Swan Sanctuary

This is the time of year when human beings declare war on the insects of the world. Hungry ants, waking up from hibernation, are on their search for food as they emerge from their winter nests. People spot them in their kitchens or pantries and immediately seek to kill them. Wasps and bees also return to the air to complete their life cycles, but are gunned down by poisonous sprays. Pollinators awaken, seeking out the first blooms from which they can find food, which is often dandelions, but we poison these cheerful yellow heralds of spring, or mow them down, depleting the insects’ food source. This in turn depletes that of those who prey on them, such as spiders. Birds that rely on insects for protein, and to feed their hatchlings, are often hard pressed to find them. 

I watch my neighbors cleaning up their yards, their lawns receiving their first cuts of the season, to reveal the water hogging green shoots. TV ads, direct mail, and store displays begin their hard core marketing to sell the myriad of poisonous chemicals with which they can saturate their yards and homes. Articles begin to appear in the news about disease carrying mosquitoes and ticks, planting the seed of fear in those who are susceptible to that kind of propaganda, but the insects are not to blame. People blame them for the diseases that they themselves have created, from their own belief in disease. 

There are no good insects, nor bad ones. There are those that depend on flowers and many of the flowers depend on them. There are predators and prey that, until humans interfered, managed to maintain balance among their populations. Every insect has a purpose for its existence. When we kill them, we are essentially killing all of the others that are higher up on the food chain, such as bats, that eat mosquitoes. We can continue to participate in this yearly genocide of insects, or we can change our minds about them. Insects are not to blame. It is human beings that are to blame. If we do not change, we will destroy all life as we have known it.

Cities and towns dream up some of the dumbest things in order to acquire revenue. One of them is the annual renewal of license plates on our vehicles. We have already paid taxes on our vehicle when we purchased it; yet every year we must pay more money in order to have an updated license plate. Failure to comply on time results in a fine on top of the annual fee. When I moved to Arkansas last year, I had to take my truck to a special assessor’s office in order to have its value accessed, as my personal property. I then had to pay taxes on their assessment. I also had to relinquish my title to them so that they could reissue it as an Arkansas title. I had to do the same thing when I moved from Colorado to Wyoming. My license plate is about to expire, so before I can renew it in Wyoming, I have to have the VIN number verified by a police officer. I have owned my truck for more than 7 years, but still I must prove to the state of Wyoming that it is my truck. Since I had not remembered this requirement, I wasted a trip going to the courthouse and I will have to return after I have the VIN proof. I will be required to pay more taxes on my 23 year old truck and then I will have to wait several weeks for them to reissue my title. The DMV allows you to pay these fees with a check, which is amusing, since most establishments these days do not accept checks. If you choose to pay with a debit or credit card, they charge you an extra $3! If the hassle of renewing the license plates on our vehicles every year is not enough to aggravate us, the sour expressions and unfriendly service of the people who work in motor vehicle offices will do nothing to improve our day. 

The regular renewal of drivers licenses is another pointless waste of time. Every state varies, but most require that you renew your driver’s license every 3 to 5 years, before your birthday. Unless you have had a moving violation, the only purpose for this inconvenience is to acquire more money for the county or town that you live in. Surely there are easier ways for a city to make its revenue. Once you have purchased a vehicle and paid taxes on it, you should not have to worry about it until you sell that one and buy a new vehicle. If you have a driver’s license, it should be good for life, unless you have it revoked for moving violations. We should not have to have a different driver’s license for the state we are living in. One driver’s license should suffice no matter where we go in our own country. It is no wonder that few people have a sense of belonging in the places where they live, when everyone is treated as guilty before proven innocent. Our local governments require us to pay for our peace of mind. In my opinion, that is just plain dumb.

I took my daughter to dinner the other night to celebrate her new job. The waitress brought one large Mason jar filled with ice water to the table. I had ordered a beer and my daughter had ordered a coke, so we were confused until the waitress admitted to her mistake. Looking at the jar, which was filled mostly with ice, I recalled how in the past, a glass of water was brought to the table almost the moment you sat down.

These days, when you are taken to a table at a restaurant, you are habitually asked, “What can I get you to drink?” Water, in most places, is no longer brought to you unless you request it. Most of the time it is tap water and it is only the higher end restaurants that add a wedge of lemon to it. Depending on the establishment and the time of day, sodas are the most requested beverage, followed by alcoholic drinks and coffee.

