Let me take you to a green oasis tucked away in the lush nature not far from home in Canada. Later this week, I'll focus on the harsh realities of our world, with wars, human suffering, and bad governance simmering on a planet that is heating up like a pressure cooker. You will find plenty of other sources if you are only interested in these kinds of issues; any newspaper fills its front pages this year with those stories.
Splendid are the moments that colour the days between the layers of time. The beauty of things lies in our amazement at their simplicity. A primordial sense that compels us to decide the direction to follow. Therefore…
“The best thing to do is to go as far as you can… whatever you consider ‘too far’ – and when others follow you, as they will, move on.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
I'm reading all comments only after I published yesterday's Patreon post, but the thoughts seem to develop along similar lines: the beauty in our world is often captured in short moments of a surprising simplicity.
“Life can evolve and survive in challenging conditions” music to my ears. The world at large in such chaos now, I agree with the need to get back to nature for respite from the onslaught of daily crises that are indeed unbearable. Thank you for the “pink lake” that is green! And for the virtual travel, the only kind I am able to enjoy. 😘🕊️
Reading your comments gave me a new insight: I have an unfinished article, which I don't intent to ever finish, on the tendency of the far right to celebrate an imaginary past they want to return to (note for instance the "again" in MAGA). In these challenging times the non-extremists also seek refuge but not in the past, since they relize that no period was without difficulties, but in a still existing other world: nature. Two ways of leaving our challenged world: one of longing and imagination, and another one mostly outside the city limits but available to all.
I’m so very tired of the political lane but feel the urgency to protect our fragile Democratic Republic in any way I am able, which is posting comments, chats, restacks on Substack. The fatigue is overwhelming perhaps due to my health or lack thereof; seems crises evolve every day and the nation is fueled by hate for the perceived “other.” The Israel situation has taken us into a very dark place. And Project 2025 to dismantle our government and do a right wing reset seems well under way with our Christofascist Nationalist ( you get the idea, all 3 in whatever order you like) new Speaker Mike Johnson now reported to be funded in some way by Russia. Too much information to process without revisiting history and that takes time since we are now “woke.” And the whole ball of wax gets to your area, CLIMATE AND BIODIVERSITY because if somehow the GOP come out on top (I surmise they never left) CLIMATE will be discarded entirely while we reorganize communities of faith, family, etc. All migrants gathered and expelled. DISASTER. Just sharing my increasingly anxious thoughts as I read too much but I want you to know where I am coming from. So very sad. Others example Rena coping well; she’s amazing. But confined to the house without community, I am struggling. Very much alone; no one wants to engage on these dilemmas. Thought to ponder then must feed my sanity 😽😽; the elements of Project 2025 were begun under Reagan and accounted for 60% of his agenda. Trumpism is very much alive and well regardless of the man and endless media coverage of his court dates, etc. He could be under the jail; it’s here NOW. Now Koch is funding candidate Nikki Haley former ambassador to UN after tenure as Governor here in SC. OMG, just too much. Later my dear friend.....😘🕊️🌎
That was lovely - thank you. Still dark here at 7 AM and it's been raining for 2 or even 3 weeks straight. So it was very nice to be on this virtual walk with you.
Also, I never bothered to look up or even think about what people meant when they talked about ....mica (I couldn't figure out what that first word was). Penny dropped and it's faux mica. Thank you for that too. And how cool that you found some. The German word for it is Glimmer and I remember this little phrase from school "Feltspat, Quarz und Glimmer - die drei vergess ich nimmer". It was to remember what granit is made out of.
A serene haven. Many thanks for taking us on this pleasant tour or detour from the troubles. I felt I was walking with you. Mica seems to be a bit of a shapeshifter. Intriguing.
Thanks for the lovely walk and explanations, Alexander. I enjoyed your discussion of the 3-spined stickleback. We catch them occasionally in our trawl on the Inland Seas schoolship schooner in Grand Traverse Bay (Lake Michigan). They apparently found their way into Lake Huron (and thereby, Lake Michigan) from the Ottawa River. They and their relatives, the brook stickleback and the 9-spined stickleback, have an interesting torpedo-like shape, and a very narrow peduncle. The peduncle, one of my favorite words to teach the students when we are sailing, is the part of the body just in front of the tail, or caudal fin. On a separate note, we visited an actual 'pink lake' in the Yucatan on a trip last Christmas. Las Coloradas is part of a desalinization enterprise, with the pink due to concentration of brine shrimp, plankton and red-colored algae as the water evaporates. Flamingoes feed at these lakes, and they get their pink coloration from their diet.
Fascinating stories! My fishing experience is limited and from about half a century ago, but I remember finally having caught a small fish in the local canal and wanted to pick it up. It was my first experience with the Dutch variety of a fish with a stickleback, which we call "stekelbaarsje". I just typed it in google translate which said: stickleback :-). And since I was on google translate, I typed in peduncle, since I had never heard of it, but it seems we don't have a Dutch word for peduncle. Love the flamingo story. I believe that we have one island north or our Dutch island a flamingo colony (I suppose only in summer) I should check it out someday and write about it in The Planet.
Splendid are the moments that colour the days between the layers of time. The beauty of things lies in our amazement at their simplicity. A primordial sense that compels us to decide the direction to follow. Therefore…
“The best thing to do is to go as far as you can… whatever you consider ‘too far’ – and when others follow you, as they will, move on.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
I'm reading all comments only after I published yesterday's Patreon post, but the thoughts seem to develop along similar lines: the beauty in our world is often captured in short moments of a surprising simplicity.
