General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThirteen Moons
The whole year begins:
Look! There is snow on the ground!
Look! There are our tracks!
We walk a little further
..
Look! The snow is gone!
We walk a little further
.
Look! The Maple Tree grows leaves!
The Plants are planted.
The Water runs from the top of the hills.
It becomes medicine.
Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman
13 Strings of Wampum. 13 Moons
It was bright and sunny when I took Kelly for a walk today. I believe that the weather has given him more energy than usual. On a calm day, he is more active and moves at a greater speed than any canine his age in the world's history. I let him take the lead, and he notices I am moving slow and is patient with my pace. He runs circles around me, stopping short up in front of me for an occasional pet on the head.
Clearly, we will have more cold weather in the weeks to come. As warm as it was in the sunlight, and how much easier it is to walk in the fields where the snow has melted, it was colder at the edge of the pines. There is still a thick level of snow, topped with a thick crust. The crunch under my feet alerts every blue jay keeping watch from their stations in the trees.
My foot went into extra-deep with one step. By the time my foot was out of this new hole, Kelly was by my side. He heard a small flow of water located in that hole, and drank his fill. When we got back out into the sun shine, I saw a small dandelion at the edge of the water flowing down the hill. It reminded me of the song that Paul taught me years ago.
That was around the same time when I was attending a Green Psychology course at the state university. There are a number of good books on the topic. My favorite is Ralph Metzner's Green Psychology: Transforming Our Relationship to the Earth. Metzner, who worked at Harvard in the 1960s, has authored several outstanding books. In this one, he focuses on the mental/physical advantages of being in touch with the Natural World, and the dangers of living separate from the Earth.
I think about this as Kelly and I head home, for him to take an afternoon nap. It is the same message, found in a thousand year old song, and in a book published a couple decades ago. I'm fortunate that nature surrounds me here, and even a short walk in the sun does me good. In these strange and exhausting times, I hope that everyone can access the healing power of nature.
Peace,
H2O Man
world wide wally
(21,741 posts)H2O Man
(73,536 posts)Very interesting!
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,595 posts)And how lucky we are to hear it.
Someone (Emerson?) said in wildness is the preservation of the world. It is so true.
I always feel more tranquil after walking along the beach, or in a park with shrubs and trees.
Thank you for your beautiful and necessary post.
Celerity
(43,333 posts)H2O Man
(73,536 posts)I am lucky to have met and (hopefully!) learned from what are known in Iroquois culture as "Wisdom Keepers." This week, I've been attempting to get in touch with a traditional Cayuga leader, as there has been outbreaks of violence on Cayuga Territory. Last spring, this leader gave the opening prayer at my youngest daughter's college graduation. As he spoke, two bald eagles appeared in the sky, and began circling low in the sky, above his head. Everyone in the audience was looking at them, except for the sachem. He knew.
love_katz
(2,579 posts)I have always loved that quote, CalPeg. I wish more people took it to heart, and honored and cared for our beautiful planet earth.
H2O Man
(73,536 posts)your post reminded me of Ringo saying, "I love Beethoven ....especially his poems." I thank you for that!
H2O Man
(73,536 posts)you know me well enough to realize that Ringo will be blaring on the stereo this afternoon. In fact, when D stops in to train for the Golden Gloves' finals, we play music, and I am certain that it will be Ringo. After all, he brought me to Ringo in concert about 18 months ago!
Me.
(35,454 posts)Maru Kitteh
(28,339 posts)Thank you.
H2O Man
(73,536 posts)I'm glad that you like it. Between the insanity of Trump, and the tensions of the primaries, I find it essential to take some time in the Natural World.
canetoad
(17,152 posts)Just back from a wander down a bush path with my new 14 week old Jack Russell puppy. She saw her first butterfly.
My two old dogs are gone; they were free-range creatures. Luckily I live in a rural area and they could chase and explore. I blew a whistle to let them know where I was. They came back when they felt like it. I'm teaching little Gibby to do the same.
Dogs and the outdoors. The best remedy on the planet.
H2O Man
(73,536 posts)as a movie from the early 1970s was titled. My dogs both find butterflies a source of amazement, and I have a mental image of your puppy seeing her first one! Butterflies and lightening bugs are some of the most amazing things that warm weather brings.
Lately, there have been a number of arrests in this region for animal cruelty. A dick-dripping not that far from here was arrested for "fighting dogs" about a month ago. In my opinion, these things provide an accurate measure of how much sickness has infected our society. The guy has been released awaiting trial, and his smug attitude further enrages people.
My boys are getting older. I'm confident they have a few years left. And I try to make sure that they enjoy every day of it.
Bayard
(22,062 posts)Just what the doctor ordered. A walk around the farm with the pupsters is always a stress-buster.
wakemewhenitsover
(1,595 posts)volstork
(5,400 posts)Went for a walk in the woods myself today.
spanone
(135,828 posts)Peace H2O Man ☮️
NBachers
(17,108 posts)4 day walkabout in April, for the week of my 71st birthday. I made the inn reservations last night.
