Bradford On Avon on the Kennet and Avon Canal. A walk down memory lane in November 2021

I am very pleased to write and say that I have made donations to both the The Women’s Centre Grey Bruce and to the David Suzuki Foundation, for those not Canadian David Suzuki is a long time environmental and climate change crusader. The donation, of over $100s comes from 10% of the sales I made during this year. Thank you for your purchases so that I can make these donations.

I chose these two organization for the following reasons:

Women have been very adversely affected by the Covid pandemic. They were trapped in abusive homes, and some were murdered. Many lost their jobs in the service and other sectors and the wage divide between men and women is reported to be widening. They are now talking about women not getting promoted as they may choose to work from home longer due to childcare responsibilities and will not make the contacts and be able to shine in person that encourages promotions. Very frustrating to see hard wins lost like this. Apart from this ongoing plague women are also loosing their right to have an abortion when they need one by right wing politicians who still want to control women via their reproductive systems. When will this fight ever end. There is a very good book exploring the push of right wing conservatives and evangelical religious men against the equality of women, All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister that I highly recommend. Well researched and very insightful.

2021 has been the most tumultuous year in terms of weather that I have ever witnessed. From heat domes and fires to winds and floods and more all over the world. I got a registered letter from my insurance company this year saying that my home was no longer covered for overland water damage, i.e. flooding. Luckily that is not likely to happen to this house, but what about the people that it will affect. A good reminder that insurance companies only real goal is to make money. David Suzuki has been a long time champion for the environment, and hopefully more of us are listening and changing our ways. Walking a little more lightly on the earth. It is not surprising to me that people such as Greta Thunberg are up in such arms about climate change and mad at the adults in charge. Children have been educated about climate change, environmental concerns and reducing their carbon footprint with such initiatives as litter less lunches and re-usable water bottles for years. My friend Alan taught some of those lessons, yea Alan and all the other teachers.

Walking lightly on the earth is not a simple as it seems. It is challenging to keep believing that the incredibly small things I do such as recycling, composting, re-using, refusing plastic bags etc has any affect at all. And then there are the larger issues, should I fly, and if so, for what reason. Is the desire to visit exotic far away places justification? Or is visiting family and friends? And what about my fossil fuel burning vehicle? Is an electric car the answer, but how is the electricity generated? Are we on the verge of a sharing society, such as cars and tools, or is that an idealistic folly? I suspect that those much younger than myself will determine that.

This post seemed so negative it was hard to send it out into the world, so I am going to end by recommending another book. It is called Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard. As usual, I listened to it and it is also available as an ebook as well as in print. I found it in my library. She is a forestry researcher and has revealed the complex cooperative relationship among trees through complex Mycelium (fungus) networks connecting roots underground. The Mycelium facilitate transmission of water and food to trees in need and particularly younger and stressed trees. More recently she is investigating the ways that trees signal danger to each other. The Mycelium are being likened to the nervous system of plant life. I find this thrilling as I first read about bushes warning other bushes about approaching deer eating their leaves. Other bushes made themselves less attractive by increasing tanins in their leaves, but the route of the warning was not known. At the time I wondered if it was airborne, such as an essential oil being evaporated from the leaves as it is with Mediterranean herbs such as lavender, rosemary and thyme, but it is through the roots and Mycelium. Her work is changing the way that forests are managed, and in the future may alter the forests vulnerability to infection and forest fires such as we have seen in recent years due to single species planting. I will never walk in the forest in quite the same way again.

Denise and I enjoying a visit at the Georgian Bay Centre for the Arts cafe before the latest Covid closures.

Til next time…..