Category Archives: Nature

Intimations of Immortality

Nature, New Attitude to Nature, Religious Quest in the Modern Age

 

Professor John Moriarty was more than a a keener for Indigenous spirituality. After all he was also a long time professor of English literature and a poet.

The English poet Wordsworth put this well in his poem, “Ode and the Intimations of Immortality”:

“In the beginning like trailing clouds of glory do we come. This is from the poem

“Our birth is but a sleeping and a forgetting

The soul that rises with us,

Our life star hath had elsewhere setting

And cometh from afar

Not an entire forgetfulness and not another nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From god who is our home.

Heaven lies above us in our infancy,

Shades of the prison house begin to close upon the growing boy

But he behold the light and whence it flows he sees it in his joy

The youth who daily farther from the east must travel,

Is still his nature’s priest

And by the vision splendid is on his way attended.

At length the man perceives it die away

And fade into the light of common day.”

 

 

This story is of course not unlike the Ojibwa story of the origin of agriculture. What we all must do is unlearn what we have learned from corrupt or dirty devices and become once more the child who can enter the kingdom of god. The prison of ordinary life can be a prison for a young boy if it squeezes out nature and can lose the “vision splendid.”  The old man must learn to walk beautifully on the earth to regain that vision and escape the prison of the ordinary day. I think that is what Professor Moriarty wanted to do. It was part of his religious quest.  I hope he managed to do that. Most of us never do.

 

Into the Mystic

Nature, New Attitude to Nature, Religious Quest in the Modern Age

 

I am meandering back to that Irish professor of English literature I encountered at the University of Manitoba in 1967, John Moriarty . But first I want to consider another Irish poet. Van Morrison is one of my favourite singer/song writers. Here is part of a song of his that I greatly love:

 

Into the Mystic

 

We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic

And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home
And when the fog horn blows I want to hear it
I don’t have to fear it

And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will flow into the mystic

…

 

Professor John Moriarty in his wonderful lecture that I heard on You Tube after he died, admitted that paradise is lost, but it is only lost in our minds and our senses. In the 17th century we did enter this ‘nothing but universe,” as he called it, “but the day we take our shoes off our feet and walk on the ground of the world, and our eyes are open again, then we are back in our home in this stupendous earth… And if we could only open up to that again then we would never again misbehave on the earth.” Moriarty says we must take off our shoes and walk the earth knowing it is a great and sacred earth. This is what he meant by walking beautifully on the earth. That is what he wanted to do.

John Moriarty enlisted the help of 3 mystics to his cause. He said these are 3 people on whom we can rely absolutely and totally.

The first of these is a Rhineland mystic called Heinrich Suso, (Suso also spelled Seuse). He joined the Dominicans with whom he had a re-awakening. One day he walked into his chapel while he was suffering greatly and, as we know, suffering is often a door to grace and wisdom and enlightenment. Alexander Solzhenitsyn said there is no spiritual enlightenment without suffering. Suso talked about “heavenly lightnings passing and re-passing in the depths of his being.” Moriarty likens this to the northern aurora borealis of Canada, or Scotland or even sometimes Connemara,  where he lived in Ireland, after he left Winnipeg, and other places where great curtains of light can be experienced in the sky. He says besides cosmic auroras there are also “auroras of soul.” For example, if you walk into Chartres Cathedral in France that is what you experience there. The stained-glass windows you see there “are attempts to make manifest the heavenly light within and without,” he says. Suso experienced the hidden auroras of soul that are within him. These had occluded in him but eventually the eclipse was over and the auroras of soul were revealed and he could see these heavenly lightnings passing and re-passing in the depths of his being.

The second mystic Moriarty brings to our attention was Teresa of Ávila, OCD (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada; 28 March 1515 – 4 or 15 October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus. One day she saw one of the highest of angels, one of the cherubins, beside her. The angel held a golden spear with a tip of fire that he plunged into her again and again. She experienced incredible pain and joy at the experience. That was called her trans-vibration in which she experienced a heavenly fire inside of her.

