Ames woman’s spiritual connection to the land

Ames woman has spiritual connection to the land

By Sara JordanHeintz

Contributing Writer

Caitlin Wendigo self-describes as “hippy dippy.” Since her childhood days, she’s had a spiritual connection to animals and nature.

By day, she works as a tattoo artist at Heroic Ink in Ames. In her downtown, she relishes spending time outdoors with her family, interacting with the plants and creatures that inhabit her 7-acre property in rural Ames.

A native of Dayton, a small town in Webster County, she recalls spending her adolescence on her grandparents’ farm.

“They’re the reason why I love nature. I called my grandparents ‘Grandma and Grandpa Garden,’” she said with a laugh.

Visitors to her home will find her pet pig Pua grazing all day long. Wendigo said she would soon be adding chickens to the mix of creatures that roam her land.

“I have a different take on it all. As humans,

TATTOO ARTIST CAITLIN WENDIGO RELISHES THE TIME SHE SPENDS OUTDOORS TAKING IN THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS AND SMELLS OF

NATURE, ON HER 7-ACRE PROPERTY OUTSIDE OF AMES. PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ

we’re the top of the food chain and we are the ‘masters’ of the earth. I truly believe we were chosen to take care of the earth,” she said. “But we need to give back to the things that were here before us, that will be here after we’re gone.”

She said she has kept up with news reports about how pollution rates across the globe have gone down in light of people staying home more due to COVID-19.

“The earth won’t miss us if we’re gone. What we need to do as humans is take care of the earth in a way it would miss us if we were gone,” she added.

Wendigo plants a small vegetable garden every year, shops at farmers’ markets and tries to buy organic products when she can.

“Everything is connected. The hummingbirds will be coming in soon and they’re really attracted to the vegetables, and the hummingbirds are great for the flowers,” she said. “When I think of plants, nature and botanicals, I remember the oxygen the trees give us.”

She encourages her children to talk to plants and she’s even named the ones she grows inside her home. She tries to leave nature alone as much as she can, resisting any urge to pull up weeds. She leaves fallen tree limbs where they fall.

“Just leave things alone if you don’t know how to care for them,” she said.

Wendigo feels there’s a magical element to the outdoors.

“My kids say that’s where the spirits live,” she says, smiling, as she points to a pile of rocks, tree logs and vegetation growing in a spot in her back yard.

“I consider myself a very spiritual person. I don’t necessarily follow any sort of traditional religion,” she said. “It’s pretty impossible to explain how perfect everything in nature is for what we need. Caring for plants, even if it’s just a tiny succulent in your apartment, it brings us this feeling of peace and tranquility; it gives you something to focus on.”

She said she hopes once COVID-19’s risk diminishes, people will take to the outdoors and find projects — large and small — to work on that better the earth in some way.

COLORFUL PRODUCE LINES TABLES AT A PAST YEAR’S AMES MAIN STREET FARMERS’

MARKET. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

After a virtual opening, the Ames Main Street Farmers’ Market returns to downtown

By Kiley Wellendorf

Gannett

The Ames Main Street Farmers’ Market opened on May 23, after being a virtual market for the first few weeks of the season.

In an effort to abide by social distancing guidelines, attendance for the Saturday market is currently limited to 600 people at a time, according to a news release from the Ames Chamber of Commerce.

“We are very excited to bring the Market back for another year,” market manager Lojean Petersen said in the release. “Although this year’s Market will look different than in years past, we’re taking special care to ensure the safety of our vendors and attendees.”

Each vendor will be spread out, Petersen said, which will assist in social distancing and assure lines will not cross over one another.

The Market also is asking that patrons refrain from touching the items at the market. Vendors — who will wear masks and gloves — will be the only ones handling products.

Though the Ames City Council voted in favor of the reopening during its May 12 meeting, it set restrictions that included the sale of foods prepared on site, food trucks, and wine and other beverage tasting. Per Gov. Kim Reynolds’ restrictions, entertainment and seating areas are prohibited at markets across Iowa.

If the market does not abide by guidelines, the council reserved the right to rescind permission for it to operate.

“We’re going to have our theme be, ‘stop, shop, and go,’” Petersen told the Tribune. “We’ve love you to come down and stop and shop with us, but quickly shop and exit so we can allow others to shop and follow the guidelines that the governor laid out.

“We’re going to be very careful with monitoring the

situation because of course our first priority is keeping everybody safe.”

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the market had anticipated opening at the beginning of May. It began operating online as the Virtual Market on May 9, and plans continue to offer online purchases throughout the season, with pickup at the back door of the Chamber of Commerce, the press release said.

Items from the market can be found online at amesmainstreetfarmersmarket.locallygrown.net.

Check the website or the Market’s Facebook page for updates as changes occur during the pandemic.

COLORFUL PRODUCE LINES TABLES AT A PAST YEAR’S AMES MAIN

STREET FARMERS’ MARKET. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS