We got a  loan approval today for our installation of solar panels in the South pasture, about 120 feet from the farmhouse.

I balked at first at the idea of taking out a loan amid such uncertainty, but Maria and I talked about it, and we realized how important this is for us, and our community, and for Mother Earth.

The solar installation is a statement and affirmation both of life and faith. We believe life will recover and move forward in the coming months, we believe in the future, we care about the earth, our Mother.

We will become one of a handful of people in our community to install solar panels.

Our southern pasture is a perfect open space (we can’t put solar panels on our roof, it’s Slate) that leads directly to our electric panel and meters.

The sun shines on the pasture all day long when it’s out. The panels won’t harm the animals or interfere with their grazing.

This is a statement we are proud to make. This move was surprisingly easy and sensible. The atmosphere around solar has changed dramatically since I last checked into it.

The solar panels will provide more than 80 percent of all the electricity we use each year, and any overage of power that we don’t need will be automatically distributed evenly among our neighbors. The monthly payments on the loan will be less than our monthly electric bill.

It’s for $29,000, and I mention it only to share how possible this is to do, even for people like us who don’t have much money in the bank to buy the panels outright,  and who can’t afford large additional monthly payments.

Some of that loan will be paid off with tax credits.

In the summer months, we should have no electric bill at all, and in the winter, the panel will still provide much of the power we need for the farmhouse.

The credit union will put a lien on the panels, but not on our farmhouse. We believe the solar panels will raise the value of the farm as well.

No down payment is required, and no monthly payments are due at all for the first year. Also, we will receive approximately $10,000 in state and federal tax credits.

The solar installers are not considered “essential,” so we will have to wait until the state allows them to return to work. That could take a month or two.

We believe in life, our work, and our farm. We believe in the future of Bedlam Farm and our lives together. We believe strongly in the urgency of climate change.

I believe our country is awakening to this significant threat to our way of life, and that the United States will once again return to the forefront of scientific discovery and revelation.

The refusal of our government to accept the unmistakable danger signs global warming are a disgrace to our country and an abandonment of our obligation to our children and grandchildren.

So on this gloomy and rainy Thursday, the sun is shining on Bedlam Farm and our lives. We are crossing a bridge to the other side of awakening, faith and responsibility.