The third mystic Moriarty asks us to consider was Pascal. He was one of the great minds of Europe. In a waist coat of his after his death a servant of his discovered a tiny parchment that has come to be called the memorial of his night of fire.

Each of these 3 mystics experienced in some way the fire of God inside of them. Then says Moriarty, everything in the universe can also experience the same thing, the same light, the same fire.

It is import that we enfranchise women, but, says Moriarty, that is not enough:

 

“We must enfranchise the universe…the truth about the universe is really ecstasy. The truth of the universe is a boon of heavenly lightnings…the truth about it is a night of fire.”

 

From all of this Moriarty says,

“If only we could come back to the fact that we live in a stupendous universe, if only we could know that every bush is a burning bush, if only like Elvira Madigan we would come down from our tightropes to our tears and creeds and stand on the earth then we wouldn’t be harming the earth…then we wouldn’t want to go up in space.”

 

Then we would have a new attitude to nature. Then we would know that nature—the earth—is sacred.

The Appetite for Life

Books, civilization, Classic Books, Nature, Religious Quest in the Modern Age

 

Ivan Karamazov in the novel Tthe Brothers Karamazov is the epitome of the man of reason, but this does not prevent him from knowing the joy of passion and love. He is also, presumably, the nihilist that does not believe in God, and hence can do anything he desires without moral consequences, but nonetheless he knows the importance of nature, life, love, and morality. He is the one who says if God does not exist, everything is permitted. But, As Ivan told his much more saintly brother, Alyosha,

 

“… even if I believed that life was pointless, lost faith in the woman I loved, lost faith in the order of things, or even became convinced that I was surrounded by a disorderly, evil, perhaps devil-made chaos, even if I were completely overcome by the horrors of human despair—I would still want to live on. Once I start drinking from this cup, I won’t put it down until I have emptied it to the last drop…many times I’ve asked myself  if there is anything in this world that would crush my frantic indecent appetite for life and have decided that nothing of the sort exists. This appetite for life is often branded as despicable by various  spluttering moralists and even more so by poets. It is of course the outstanding features of us Karamazovs.”

 

His appetite for life has overwhelmed his nihilism. Even though he is passionate about ideas, as Dostoevsky himself was, Ivan says,

“…so I want to live and go on living, even if its contrary to the rules of logic. Even if I do not believe in the divine order of things, the sticky young leaves emerging from their buds in the spring are dear to my heart; so is the blue sky and so are some human beings even though I often don’t know why I like them; I may still even admire an act of heroism with my whole heart, perhaps out of habit, although I may have long since stopped believing in heroism.”

 

Besides loving the world, including that world of nature he so glowingly described, the green world that emerges from its buds, he also loves the world of civilization—western civilization exemplified by Europe. It is where he finds meaning in a world that often seems meaningless. As Ivan said,

“I’ve been wanting to go to Western Europe and that’s where I’ll go from here. Oh  I know that going there is like going to a graveyard, I tell you!  The dead who lie under the stones there are dear to me, and every gravestone speaks of their ardent lives, of human achievements, of their passionate faith in the purpose of life, the truth they believed in, the learning they defended—and I know in advance that I’ll prostrate myself and kiss those stones and shed tears on them, although the whole time I’ll be fully aware that it’s only a graveyard and nothing more. And I’ll not be weeping out of despair, but simply because I’ll be happy shedding those tears. I’ll get drunk on my own emotion. I love those sticky little leaves in the spring and the blue sky, that’s what! You don’t love those things with reason, with logic, you love them with your innards, with your belly, and that’s how you love your own first youthful strength.”

 

After this magnificent speech in which he makes clear that he too is filled with passion, passion that includes the mind, includes intelligence, he asks Alyosha, his younger holy brother who has been preparing to become a priest, if this makes sense. And Alyosha says, “I understand only too well,” proving that he is also a Karamazov. All of them are filled with passion. All of them have this astonishing “appetite for life.” Even Alyosha, the near holy man, a near ascetic, says, “I’ve always thought that before anything else people should learn to love life in this world.”

