Marked by undependable, unseasonable and
violent weather, the summer of ’23 was notably un-lovable, with catastrophes taking
place seemingly everywhere in the world: fires, merciless heat, extreme storms,
earthquakes, dam breaks and floods added to the “usual” crime and virus rates,
and (understandably?) continuing mental health issues.
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| Howdy Doody in transit |
No wonder the media often
opted to dwell on oddities and frivolities like the 2,200-pound pet steer being
taken for rides in a converted police cruiser, with his
colossal horns dominating the windshield area.
https://tinyurl.com/ycyb5zc3 Or the “portrait” of the Mona Lisa painted on
the side of a barn. https://tinyurl.com/2b77zn6w Such pastimes were welcome
changes from topics like politics and even weather.
But then, to my great
disappointment, there were no takers to my previous-post appeal for creative
constructions from cat food cans. Other
cat parents simply must still be emptying those cans and tossing them, without any
glowing light bulbs to motivate them toward greatness.
One huge summer success
came earlier this month: the Insect Festival that Mercer County’s master
gardeners put on once again. Despite
muggy weather, these committed people – many dressed as butterflies or bumble
bees – displayed insects of all kinds (good and bad), staffed stands with
information about related topics and were on hand to answer the myriad
questions I overheard while wandering around, amazed and appreciative.
If you didn’t get there
this year, please: vow now to be there next September!
And speaking of sharks
(weren’t we?!), here’s an image from the recent exhibition at the American
Museum of Natural History (AMNH) that I couldn’t fit in earlier. Since it’s still summer and some lucky people
are still swimming, here’s a humbling comparison for anyone who works out in
deep open water.
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| AMNH imge |
An ancient species, sharks
are now in decline for a well-known reason: the Anthropocene, of course: the “current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the
dominant influence on climate and the environment” – or, more simply: the
age of human destruction of virtually all things good and beautiful. https://tinyurl.com/4vfzmjtb
Another needlessly threatened and
declining ancient species is one New Jersey beach-goers know well: the
horseshoe crab. What people don’t
commonly know is that for decades these crabs have been “harvested” so their
blood can be used for testing injectable medicines and implants for toxins.
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| Horseshoe crab |
And that practice continues today, even
though alternative synthetic tests are available. Sure, it can be hard to change practices long
in use, but this one can and should be stopped if for no other reason than respect
for horseshoe crabs, who have survived for so long in a world increasingly
dangerous for them. https://tinyurl.com/cmfh5we8
It doesn’t stop
there either: They’re also killed for food in Asia, besides for their blood, as
well as used for bait by fishermen and fertilizer by growers. There it is again: Dominionism, or humans acting on the
belief that the world is theirs to use as they wish, to despoil.
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| Armadillo |
False entitlement! https://tinyurl.com/3btzcuf7
But take heart!
There’s a flip side to all the horror going on now, and our believing that’s true could
start with reading this column by a stubbornly positive woman who writes so
convincingly:
“I can’t tell you
how much delight I take in watching a young animal’s deep pleasure in
existence, enjoying the power of its beautiful young body in a beautiful old
world. . .“The fallen world
— peopled by predators and disease and the relentlessness of time, shot through
with every kind of suffering — is not the only world. We also dwell in Eden . . . .” https://tinyurl.com/yk6ucdjk
After
reading it, do you agree?
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