Of Birth and Hazelnuts

A baby hazelnut tree, sprouted in California from a nut gathered in Prepezzano, Italia.

Another kind of creativity has come to fruition for me this summer.

Four weeks ago, on July 15th, 2012, my daughter was born into our living room. I’m pleased to say that all went well in a natural home birth. She is healthy and lovely and has a full head of hair that I can’t resist adorning already with glittering barrettes (this is my second child, but my first girl).

On the day that she was born, hazelnuts from Prepezzano, my ancestral village in southern Italy, sprouted in California for the first time. I’d gathered the nuts when we visited two years ago, and my wife had finally put them in soil here on our deck.

Growth. Roots. Beauty. The most ordinary miracles.

Welcome, hazelnut trees. Welcome, Luciana.