He is no ascetic monk. He is a Karamazov.

 

 

Forests are our Friends

Nature, New Attitude to Nature

 

We must learn to have a new attitude to nature. That includes a new attitude to our forests. Forests are our friends. As David Attenborough said about forests, “They are the best technology nature has for locking up carbon.”

 

Once more what is good for nature is good for us.  What is good for forests is good for us.  Forests are a wonderful source of bio-diversity and bio-diversity is essential for human health on the planet. Some people say happy wife happy life. I am not stupid enough to quarrel with that. I just want to add, happy forest happy life.

 

Forests will be a vital part of any recovery we can make of the natural world. They provide two very important things that will be vital for the recovery. First, forests are very important in storing carbon rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. They are among the best of our technology. If we are going to hold down to a minimum the effects of climate change we must take advantage of the things forests can do to help. Secondly, forests are critically important for maintaining bio-diversity. We are losing our biodiversity at a stunning rate. We must stop deforestation everywhere for both of these reasons. Both of these processes work well together.

Costa Rica provides an example of what must be done. Early in the 20th century more than was 75% of Costa Rica was forested. By the 1980s this was reduced to ¼.   Costa Rica realized this was unwise and made serious efforts to change the depletion of the forests. Costa Rica encouraged land owners to plant trees. This turned out to be remarkably effective. According to Attenborough,

“In just 25 years the forest of Costa Rica has returned to cover half of Costa Rica once again. Just imagine if we achieved this on a global scale. The return of the trees would absorb as much as 2/3rds of the carbon emissions that have been pumped into the atmosphere by our activities to date. With all of these things, there is one overriding principle: nature is our biggest ally and our greatest inspiration. We just have to do what nature has always done. It worked out the secret of life long ago. In this world a species can only thrive if everything around it thrives too. We can solve the problems we now face by embracing this reality. If we take care of nature, nature will take care of us. It is now time for our species to stop simply growing and establish a life on this planet in balance with nature, to start thrive .”

This applies to us as well. We will only thrive if nature around us thrives.

Of course, it is not just forests that are important. Nature is important. People not so much. People think we are important. We are wrong. If nature does not thrive, we do not thrive. It really is that simple.

 

Africa Needs Lions

Africa, Anthropocene, Bio-Diversity, Natural History, Nature, New Attitude to Nature

 

 

When we were in Africa 10 years ago (2013) we visited Antelope Park in Zimbabwe. They claim to be Southern Africa’s Most Intriguing Destination. It is home to the world famous ALERT lion. That is a sophisticated program to re-introduce lions into the wild to support the declining lion population.

It is set in more than 3,000 acres of open savannah grassland. In addition to walking with lions it offers elephant rides [of which I don’t approve], canoeing on the tranquil lake or river and a swimming pool.  Of course, it is most famous for allowing people to walk with a lion!  Their motto is very apt, “Where else in the world?’

Their goal is to ethically re-introduce lions into the world by doing that with the offspring of captive bred lions.  ALERT was founded in 2005. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to the facilitation and promotion of sound conservation strategies and management plans for the African lion in consultation with governments and wild life authorities and African communities.

The Trust that was established has a four stage African Lion Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild Program. They want to augment proposals to stop the serious decline in lion populations in Africa.

No human contact is permitted at stage 2 of the program to ensure that the lions that are introduced to the wild have had no human contact. These are the offspring of the lions that had contact with humans. The young of the captive lions has no contact with humans whatsoever.

In every pride of lions, there is a male lion that takes over the group of lions. This is the dominant lion. The humans keep a close eye so they know which is the dominant male.  When food is put out for them it is quickly obvious which is the dominant male. When the dominant male comes to the carcass, as we saw, he flings himself right on top of it to hog the meat. He does not care about any of the other lions even those who have caught the prey. The dominant lion eats first.  There is no sharing if he can help it. He does not subscribe to the maxim ‘sharing is caring.’

