Yesterday morning, I ventured out to farmland ostensibly to say farewell as the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) was scheduled to “officially” close. Once there, I discovered that all of farmland was completely fogged over which seemed to mirror my sadness.

I made a point to visit all my favorite places — the fields, the creek and my beloved tree, Ripley. Wherever I went, the view was otherworldly.

I took more than 50 photos and when I got home, I posted four on the Greenbelters Facebook page. In less than two hours, I had 200 reactions. Even better, I learned from one Greenbelter/BARC scientist that the closure is being considered by a federal circuit court in California — the court that deliberates on Congress vs. USDA re-org powers. According to this scientist:

. . . a temporary stay is in place until Oct. 2 and following yesterday’s hearing in California there will likely be another ruling by the same judge. The judge expressed significant concern that USDA did not follow directives provided in FY2026 appropriations to keep BARC open and did not provide any evidence of plans to sustain research projects nor did they provide any evidence of a cost-benefit analysis. He will issue his decision in the next few days.

In the meantime, current BARC employees who haven’t already re-located or resigned have been allowed to keep working at BARC until October 30 “while this pans out.”

“While this pans out” — isn’t that the motto and/or rallying cry of everyone battling the current administration? I feel awful for BARC employees still in limbo. I do, however, take a small measure of solace that the BARC photos I posted on Facebook have received, as of this writing, nearly 1,200 positive reactions.

Below is the last image I captured yesterday. I purposely reduced the exposure in an effort to capture my conflicted sadness and gratitude. Needless to say, where there is darkness, light.

The image at the top of this post is of Beaver Dam Creek, yesterday, 7:14 a.m.