Aug. 21
Looking out over the bay this morning it is still rippled and gray, a hard rain that his hit beginning last night and caused some flooding south of here in Dane County, has allowed for some reading, of Kimmerer especially, both Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss, books that are wonderfully written and perhaps most important places hands on the nature, the only way to get to know what you are truly looking for, which is connection, understanding, community. I have said it probably too many times now in this journal that our mode of modern naturalism is of a 'passing-by.' I know this far too well myself, as I drive back and forth from Madison often, looking at the landscapes and the signs for natural areas last 70 miles per hour, only stopping here and there at Devil's Lake or Ferry Bluff, but knowing that should be the priority. In a time of 'should,' of course, the trick becomes how to get those feet back on the ground? Toes on the rocks, fingers touching lightly over the moss? I am very enticed by Kimmerer's position in all of this as a biologist, as a quality writer, and as somebody who considers the connection to nature spiritually – these are the big three, if you will. The more I see this, the more I realize that I must station some kind of more regular practice in the woods. A nature journal truly is a fine start. To draw is to find. To write is to reveal and connect. To teach is to share. At this moment, it has inspired me to consider The Nature Journal, a center directly committed to the process of reading, writing and observation, books at hand, artists in residence, and classes cycling.
No comments:
Post a Comment