While we visited the park, we were taken to a pen where there was an animal carcass, cut into a few pieces, right in front of the fences behind which we stood. We were warned to get ready. The gate at the far end of the pen was opened and 3 male lions—huge male lions—rushed right at us. They were loud and aggressive and fast.  They made deep ominous sounds. Had I been the prey, the sound alone would have killed me.  It was terrifying.  It was extremely exciting. I sure was glad to be behind a strong (I hoped) chain link fence. I would not have wanted to be the prey.  It would have been a very short life. They lunged at the carcass. Two lions each grabbed a small piece of meat, before the dominant male leaped onto the carcass, hogging it for himself.

 

To photograph the event, I placed my camera on continuous shooting mode. I shot the images through the chain link fence which is basically invisible because I was so close to the fence. It blurred into invisibility.  I fired away as the lions bolted right at me. It was amazingly exciting. Even though I knew the fence was there, it was thrilling.

When we saw the 3 males lions bounding at the carcass the 2 non-dominant males ran as fast as they could because they realized that when the dominant male arrived there would not be any sharing after that. So they tried to get a piece of meat before the king arrived.

Lions in the wild learn to eat fast. They have to eat before competitors come for the carcass. They have to eat before the dominant male if they can. It took these 3 males a few minutes to consume the carcass.

 

While I was there, I purchased a T-shirt that read, “Africa needs lions.” African lions are disappearing fast. That really is the point. We need lions. We need nature.

This is how humans do it.  they drive animals toward extinction and at the 11th hour, or later, we make heroic efforts at great expense to save them. Now humans are trying to make amends for the havoc they have imposed on lions. It is really too little too late. But I hope it is part of a revaluation of our attitude to nature. We really need a new attitude to nature. And we need it fast before its too late.

An investment in Coyotes

2023 Grand Finale Tour, Books, desert, Nature

 

 

 

Late one afternoon in early January, soon after arriving in Arizona, I went for a lovely walk in San Tan Mountain Regional Park after purchasing an annual pass that allows unlimited walking through the desert. I bought the annual pass for about $70 even though we won’t be here for more than 3&1/2 months, it won’t take long for me to recoup my investment.

On my walk I listened to the incredible irrational exuberance of the coyotes. That is the true sound of the wild. I did not see them on this walk, but I did on others.

Edward Abbey is one of the finest interpreters of the Southeastern United States. His book, Desert Solitaire, about this region is a masterpiece. Everyone who wants to understand this place should read it. And then read it again. I will be referring to that book that I read before my second trip to this wonderland on this voyage of discovery.

Edward Abbey appreciated the wild. That meant he appreciated coyotes. This is what he said about them in that wonderful book:

“I have been honored by the serenade of a den of coyotes—a family perhaps—somewhere about a mile to the west of my camp. Weird unearthly song—like the legendary wail of banshees…Occult music is but a part of the coyote’s repertoire: they vary the program with more conventional howls, yelps, and barks when it pleases them to do so. Usually, they stop their singing and retire to the rocks, out of caution, soon after the sun comes up…We need coyotes, need them badly…As does the nation as a whole, for that matter. We need coyotes more than we need, let us say , more people, of whom we already have an extravagant surplus, or more domesticated dogs, which in all fairness could and should be ground up into hamburger and used as emergency coyote food, to raise their spirits and perhaps improve the tenor of their precious howling.”

Rather harsh words, but not entirely without merit. If you want to learn about the deserts of the American Southwest as I do, I strongly recommend Abbey’s book. And a walk in the desert. If you hear the coyotes your soul will be filled.

 

Ecological Integrity: Rainbow Falls

2022 Inferior Trip to Superior, Nature, New Attitude to Nature

 

 

I admit it: I am a sucker for a water falls. I really can’t drive by without taking a closer look and taking a photo. Sometimes even many photos. I amounts to a compulsion. Today was no exception. On the advice of the park ranger/interpreter I stopped at Rainbow Falls and was not disappointed.

