Happy Solstice
Contributed by Sammy Taylor
This season as we contemplate the return of more daily sunlight and warmth,
I must share some good news and good books. On a recent “Science Friday” segment, I listened as the moderator discussed the new project on a busy freeway in California where as many as 30,000 cars pass on 8 lanes of road daily. The areas on either side of the road are open, “wild” land, but Wild Life can’t access it. Within a year or two that will change with a football field-sized overpass designed to allow everyone – including plants, insects, snakes, cougar, etc. - to cross unhurt.
Perhaps you have heard of E. O. Wilson’s half-earth proposal – that if humans are to thrive we must dedicate half of the planet to wild, unsettled (by humans) space. Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel Ministry for the Future is an exploration of that and other necessities of a thriving planetary system. Jim Kristovic’s Reservation Restless in which he shares his bio and his reverence for the land of the Southwest and the traditions they inspired is another good read. Zia Tong’s The Reality Bubble is an easy read but covers important concepts like evolution, self-perception, world view, time and ownership. Her premise, as I see it, is that the artifice of our civilization is destroying our connection to Earth. Some of us understand that already. Now we need to translate that into the activities of our daily lives!
Last night I was thinking of our Human place as I gazed out of the darkened house into the snow-covered, moonlit world outside. Young trees were rounded humps of snow. The naked Birches reflected the light. Nearby, no doubt, Chickadees were huddled near Spruce trunks. Spruce Hens were huddled in their tiny “igloos.” Moose and Fox were gathering their daily sustenance. Frogs, Bear, overwintering Butterflies and larvae of all kinds were suspended in time. Likewise, seeds, roots, eggs of others are awaiting the coming warmth and light to burst into their active lives.
What a privilege to be part of all that!
Happy Solstice!