Occupation of Independence

A couple summer agos I got serious at trying to like summer camping.  'Water people' must wonder how somebody could be so dense.  But of course there is no water in the western states and where there is,  the camping comes with noise, crowds, fees, reservations, restrictions, and flying insects. But the water people are right.  Washing up before going to bed, with lukewarm water and soap on a washcloth, helps quite a bit. I haven't pursued the water bladder method of cooling my head or feet while sleeping.  It would have been effective, but it proved more convenient to buy one of those mini-fans that have their own lithium battery: mounted near my neck and head, the cooling is adequate at low fan speed and noise. The need to stay cooler forced me to renounce a long held prejudice about northern forests versus the ponderosa forests of the Southwest.  Yes, ponderosa forests are easy to camp in.  And they are visually appealing since you can see between t...

You can't expect spring-time breezes to last all summer, but the other day I was relieved to feel such a breeze on a day that was expected to be hot.  My camping spot is on what you could call a peninsular knob that sticks out from the side of a mountain, and seems to hang out over steep slopes.  Thus it is exposed to wind as well as a good view. A cool breeze at the same time as warm, dry, sunny air.  It is quite a pleasure to feel pain and pleasure at the same time , just as you do in winter with simultaneous chilly, calm air and a warming, early morning sun. Ahh how fine this is, I thought at the time, and slowed down on our dog walk to take it all in.  This is one of the best things you could experience in the outdoors.  But it was troubling to experience it in a too sedate way.   There are temperaments that are content to put bland, sugary, Heinz ketchup on their hash browns at breakfast.  Other people want tabasco sauce.   It seeme...

It is a rare pleasure, listening to the hooting of an owl at night, while camped in a ponderosa forest in Idaho.  You'd think it would happen more often.  A quicker thinker would have grabbed his smartphone and recorded the sound.   Apparently owls are not that numerous.  You'd think they would be, with their size and capabilities.  In my next life I am going to learn some biology. Speaking of biology, I was impressed by the 'marauding' done by a hungry butterfly today, alongside a mountain bike ride.  You usually think of butterflies with cyootsie-wootsie and pretty-poo behavior, but this mariposa was like a terrier with wings. The next morning, these flowers were closed up like a street vendor at night.  Why so?  If I was a flower I would close shop during the heat of the day to preserve water.  Once again, learning some biology is desperately needed.  

  I continue to be both amazed and satisfied by un-flashy things I see in the natural world around me.  For instance, it has only gradually crept up on me over the last few years that the feminine characteristics of nature are wonderful. Recently my little sweetie and I were biking on a forest road.  I stopped at an unflashy cluster of yellow flowers of a type I never noticed before.  It seemed important to stop pedaling and let it all soak in for a couple minutes: My little sweetie obviously agreed. Looking around my environment, there are 'girls gone wild' everywhere.  Sometime it is in the curves of the topography: The male mind -- being what it is -- can't look at curves on hills without running off in a direction that is all too easy to guess. But most of the time, the feminine characteristics of nature are subtle.  Even water has become feminine in my imagination because it allows life to flourish everywhere: Maybe you need to spend half the year in t...