 

Rainbow Falls Park prides itself on honouring the ecological integrity of the area. What does that mean? This is how they advertised it:

“What is Ecological Integrity? Close your eyes and imagine an old growth forest. See the trees, adorned in lichens and mosses, their branches swaying high above you. Hear the gentle bubble of water as it emerges from a hidden spring, the vibrant chorus of birds as they flit through the forest canopy above you, the soft padding of wolves’ feet along a well-used route. Smell the richness of the soils, where earth and water and plants come together in a combination that is unmistakably rejuvenating and full of life. Imagine this beautiful space, unmarred by traffic and pollution. This is an ecosystem with integrity. This is what we strive to protect and restore in Ontario’s provincial parks.”

 

That sounded pretty good to me.  That was what my jaunt was all about. The park also provided a more technical definition of ecological integrity:

“The guiding legislation for Ontario Parks, the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act (2006) defines ecological integrity as

 

“a condition in which biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities are characteristic of their natural regions and rates of change and ecosystem processes are unimpeded. 2006, c. 12, s. 5 (2).”

The heart of ecological integrity is the ‘naturalness’ of an area.

Ecosystems have integrity when they have their mixture of living and non-living parts and the interactions between these parts are not disturbed (by human activity).”

 

 

When ecological integrity is compromised, as it is in most places in southern Canada, the biodiversity of life becomes vulnerable, and the ecosystems are damaged. The area I walked through today was fantastic. I was a bit disappointed at the absence of red maples with their red leaves and sugar maples with their orange leaves, but I was content. After all, the waterfalls were terrific.

 

On the way back, I realized I had missed what the  interpretative guide signs referred to as a panorama view. Darn. I contemplated going back, but the trail was treacherous, I was weary, and it really was time to head back to Thunder Bay. I hate driving at night in unfamiliar territory. Maybe that comes with old age. Or perhaps wisdom?  So I missed that. You can’t see it all. So be it. Next time, it will be a must see. But I must admit that omission has been bugging me. What did I miss?

The Eagles have Landed

Birds, Nature

 

 

Thanks to a post from a birder on a web group called Manitoba Birds, and a friend of mine who made sure I saw the post, Christiane and I saw more eagles than we have ever seen before.  We had been told there were numerous eagles near New Bothwell.  I decided to try a favourite spot of mine instead. Not near New Bothwell but near Kleefeld.  There we found a small forest with about 7 bald eagles. It was near the end of the light for the day so we had no time to waste.  Thanks to my theory and Chris’ keen sight, we found a patch of bush filled with bald eagles. We enjoyed the sight for about 15 minutes.

We soon noticed that more and more eagles were arriving all the time.  Sometimes one eagle would land scaring another one off a comfortable perch, but the entire congregation of birds  was conducted with remarkable decorum. No one appeared to claim the system was fraudulent.

By the time we left we counted more than 20 bald eagles and strongly suspected there were many more in that small clump of trees. This appeared to be an agreed upon rendezvous. My images are not great or even good, as even with my massive 200-500 mm Nikon lens coupled with a 1.5 multiplier was insufficient, but we enjoyed the event immensely.

The photo not even mediocre but the experience was everything.

Sometimes—no often—nature provides abundant joy. We were blessed.

Crocuses in Steep Rock

Nature, photography, Wild flowers of Manitoba

Every year’s in spring I rush out to photograph crocuses, not because they are Manitoba’s official flower, but because I think they are one of our prettiest flowers.  This year I drove 3 hours to photograph flowers I can find within 20 minutes of home. Is that rational?

This day I joined the Native Orchid Conservation Inc. group on a field trip to Steep Rock.  Chris thought I was nuts for driving so far However, I was keen to go on a field trip. I was also keen on seeing Steep Rock again.  It is located on the shores of Lake Manitoba on wonderful limestone cliffs.  I always feel like I am on the east coast of Canada when I there.