This area used to be predominantly military property, protecting the West Coast and San Francisco Bay from enemies across the Pacific. The hills and cliffs are honeycombed with military ruins, old gun emplacements, and barracks forts. It's now all part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
I went out on Saturday to stitch together trails I can take to get from place to place on my backpacking trip. I've covered part of the territory, but I still needed to figure out some of the logistics.
As I hiked up the trails and log stairways, the green mountains and valleys stretched out before me, and the Pacific went all the way to the horizon. Hill 88 occupies a spot at the very top of the range; it's an old radar command station for the nuclear-tipped Nike missile bases that embedded the hills. There's one Nike base where you can go down into the bunker and stand right next to the missiles. They bring a missile up to the surface and pose it into launch position. However you feel about this stuff, it's an impressive display of Cold War might and technology.
After I struggled up to the ruins of the radar command post at the top of Hill 88, I started paying attention to a couple of huge, healthy ravens who were occupying the property. Crows and ravens fascinate me, and I feel kind of a kinship with them. This spook base is their home now.
I made my way to a steep concrete stairway that went down to another ruined building. I hadn't planned to go down, but the raven landed on a step in front of me, and then started hopping down the stairs, one after another. I imagined that it was leading me down, so I followed it to the bottom. We occupied the same space at the bottom for awhile; then it started hopping its way back up the stairs. I let it lead me to the top. I stood next to it on the grass swale; it cawed at me, and flew off on a crow mission.
The wind was so strong on some of the hilltops that I had to lean into it to prevent being blown over. It was a clear, sunny day, and I felt like the cool Pacific air was cleansing my mind and blood and body. I figured out how to connect with the trails that'll take me to my destinations. It was a good day to be out and alive.
Peace, peace, peace
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)Spring is coming!
You make such a good point about getting close to nature. I dont do it nearly enough and I live in a beautiful area.
This weekend I will be sure to spend a good deal of time enjoying the sunshine and the beauty of the area I live in.
Its been a better week stress wise. I know many are disappointed about the outcome of Super Tuesday but Biden has been my guy side the beginning so I felt a huge sense of relief when I woke up Wednesday and read that he had done so well.
I always feel peaceful when you take us in your walks. I hope you will do it more often.
malaise
(268,956 posts)It is refreshing
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,490 posts)KY............
panader0
(25,816 posts)kentuck
(111,082 posts)It's time to re-set our clocks.
magicarpet
(14,145 posts)bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)llmart
(15,536 posts)I am a person who has to be out in nature every single day, despite the weather but oftentimes because of it. I am fortunate to live a mile from a huge metropark and I go there every single day. I love dramatic weather as much as I do the clear, sunny, warm days. In fact, sometimes I love it more because the park is nearly empty and I may be the only soul walking in the woods and that's how I prefer it.
I could not live without nature. I grew up out in the country and the seven of us were outside in all kinds of weather. We could roam to our hearts content and my mother never came looking for us or worried about us. I'm not sure if it was because my mother needed us out of the house for her sanity or because she valued nature as much as I do now.
I keep a book of Robert Frost's by my bedside and Thoreau is my hero.
Thank you for this beautiful poem. Native Americans could teach us so much if we would just learn from them.
PETRUS
(3,678 posts)Some years ago I read an essay in which the author was trying to get a bead on exactly what civilization is. He settled on defining "civilization" as the creation of artificial structures (both physical and social structures). While going out of his way to indicate that he very much appreciates civilization - without it, there wouldn't be Shakespeare, or Steinbeck, or Bach, or the Beatles, not to mention indoor plumbing - he lamented that civilization has the effect of putting distance between humans and the rest of the natural world (and also putting distance between individuals and groups), a process with some severe downsides.
As a child, I took my situation for granted. I suspect most young people do (and probably no small number of adults). We moved a few times before I came of age and set off on my own, but from the ages of 2 to 17, every house we lived in was at the edge of suburban development. In one direction, I had access to people (friends) and was a 30 minute bike ride from "downtown," and in the other direction were farms and undeveloped land. It didn't occur to me until much later how much of a luxury that was. On any given day, I could choose to spend my time in "civilization" or not-quite-but-almost wilderness. My parents are now deceased, and I never did ask them, but I suspect the location of our homes was a very deliberate choice on their part. These days I live in a small city with lots of green space. Both my house and my workplace are less than a five minute walk from wooded areas, and I do take advantage of that on a regular basis. Even a small amount of time among the trees and wildlife is surprisingly calming.
MartyTheGreek
(565 posts)After my ten year diving career, I had just enough credits to get picked up as en environmental protection specialist. I gave it my best even though there were some real challenges as a Navy program manager! Nature connection is a real thing and I always feel a soul cleanse after my warm-up power walk. When the snow melts, do a little bare-footing, Earthing as they call it. Supposed to provide some good ions.