Quote of the Day - 03/21/2012

 Man likes to simplify things, to find single causes to find an order in nature that corresponds with an orderly arrangement of ideas in his own mind. This is surely one of the great drives of thought, leading to many of the great ideas of philosophy, religion, and science.  But nature is also frighteningly complex, perhaps too complex ever to be “understood” through the processes of our limited brains – and our fondness for single causes has probably got us in trouble more often than it has helped us. - Marston Bates in The Forest and the Sea: A Look at the Economy of Nature and the Ecology of Man

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The quote today is from a book written in 1960 by a zoologist.The book be read not only for its topic (rain forests and seas) but as a ‘history of scientific thinking.’ It answers the question - “What did we know about rain forests and seas in 1960?”

Interestingly enough - the aspect of the book that interested me the most was the realization that we haven’t made much progress over the past 50 years in our tendency to want to simplify - particularly about nature. If we analyze the political discourse that happens every day around the world, we may even notice that we’ve become even more extreme in our desire. If it can’t be communicated in a sound bite or tweet - we tend to get bored.

Another thought prompted by the book - Most of us spend much less time outdoors in direct contact with nature than people did 50 years ago. In 1960 - air conditioning was not as prevalent and houses were not so well insulated; even indoors, the noises of the outdoors were heard. We are losing whatever intuitive understanding we had of nature - even it if was a simplified understanding.

Finishing on a positive note - the development of computers over the past 50 years has enabled models that may help us overcome the obstacle that nature is ‘perhaps too complex to be “understood” through the processes of our limited brains.’ The question then becomes - will our penchant for simplification allow us to use the results of those models to guide our actions that impact our world.

Quote of the Day - 2/12/2012

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. - Albert Einstein

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The glorious complexity of natural systems…balanced…resilient to change (up to a point)…sustained. There are so many perspectives from which to ‘look deep’ and, in doing so, understand even more than the area of focus. Why does that happen?

For me, it happens in several ways.

• Nature is a system of elements so closely linked that a change in one has a ripple effect in another. For example - once I start looking closely at my garden, I notice not only the plants but the insects and frogs and (argh!!) the deer. There are so many threads to follow and explore….to understand.
• Looking deep into nature also encourages me to think more deeply in other areas as well. Being outdoors - having a ‘green hour’ - is stimulating and calming at the same time. It is like a clearing of cobwebs. Understanding grows when we give ourselves time to think!

Quote of the Day - 2/4/2012

Love me or hate me, the desert seems to say, this is what I am and this is what I shall remain. - Joseph Wood Krutch (books)

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Our surroundings leave an impression. Krutch gives us one for deserts - “Love me or hate me…this is what I am and this is what I shall remain.”

What impressions do you have about the place you are right now --- or places you remember? Here are some ideas to get your brain storming started.

Forests say “We’re better as a diverse tribe.”

Plains say “It’s best to see things coming from a long way away.”

The mountains say “While being closer to the sky has its challenges, it has the advantage of being above the fray.”

The shores say “Ending and beginning are often combined; the boundary can change.”

Quote of the Day - 1/19/2012

I live in the tame and visit the wild and never forget the difference between the two. - Janice Emily Bowers (books)

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What an elegant way of articulating what is true for the relationship most of us have with wild environments. It is our preference to feel safe from the wild world where we live while appreciating that the wild still thrives. We want to tame - to control - so that we feel safe and secure. Our control of the wild is minimal; we are less confident that we will always survive or even understand what it contains.

Still - there are occasions where the wild world can be viewed from the security of our tame life:

• Deer coming into the backyard, seen from a window 3 stories above
• A woodpecker in the top of a tree with dead branches on a walk through a formal garden
• Jack-in-the-Pulpits beside a boardwalk through a scrap of woods
• The rosy light of dawn on the winter trees seen from the kitchen window

And those add a blessing to the day.

Favorite Things to do on a Lazy Winter's Day at Home

It's a January afternoon. The Christmas decorations are put away, the kitchen is cleaned up from lunch, and the laundry for the week is almost done. This is a lull after the flurry of winter holiday activities....what would you do with 4 hours available? My list is below (not in priority order):

1. Take a nap....for about 30 minutes.
2. Get outdoors. The day was unseasonably warm but even had it been snowing, getting outdoors would have been on the list.
3. Read a good book by a window. Natural light always seems better...and I enjoy the view from the window too.
4. Cook. There has been a tremendous amount of good food recently so I'm enjoying getting back to the more normal foods like a wedge of pomegranate while I let soup simmer.
5. Plan the spring garden. I am not real serious about this yet...for now I'm just looking at catalogs that came in the mail and browsing web sites.

Quote of the Day - 1/4/2012

Over our heads

Through the night

The stars descend,

Sacred threads of evening.

-        Marjorie Agosin in Rain in the Desert / Lluvia en el Desierto

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There are so many nights in the cold of winter that are clear. I glance up at the sky as I am hurrying to the mailbox or into a store. Standing a while to just look is not comfortable.

Sometimes, though, the sky is so dark that a narrow rectangle of stars is visible through the skylight of my house and I’m always thrilled to see them in comfort while being frustrated that I cannot see more. It is a reminder of the vastness of this place in which our world rotates on its axis and around the sun…how much has been derived from observations of the stars that are the ‘sacred threads of evening.’

Do you think a higher percentage of the population were star watchers in ancient times than today? It seems that might be true because they were outdoors more than we are now and because they understood less. The world was a more frightening place to them because it was unexplained. Now our biggest fears are about things we ourselves have created. Star watching and seeking to know more about them seems so benign in comparison.

Quote of the Day - 1/3/2012

Nature uses as little as possible of anything. - Johannes Kepler

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Nature is a great teacher. The tangent I want to take from the quote today is not so much the first order lesson of biology…it is the translation of what we observe in nature to the way we live our own lives. The beginning of the year prompts thinking of changes we want to make and the theme for me this year is what I take from this quote.

‘Use as little as possible’ is a great mantra. I want to de-clutter all aspects of my life. Clutter gets in the way of what is truly important. It means that I need to better differentiate between what is essential and what is fluff.  The fluff needs to be used up, reused, donated, or recycled. Over the past few years I have focused on reducing the amount of trash the household produces but there has been a slow accumulation of things - older clothes, furniture that is no longer needed, etc. It needs to find a new home in 2012 enabling my life to be honed in the same way nature hones biologic systems.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 31, 2011

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

To those who are lonely at Christmas - a poem from Joanna Paterson....it applies to other special holidays as well.

Birding in the National Parks - National Parks Traveler summary of articles on this topic during 2011

eBird - A site hosted by the Cornell Ornithology Department and National Audubon Society. I found it via a ‘Birding in the National Parks’ article. The site is well organized and useful for serious birders as well as more casual observers.

Holiday Guide to Ruse and Recycling - Now that the holiday is waning….time to clean up.

Was 2011 the Year of the Mega-Fire? - A retrospective the large fires of 2011 and a look at the future potential for mega-fires

7 Actions for Becoming More Like Yourself in 2012 - Food for thought as you plan your 2012

Visualizing Asian Energy Consumption - Good graphics showing worldwide energy consumption.

Traveler’s Checklists for 11 National Parks - If you are planning a trip to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Kings Mountain National Military Park, Crater Lake National Park, Fort Sumter National Monument, Zion National Park, Wright Brothers National Memorial, Gettysburg National Military Park, Cape Lookout National Seashore, Petersburg National Battlefield or Jefferson National Expansion Memorial…these can help you get the most from you visit.

Circumnavigating the Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctic Circle - Longish post with lots of pictures and associated commentary