Touchstone
Published April 7, 2011 | 
So The Next Time You See Rain, It Ain’t Bad / Don’t Complain, It Rains For You.
So Lay Down Your Umbrellas / Strip Off Your Plastic Macs.
You’ve Never Felt The Rain My Friends, / Till You’ve Felt It Running Down Your Backs – McCartney
I often speak of the great disconnect between us crazy humans and our environment. It truly is amazing how we can walk through our world each day and still manage to be separate from it. I’ve thought that this is probably why so many people don’t like rain. They hate rain because when it rains the environment will not be ignored. They have no choice but to feel and be effected by it even when it’s outside of their environmentally controlled norm. Rain can be a loud, wet, obtrusive, sensual attack on a sleeping spirit. Some people swat at rain like a fly landing on their noses during a midday nap. Some make faces at just the mention of it.
I think of this separation, this “nap” away from our environment, as a battle with madness. As if our sense of reality is not real at all, but a sort of drug induced coma, as though we’ve all been fed some wild hallucinogenic in our food supply. (This theory is NOT supported by Monsanto of course!) .
To fight the madness, I reach out each day and touch my world; A lichen covered stone, the bark of a tree, damp moss along a path. I take time to feel the textures, the cool, the damp, the hot, the dry… When I paddle, I be sure to get the paddle out of my hands for a time, stop “doing” anything and touch the water. Let my hands feel the temperature, the wet and the current if there is one. This is something I’ve always encouraged those around me to do. When out on a family hike I see my 10-year-old randomly reach out and touch a big rock along the path, I feel like I’ve actually accomplished something.
Call it what you will, distraction, preoccupation or drug induced hallucination, we are being systematically disconnected from our world. Have been since long before I was born. Truth be told, even some outdoor types get so lost in the gear and the “sport”, that the world they play in becomes little more than a playground. The thing is, when we lose touch, it’s easier to let go. I think we have to be careful about that. Myself included. Food for thought…
Trade you an Environmentalist for a Sociologist
Published April 2, 2011 | 
this is your blind spot, blind spot
it should be obvious, but it’s not
- radiohead
According to the 2009 Documentary, Blind Spot, we’re toast. Well, that’s not exactly what they say, but if you do a bit of between-the-lines listening to their experts and especially the sociologists it’s pretty clear. The world uses too much energy, the US more than anyone. Our consumer based economy relies on cheap energy. An economy based on consumerism is not sustainable. The world population is out-of-hand. Oil, coal, natural gas exist in a finite supply. Neither government, corporations, nor consumers have the ability to think beyond the end of cheap energy. We simply will not do enough to prevent or prepare for a nightmare correction. That’s well, very nearly a fact. Continue reading
What it’s About
Published March 3, 2011 | 
I’m surprised there is not more talk about the Wisconsin demonstrations in the outdoor industry. Yeah, the jaded part of me says that since only those with money can afford expensive toys.. you don’t want to tick ‘em off by taking the side of unions or labor. I’d hope it’s not that simple. Still, the thing that gets lost in all the hoopla is that while labor and unions are getting all the attention, our environment is under assault as well. Here in Wisconsin the “budget repair” bill and the proposed budget are among other things; cutting requirements to disinfect drinking water, rolling back recent regulations regarding the emission of phosphorus which causes weed and algae growth in lakes and streams, eliminating recycling mandates and funding, take away Department of Natural Resources Wardens the right to bargain (While preserving the right for other law enforcement & firefighters), making it harder to acquire land for preservation and recreation through the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, cutting funding for cycling & pedestrian trails.. and that’s just what has been ferreted out so far. Not to mention the all out war on public education and the poor. THAT’s why there are people in the streets and sleeping in our state capitol every night. Meanwhile many major newspapers across the country are stating very frankly that Wisconsin is not actually facing a budget crisis at all. This is a battle of ideologies. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Now sure, I’d like to just go paddling out into the middle of a lake and forget about it. I can hike, snowshoe, or jump on my bike to escape the anger that wells up every time I think of what these rules mean for our to the environment, to the elderly, mentally ill, and other people dependent on assistance, not to mention the teachers, plow truck drivers, DNR wardens and the myriad other public workers that make our world better every day. It ticks me off when I see what this will do to low income families. Oh, and yeah, this is a total cock-up when it comes to Wisconsin’s reputation for outdoor recreation & tourism. What living, breathing, vital human being can just ignore it?
In 8 days the Canoecopia, the worlds largest paddle sports show will be held just a couple miles from Wisconsin’s state capitol building. That means a lot of us in the business and just outdoor lovers in general are going to have a perfect opportunity to show solidarity with the unions, just as the Sierra Club has already done. If we want to protect our environment I’m not sure we can just go paddling and leave it to the activists to sort out.. I think maybe we all need to speak up this time.
Enviromentalism
Published February 24, 2011 | 
I wouldn’t call myself an environmentalist any more than I’d call myself a house-ist. I live in my house, so it’s obvious to me that I must take care of it. There’s always cleaning, repairing and replacing to do because our house is a hundred years old and, well, lived in. It’s not a faith or a political leaning, it’s not a badge I wear for show, it’s just life. I also spend a lot of time out-of-doors. So environmentalism touches me in the very same way. I have a hard time figuring out people who destroy and abuse our environment. I mean, do they wiz on their couch? Maybe they do…
Well, many of you may not know that some of the world’s most well known environmentalists had their start right here in Wisconsin. John Muir came here from Scotland as a boy. (Well, about 15 miles from here.) Aldo Leopold‘s legendary cabin is actually only a few minutes from my own little shack. Now the reason I’m on about this today is that there is a new film about Aldo Leopold touring the country called Green Fire. Its Wisconsin premiere will be held right here in just a few days. I’m giving away a couple tickets in fact. I wrote a bit about that & a bit more about my quirky views on environmentalism right here. For what it’s worth…..
Coyotes & Snowshoes
Published January 14, 2011 | 
One day you’ll wake up in the present day
a million generations removed from expectations
of being who you really want to be.
– tull
I was going to start off today’s post with some metered prose about aging. Then I thought.. WTF!!?? So I decided to spend a bit more time sharing with you what I’ve learned about snowshoes.. then the coyotes got in the way.. and there was something about rabbits… Continue reading
Crane Whispering? Hardly.
Published April 8, 2010 | 
Among the many odd things I’ve done in my life, I used to work at the International Crane Foundation. It was there that I learned to impersonate Mama Crane. That allows me to occasionally get up pretty close as in the picture above. Here’s that story. (Just in case you didn’t see it before) One thing I can tell you.. Mama don’t whisper!
My day hasn’t even started yet, but I could go back to bed right now and call it a good day. You see, one of the amazing things about our home is the abundance of wildlife. It wasn’t always that way of course. I’m sure you’ve all seen those yellow, dingy and lifeless films from the 1970′s right? I’d bet you’ve always assumed that the lack of vibrance was due to the aging film… Well, no. It actually looked that way! The 70s was ugly, really. Thankfully a lot of people have done a lot of work since then and fought hard against those who think the environment is simply a place to own, pillage, kill, pollute and profit from. Continue reading →