully observe the natural system and determine who else might have taken up residence here. As John Muir wrote so famously, "Everything I touch, I find it is connected to something else."
Its good that we humans have a sense of orderliness otherwise our cities would be a mess and unfit for living. Hmmm, many already are. Cities have had their ups and downs regarding order and control, but city priorities have largely eliminated nature from the city. It is difficult to find a city park that is still natural. Is there a chance that some children have never seen a weed or a tree or even a snake?
Most of our population in the US has a history of migrating from rural areas to cities, leaving behind the rawness of nature and becoming accustomed to the artificial aspects of the city. Orderliness of the city here refers to the absence of nature and certainly does not apply to the orderliness of social behavior because for the most part, we humans are more socially ordered in the countryside than we are in the city. But that is a whole different subject where we have no expertise.
Because of social disorder in the cities that is occurring now, there is an indication of a reverse migration of people from the city to areas more rural---small towns and even more sparse areas of larger acreage. When that happens, there is an urge, not sure why, but there is an urge to bring city style orderliness to the countryside. Big mistake.
A substantial amount of work is required to modify the surroundings and perhaps even more to then maintain that orderliness. I chat on occasions with an old rancher who still uses his property to raise goats and cattle both of which seem to do a good job of managing nature yet not in a very orderly way at least not orderly in the city sense. He once said that function is more important than style, just as in politics, content is more important than style. The most common comment he gets from those around him is that he should modify his gate as it is "not very attractive". His response is that gate's function is to keep the cattle and the goats inside his property and it serves that function very well. His gate could use a bit of remodeling I would be the first to admit, but there is a limit to making everything look better and while not adding to its purpose.
Living in the midst of the clutter of nature has some benefits. The unmown grass prevents erosion and produces seeds for the next growing season, piles of rock provide homes for wildlife, and on this point, we looked out over the backyard and spotted a mother fox playing with her three kits on top of the stone pile, a stone pile of about 5 feet high and 20 feet long. Soon, she decided enough playtime for the moment and sent a signal for them to go back into their den. We could not see the den opening, but they disappeared into the pile and she strode off. Where else can one get this type of experience? Surely not on a screen. In truth, saving the visual sight in ones memory is much more valuable than saving it on your photo file. The list of benefits could go on to great lengths, but listing them might destroy the thrill of discovery. It gets down to being an astute observer.
The whole idea is to live with Nature and not destroy it in a quest to make the surroundings safe, secure, neat and tidy. Man's junk is not attractive, but nature's "junk" is surprisingly attractive and useful. I would guess that it depends on whether you are a good observer.
