I agree with you. Mother Nature is more appealing that commerce. I would be happy to live in a small geodome in a community of like-minded nature lovers, healers and artists. The economy will collapse sooner than later and humanity will need to find a new way to thrive on Gaia.
The old economy needs to collapse and the new one will rise from that. The economy now is bending under the weight of corruption, which has been there for decades. Prosperity and abundance should be for everyone and not just the handful at the top. Eco-change is underneath and hasn't been able to occur because of the corruption which won't profit off eco-change.
I have felt heartbroken for most of my life watching the destruction of the natural world in favor of commerce. I read books by Paul Hawkens and others who championed a green economy. I lived in Bellingham, Washington from roughly 2012 until the end of 2017 when the residents of the city were developing a green economy. That too collapsed due to the drug epidemic and the housing crisis. A new economy would solve those problems too.
What a wonderful photo of Spring Beauty, Hepatica, and Blood Root - all livng and thriving next to one another. They are diverse families, but they all get along and share their place n the sun. We would do well to learn from them.
Yes, I know it's been such a rough go of things since Helene. (We know storms and floods as well here in Vermont.) 235 -- have you written on this yet, Katharine?
Thanks for asking, Bryan. My sister is an artist in Charlotte and I'm a New England girl, though I have converted to these Blue Ridge mountains, so I've been following your recent floods. Had I been paying attention back in 2010, I would have realized that the aftermath of Hurricane Irene's rain was a good predictor of what could happen in Appalachia. I'm reading McKibben's account in Oil and Honey.
I have touched on living in my small space in Parts I and II of my latest Matters of Kinship; I'm working on the third part (Thoreau, McKibben, the Storm and me). More to come as I become more seasoned, but I do love the simplicity, and I find it conducive to the writing life.)
Have you written about your experience? And have you written about the flooding? I'm curious how we will track our experiences and how we will keep people (and all beings) safe, especially with the slashing of NOAA and climate work.
So well said! Doing my best to spend as much time in the forest as I can here in western NC. Even with the overwhelming devastation that Hurricane Helene left behind, those determined little wildflowers are finding their way through it all and popping up all over!
In the aftermath of Helene's profound devastation, yeah, those little flowers must indeed have an outsized role for you in western NC. Thanks for this!
So true! All of the stuff in the world is distracting us from who we actually are....children of nature. Deep down what we are actually craving is to feel and know that we are part of this glorious earth. Thank you for the beautiful photos and for putting all of this in perspective.
Ha! Yes! They are on my list. The ephemerals have always been a favorite of mine, so I want to do right by them. Need time. Hoping for an ephemeral song for next spring.
Indeed - even an urban backyard!
So beautifully written.Happy spring!
Thanks, Sandi! Back atcha with vernal happiness. It's really happening!
I agree with you. Mother Nature is more appealing that commerce. I would be happy to live in a small geodome in a community of like-minded nature lovers, healers and artists. The economy will collapse sooner than later and humanity will need to find a new way to thrive on Gaia.
Let's hope for eco-change (rather than collapse?) and enough prosperity for all living things, including humans?
The old economy needs to collapse and the new one will rise from that. The economy now is bending under the weight of corruption, which has been there for decades. Prosperity and abundance should be for everyone and not just the handful at the top. Eco-change is underneath and hasn't been able to occur because of the corruption which won't profit off eco-change.
I have felt heartbroken for most of my life watching the destruction of the natural world in favor of commerce. I read books by Paul Hawkens and others who championed a green economy. I lived in Bellingham, Washington from roughly 2012 until the end of 2017 when the residents of the city were developing a green economy. That too collapsed due to the drug epidemic and the housing crisis. A new economy would solve those problems too.
I want it be in the naked woods - with no tariffs nor turmoil… and like you, live “an outdoor space of infinity.” 🙌
I hope to see you there!
Thank you little brother. Being up in the woods is the only thing that saves me, some days.
Yep, life saving!
What a compelling invitation you’ve created! Thank you.
... and the woods are indeed inviting!
Indeed they are. (I wrote about my woodland walk this week. :-)
Thank you Bryan. The nearby bloodroot is shy, just barely breaking through the leaves. A welcome sign. A renewal. Hope.
Same here. Just a few poking up. No flowers yet, but any day now. It'll be momentous for me, as always.
Beautiful. Thank you.
You are SO WELCOME! :-)
Wildflowers win o’er
overconsumption, waste, greed.
With grace, for fun, free.
What a wonderful photo of Spring Beauty, Hepatica, and Blood Root - all livng and thriving next to one another. They are diverse families, but they all get along and share their place n the sun. We would do well to learn from them.
Thanks, Leigh. They do all love the calcium in our soils (even some of these hotspots in eastern Vermont).
I love your 420 square feet! Post Helene I am experimenting with 235…85 more than Thoreau!🌱🌿💚
Yes, I know it's been such a rough go of things since Helene. (We know storms and floods as well here in Vermont.) 235 -- have you written on this yet, Katharine?
Thanks for asking, Bryan. My sister is an artist in Charlotte and I'm a New England girl, though I have converted to these Blue Ridge mountains, so I've been following your recent floods. Had I been paying attention back in 2010, I would have realized that the aftermath of Hurricane Irene's rain was a good predictor of what could happen in Appalachia. I'm reading McKibben's account in Oil and Honey.
I have touched on living in my small space in Parts I and II of my latest Matters of Kinship; I'm working on the third part (Thoreau, McKibben, the Storm and me). More to come as I become more seasoned, but I do love the simplicity, and I find it conducive to the writing life.)
Have you written about your experience? And have you written about the flooding? I'm curious how we will track our experiences and how we will keep people (and all beings) safe, especially with the slashing of NOAA and climate work.
Ah, of course, I do now recall your essays on this. Yes, sad to say that few of us are immune to the new high water marks.
I've written as well on this (before your flood):
https://chasingnature.substack.com/p/our-new-high-water-mark?utm_source=publication-search
I'm looking forward to your part three, even as I wish you need not write it.
Sending you solidarity from small spaces -- in a big world.
Bryan, thank you for your link. Brilliant essay and such thoughtful comments…you hang with great writers. 👍🏽
So well said! Doing my best to spend as much time in the forest as I can here in western NC. Even with the overwhelming devastation that Hurricane Helene left behind, those determined little wildflowers are finding their way through it all and popping up all over!
In the aftermath of Helene's profound devastation, yeah, those little flowers must indeed have an outsized role for you in western NC. Thanks for this!
So true! All of the stuff in the world is distracting us from who we actually are....children of nature. Deep down what we are actually craving is to feel and know that we are part of this glorious earth. Thank you for the beautiful photos and for putting all of this in perspective.
Perhaps those ephemerals might be worthy of a song some day! 😀🙏
Thank you so much for this, Bryan, as the war of words continues. Consumers being consumed. Meanwhile, nature….
Consumers being consumed -- indeed! Thanks, Karen!
I love The “Ephemerals” flowers photos ✨
Ha! Yes! They are on my list. The ephemerals have always been a favorite of mine, so I want to do right by them. Need time. Hoping for an ephemeral song for next spring.