Steep Rock is one of the most scenic spots in Manitoba. It feels like you are at the east coast.  Where else in Manitoba can you see such limestone cliffs beside a massive lake?  Nowhere of course. Steep Rock is special.

 

After spending about 20 minutes on the beach our faithful leader Megan led us along the beach toward the cliffs that in some places could be climbed quite easily. Megan is a dedicated leader. Once she saw me clambering up a cliff in search of a good spot to photograph flowers and quickly encouraged me to come down to safety. I realized I was taking a foolish chance and did not argue with her. Slipping and falling there even though not very high would have been at least very unpleasant and perhaps worse.  I promised her I would not be so foolish again. I am normally quite timid of dangers, but sometimes in pursuit of a photograph I take risks that I normally would not take.

Once we climbed up to the land adjacent to the beach we were met with glorious crocuses.  First, we saw a few crocuses and then hundreds!  This might be the best place in Manitoba for crocuses. At least I have never seen better. This was well worth the trip. Great scenery and a hundreds of crocuses. What could be better? I was very happy I had come on this trip. I tried my best to get some photographs of crocuses on the edge of the cliff with the lake covered with ice in the background.

There were a couple of fields with tons of crocuses, often in lovely clusters. Life was good today

 

Autumn thoughts of old men (and a few others)

2018 Trip to Southwest USA, autumn, Nature, photography

 

Buffalo Point is a special place for me.  At no time is it more special than autumn. It is always a sad time.  I know what is coming and I resist the march of time. Toward winter and toward death. In the back yard (which is really the front since it faces the lake)  which is where we spend most of our time, facing the lake, often on the deck, I looked around. I saw rotting trees. Is that bad? Is rot bad? No. Forests must rot. If the trees did not die we would soon be choked out. That would not work. Just like the planet would be overrun if we did not die. In this world, death is necessary? I don’t know about the next. That is why old men must move on and should not hang around too long.

I am like that old poplar. It no longer has leaves. I don’t have much hair left. Old is good.  Someone once said, “No wise man ever wants to be any younger than he is.” Obviously, he was not a wise man. The tree had a hole near the top. To me it looked like a woodpecker had drilled a hole in the rotten tree looking for bugs to eat.  The hole may be used by another bird as a nest next year. This old tree is still of use.  So are old men. Of little use not much more than that.  Not the same use they once had, but different. Still important. Old men need to impart what they have learned. What else is a long life for? In this day- and-age old men sometimes resort to blogging to try in their small way to give a flavour of what they have learned or think they have learned.

 

Albert Camus, one of my favourite writers and philosophers captured what I think about autumn– “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”

 

Delia Owens, who wrote Where the Crawdads Sing said “Autumn leaves don’t fall, they fly. They take their time and wander on this their only chance to soar.” I would say they don’t so much soar as meander.  Maybe that is because I no longer soar, if I ever did. But I sure can meander.

Jane Hirshfield, the author of The Heat of Autumn said, “The heat of autumn is different from the heat of summer. One ripens apples, the other turns them to cider.” That applies to me too. I find apples too acidic, perhaps because I have acid reflux problems.  Life is never simple for an old man, but an old man can enjoy simple pleasures, like an autumn stroll in the woods.

Elizabeth Barrett Browing once said, “Where waving woods and waters wild Do hymn an autumn sound.”  Imagine that. How can you hymn an autumn sound?  I wish I could do that.

George Eliot said, in autumn the still melancholy could make “life and nature harmonize.” I actually think that can be done at any time, but since autumn is my favorite season, why not reserve it for autumn.

The American poet e. e. cummings put his thoughts into a form that an old man can understand: “”A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long.” It is clear I too have known autumn. Sadly so.

One of my favourite writers, Wallace Stegner, who wrote one of the best Canadian books ever, Wolf Willow, also said it well, “”Another fall, another turned page…”  It was time to head out to our deck and turn another page of a good book.