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behind the scenes at Native American Seed
Introduction by Sarito
This past Thanksgiving in Junction was a rare reunion of all the Neiman clan except for one sister and her two
girls (big rodeo event, the littlest won the saddle). Bill took the opportunity to gather us all into one
room together to talk about Native American Seed, where it's been and where it might go.
Now, I've watched and been a part of this adventure - sometimes up close,
sometimes from a distance - for over three decades. From the time of the nursery & landscape
company in the far north suburbs of Dallas, through the lessons and understandings that led to
the shift to native plants, from the mason jars full of hand-gathered native seeds in Bill & Jan's
laundry room to the first big harvests of the fields of wildflowers that the ranchers called "weeds."
I was around during the search for land, a place big enough to plant, and to harvest the fields at home
as well as scouting for fields in the little plane Bill flew around the region each spring.
I listened to the pros and cons as Bill & Jan discussed the purchase of the land outside Junction
on the banks of the Llano River. And I watched as the new place in Junction grew back together
into its original "River Run Ranch" spread - when Jan's parents came and settled on the western side
of the original place, then the neighbor in the middle decided to sell his strip and the fences
could be torn down and the fields extended.
 When
the Neiman clan sat down over Thanksgiving, it was clearer to me than it has ever been that in Junction,
Native American Seed has grown roots, has built a strong foundation and developed a model that works according to
a clear vision and set of values. Now the questions Bill and Jan were posing to themselves were not just
about next year's harvest, or whether to acquire a new piece of equipment but more along the lines of how
the company might sustain itself and thrive over the next couple of decades.
About whether another generation might someday be ready and willing to take it even farther into the future,
and if so what that transition might look like.
We talked a lot about the importance of people, and sister Patty mentioned a guy she
knew who might just fit right in. She would give him a call. At the end of our meeting,
it's not like there was any "five step plan" or blueprint for the future… but more like a sense
that things were ready to move to the next level - roots established, maturing plant ready to bloom,
and the details still a mystery.
 All through the holiday, big truckloads of seed from a coastal prairie
harvest would roll in, unload, and head back out to pick up more. We all took a turn
through the seed barn with pitchforks and rakes to spread the harvest out to dry - snuffling and
blowing to keep the fluffy stuff out of our noses, picking at the edges of our socks to keep the
itch away from our ankles. Rank amateurs, most of us, but enthusiastic -me in my city-slicker sneakers,
80-year-old dad in his perfectly broke-in boots, sister Cubba still strong and agile from her track-coaching
days. Even the dogs did their bit, playing chase through the piles and scattering them in their play,
though the first time they did it, we all did turn in unison with a sharp eye out that nobody made a
move to lift a hind leg!
On the afternoon after Thanksgiving day, Patty's friend Dan
rolled into the driveway and pulled up near the barn where all the activity was.
I noted his arrival, turned around to speak to one of my sisters for a couple minutes,
and by the time I looked back again Dan was already at work. He worked through the rest of the
afternoon and joined us for dinner… went home that night.
I flew back to New York via a stopover in Austin, but he came back a couple days later,
has been there ever since. The "new era" had begun.
Now I'll let him tell you a little about what the world at Native American Seed looks like
up close, through his eyes.
On the ground at Native American Seed
Hello, Let me please introduce myself. My name is Dan;
I'm the new student or disciple here at Native American seed.
The reason I refer to myself as a student or disciple is because one goes through
so much knowledge-and-information-assimilation in joining an organization such as this.
It takes more than one cog to hold such a giant, complex and intricate wheel
such as ours together. We here at NAS (NAS, by the way, for all you Navy or ex-Navy
personnel does not stand for the Naval Air Station. NAS is short for Native American Seed)
are in the dawning of what we call the "New Era" and I am so proud to be a part of
such a diversified and well rounded team.
Bill and I grew up in the same "west Texas town of El Paso" that Marty Robbins
put on the map. We went to high schools that were rivals -- both born in 1954,
both having an earnest desire to save the earth, and by some weird coincidence we meet
over 400 miles east of El Paso in beautiful Junction, TX.
Bill and Jan have turned out to be a couple of the best human beings
that I've ever had the honor of meeting and seeding for in all of my travels
here on earth and elsewhere in the universe. What a small solar system we live in,
given the fact that Mars and Jupiter could not and would not be able to sustain life,
nor the seed that is the essence of life for us humans and our friends in the animal kingdom.
As you probably already know, we came to the earth to graze.
Which is why, obviously, we live in this Garden of Eden!
But we must all put forth an earnest effort to replenish what's been taken and
destroyed by our forefathers. The techniques and variations employed by people like
us here at NAS, and hopefully by you, will help germinate and perpetuate the that effort
in the plant world. All of our activities here at NAS are directly in service of one goal,
the survival of the species.
Thank your for letting me share some of my story with you,
and we hope that the "New Era" is, or will be, as good to you as it has been for us.
Dan -- "The new man"
And a PS from Sarito-the-webmistress - I'm adding the below just for fun, 'cause I heard
(1) Bill got a new cell phone when their old service recently cut them off for being too
remote or something like that, and forced a switch to a new provider. Westy encouraged him to
take advantage of the opportunity for an upgrade, and of course recommended the proper gadget.
The photo below is a try-out of the inbuilt camera thingie on that phone, oranges provided
fresh from friends who are stewards of an orchard in the Rio Grande valley. And (2) because
I hear that Dan has a way of bursting into song as he works, and his favorites tend to be from the Moody Blues.
After he had journeyed,
And his feet were sore,
And he was tired,
He came upon an orange grove
And he rested
And he lay in the cool,
And while he rested,
he took to himself an orange and tasted it,
And it was good.
And he felt the earth to his spine,
And he asked, and he saw the tree above him, and the stars,
And the veins in the leaf,
And the light, and the balance.
And he saw magnificent perfection,
Whereon he thought of himself in balance,
And he knew he was.
Just open your eyes,
And realize, the way it's always been.
Just open your mind
And you will find
The way it's always been.
Just open your heart
And that's a start.
- The Moody Blues, "A Question of Balance"
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