Clive Thompson on the words he has never spelled correctly. Likewise. I’m a good speller but words with double consonants—especially pairs of double consonants—get me every time.
Trans-species collaboration
In the stirring closing lines of Carmel Point, Robinson Jeffers writes: We must uncenter our minds from ourselves; We must unhumanize our views a little But how is this to be done? One way is surely as a philosophical practice that builds ways of thinking with the more-than-human world instead of thinking about it. That is essential. Yet for those of us who tend to live too much in our own heads, what practical actions can be taken?
In response to Jean, sharing my favorite picture of the Oregon coastline from our (best) vacation (ever) last year
Gray, beautiful Oregon coast evening. I’m on a short visit until Wednesday, but still popping into my microblog to post photos.
Entwined being of plant and soil
In the course of this article on future agricultural possibilities that actually build the soil, George Monbiot passes on some interesting facts about plant interaction with soil. Plants release between 11% and 40% of the sugars they make into the soil, into the area around the plant called the rhizosphere. These released sugars activate bacteria in the rhizosphere needed for the plant’s health and growth. The rhizosphere acts as an “external gut” for the plant.
I’m a beekeeper now
About three weeks ago, a friend asked me if I wanted to help him keep bees–to which, of course, I said yes. The bees live on his property, which is much more spacious and near bee amenities like woods, water, crops and flowers. And so we set up our first hive. And then (a day after I posted about wanting expand the web of relations in my life), a wild swarm showed up at my friend’s house.
Hear me out: octopuses are aliens.
Increasing relatedness on my city lot
I’ve emphasized below an essential line from Gordon White’s interview with Tyson Yunkaporta: Gordon White: “What are the hallmarks of indigenous thinking?” Tyson Yunkaporta: “It’s an externalized psycho-technology that exists in your unique web of relations. Your thinking and your knowledge sits in the relational space between you and others. Not just with humans but with non-humans, places, landforms, and all the people that you’re in relation to. You have this beautiful set of relations sitting there, waiting for you to engage with it.
Waiting for An Evening with Neil Gaiman
Bee friends (sweat bees?) pollinating our strawberries.
Pleated inkcap mushroom popped up in the raised beds this morning. The raised beds sit on brick, not soil, so I take this as a good sign that the soil is complexifying, building mycelium. Bonus: cute green strawberries. Pictures taken by my daughter Darcy.