“Life can evolve and survive in challenging conditions” music to my ears. The world at large in such chaos now, I agree with the need to get back to nature for respite from the onslaught of daily crises that are indeed unbearable. Thank you for the “pink lake” that is green! And for the virtual travel, the only kind I am able to enjoy. 😘🕊️
Reading your comments gave me a new insight: I have an unfinished article, which I don't intent to ever finish, on the tendency of the far right to celebrate an imaginary past they want to return to (note for instance the "again" in MAGA). In these challenging times the non-extremists also seek refuge but not in the past, since they relize that no period was without difficulties, but in a still existing other world: nature. Two ways of leaving our challenged world: one of longing and imagination, and another one mostly outside the city limits but available to all.
I’m so very tired of the political lane but feel the urgency to protect our fragile Democratic Republic in any way I am able, which is posting comments, chats, restacks on Substack. The fatigue is overwhelming perhaps due to my health or lack thereof; seems crises evolve every day and the nation is fueled by hate for the perceived “other.” The Israel situation has taken us into a very dark place. And Project 2025 to dismantle our government and do a right wing reset seems well under way with our Christofascist Nationalist ( you get the idea, all 3 in whatever order you like) new Speaker Mike Johnson now reported to be funded in some way by Russia. Too much information to process without revisiting history and that takes time since we are now “woke.” And the whole ball of wax gets to your area, CLIMATE AND BIODIVERSITY because if somehow the GOP come out on top (I surmise they never left) CLIMATE will be discarded entirely while we reorganize communities of faith, family, etc. All migrants gathered and expelled. DISASTER. Just sharing my increasingly anxious thoughts as I read too much but I want you to know where I am coming from. So very sad. Others example Rena coping well; she’s amazing. But confined to the house without community, I am struggling. Very much alone; no one wants to engage on these dilemmas. Thought to ponder then must feed my sanity 😽😽; the elements of Project 2025 were begun under Reagan and accounted for 60% of his agenda. Trumpism is very much alive and well regardless of the man and endless media coverage of his court dates, etc. He could be under the jail; it’s here NOW. Now Koch is funding candidate Nikki Haley former ambassador to UN after tenure as Governor here in SC. OMG, just too much. Later my dear friend.....😘🕊️🌎
That was lovely - thank you. Still dark here at 7 AM and it's been raining for 2 or even 3 weeks straight. So it was very nice to be on this virtual walk with you.
Also, I never bothered to look up or even think about what people meant when they talked about ....mica (I couldn't figure out what that first word was). Penny dropped and it's faux mica. Thank you for that too. And how cool that you found some. The German word for it is Glimmer and I remember this little phrase from school "Feltspat, Quarz und Glimmer - die drei vergess ich nimmer". It was to remember what granit is made out of.
Isn't our planet amazing? Thank you!
It is, so I chose it as an amazing title for this newsletter so I would never be short of stories to tell :-)
Thank you for this lovely walk! What a lovely place to escape to for peace and balance.
The weekend rain and wind has stripped the last leaves from the crepe myrtle outside my window and most of the autumn colors have gone.
No greenery left, I’m sad to say.
I was going to ask why it’s called Pink Lake but the small piece of pink mica seems to answer that.
It’s wonderful you have these wonderful memories of serene walks to remember and share now that winter has exerted its grip.
Your beautiful nature images are always welcome and they indeed bring a few minutes of solitude and soothing of the soul.
I feel it’s effect just now.
Thank you, Lizzie. The lake is green (and more so since the 1970’s when erosion became worse), but it is named after the Pink family.
Ah, a family name, not the mica.
A serene haven. Many thanks for taking us on this pleasant tour or detour from the troubles. I felt I was walking with you. Mica seems to be a bit of a shapeshifter. Intriguing.
That was the idea, a bit like on the Camino: we all walk it together.
Thanks for the lovely walk and explanations, Alexander. I enjoyed your discussion of the 3-spined stickleback. We catch them occasionally in our trawl on the Inland Seas schoolship schooner in Grand Traverse Bay (Lake Michigan). They apparently found their way into Lake Huron (and thereby, Lake Michigan) from the Ottawa River. They and their relatives, the brook stickleback and the 9-spined stickleback, have an interesting torpedo-like shape, and a very narrow peduncle. The peduncle, one of my favorite words to teach the students when we are sailing, is the part of the body just in front of the tail, or caudal fin. On a separate note, we visited an actual 'pink lake' in the Yucatan on a trip last Christmas. Las Coloradas is part of a desalinization enterprise, with the pink due to concentration of brine shrimp, plankton and red-colored algae as the water evaporates. Flamingoes feed at these lakes, and they get their pink coloration from their diet.
Fascinating stories! My fishing experience is limited and from about half a century ago, but I remember finally having caught a small fish in the local canal and wanted to pick it up. It was my first experience with the Dutch variety of a fish with a stickleback, which we call "stekelbaarsje". I just typed it in google translate which said: stickleback :-). And since I was on google translate, I typed in peduncle, since I had never heard of it, but it seems we don't have a Dutch word for peduncle. Love the flamingo story. I believe that we have one island north or our Dutch island a flamingo colony (I suppose only in summer) I should check it out someday and write about it in The Planet.