Where?
Well to compensate for yesterday's bumble the first thing I did this morning was take my tea and toast out to my backyard. I sat under the big tree with a blanket in the sun.
What?
I saw ants walking on the roots of our tree that peak up through the ground, green tips breaking ground, mossy bark, a daffodil, and my neighbours gloves gardening under our shared fence. I heard lots of wee birds, crows, someone dumping their recycling in the bin, a fast car, and the wind in the branches overhead. I smelt clean laundry, you know, when dryers blow that smell out of a vent from the house. I felt the sun and breeze on my face and through my clothes. I felt good. I left my phone, computer, and pressing duties inside, and I was there.
How now?
Last night a friend of mine looked at the definition the city has outlined for "natural spaces" (defined in post 1) and he said, "so they're defining it as fake nature, man-made nature". So for him, nature means something that happened on its own. We haven't planted it. By his definition my backyard doesn't count. And before I started really asking myself what nature is, I would have said the same thing. Now I wonder... cause I felt pretty happy sitting in the sun in my backyard, even though I could hear cars, and leaf blowers, and smell laundry detergent. I am wondering if it's the natural environment that gives us peace, or just being somewhere for a while, and actually being there?
No comments:
Post a Comment