Some people never develop a taste for coffee, so they begin their mornings with PepsiⓇ, Coca ColaⓇ, or Mountain DewⓇ, in order to get the caffeine charge that most of us require. I have observed in many of those people, a tendency to become overweight or obese from the excessive amount of sugar that these beverages contain. I recently decided to try a root beer from the vending machine at work, but I found it to be sickenly sweet and the bottle held about 16 ounces, which was far  more than I wanted.

It is not difficult to understand why people who drink several cans of soda in a day, often gain weight and become diabetic. There are a lot of calories in those cans, but nothing of value, nutritionally speaking. When people eat a large meal and drink sodas along with it, it puts their daily calorie intake far above the average requirement. 

I have never liked sodas. They do not quench my thirst. If anything, they make me more thirsty (from the added sugar) than I was before I drank them. Like most people, I like carbonation. The bubbly sensation makes my throat feel good and that is probably why I like beer. I like the natural bubbly you get from PerrierⓇ and other carbonated water, with a large wedge of fresh lime added. 

When people tell me that they don’t like the taste of water, I know that they are not completely off base. Tap water often tastes gross and if we knew what was in it, we probably wouldn’t drink it at all. I have not drank tap water for 40 years, preferring bottled spring water or filtered water. I miss the fresh, pure water that we dipped from the underground spring, when I was a small girl living high in the Rocky Mountains with my grandmother. Putting all of our likes and dislikes aside, water is vital to our survival. We are running out of water and the underground aquifers are drying up. We should all be giving more consideration to our beverage of choice.

Every cloud has its silver lining. Every difficult period that we have experienced in our lives has taught us something. The COVID pandemic has done just that for many people. The interruption to life as we had known it reminded us that nothing lasts or stays the same forever. These past couple of years have caused many people to rethink the way they have been living their lives. For many, they began to worry about the availability of food that they had become to rely on. They decided it might be time to learn how to garden.

Those who lack a basic understanding of soil and seed, want to buy the cheapest packet of seeds, plant them and wait, hoping that they will soon have bushels of vegetables just like those depicted on the seed packet. Depending on the type of soil they have, they might actually get some to grow; but some basic knowledge is needed here. If the ground has not sufficiently warmed to where nighttime temperatures stay well above freezing, the seeds will have a very slow start – if they germinate at all. If they live in a northern locale, cold temperatures may descend again before summer garden plants have enough time to mature and be harvested. Poor soil with an abundance of weeds can overtake a garden in the blink of an eye. The lack of biodiversity, or plants that attract pollinators, can prevent pollination; and poor watering and mulching practices can invite pests. If an inexperienced gardener encounters problems, they may run to the nearest garden center seeking advice, where they will be directed to a plethora of chemically derived fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. These quick fixes, of course, never solve the problems.

The MOST important first step in any garden is to analyze and feed the soil. The soil is the living, breathing, substance of life itself. Without healthy soil, your garden stands very little chance of providing you with those fresh vegetables that you dream of. Secondly, the seeds you spend your money on should be heirloom, non-genetically modified, resilient seeds that come from a reputable source. In the past, farming practices, as well as home gardening methods, have tried to force the environment to fit the plant. Indigenous cultures that rely on wisdom, have learned to care for the seeds that are already acclimated to a specific environment. A native New Mexican farmer who has been protecting the seeds passed down from his ancestors, refers to the seeds as “children.” He practices the “three sisters” method of growing, where beans are planted in such a way that they can grow up the corn stalk and squash is planted around them to provide shade. He says that most people “have forgotten how important food is because it’s become so accessible to us.”

I think it would behoove all people to have a basic knowledge of how to grow food and also how to cook. Too many have forgotten that these skills are imperative to our survival. These are the skills that should be taught in schools. Knowing history, or how to market a product, or balance a checkbook will not help us when we are hungry.

I have been reading the beautiful poetry of Hafiz, a poet and Sufi master of the 13th century. In his poem titled That Does Perish (translated into English by Daniel Ladinsky) I love the line, 

“The Earth would die

If the sun stopped kissing her.”

Scientists have often told us that if our sun were to burn itself out, our planet would die along with it. It gives an entirely new meaning to “until death do us part.” It is a beautiful idea, that the sun and the earth are lovers. We humans thought we had the original trademark on love, but love exists throughout the universe. My own poem, Physics, a one liner that I had written when I was still in high school, goes

“Love 

is the focal point

of the universe.”

The thought had come to me after an art class where I was learning to draw. That single point, the focal point, is that place from which all life originated; and to which all life returns. Life is love and love cannot be destroyed. It returns again and again in different forms. Some would say that we are always connected to it by a silver cord. Knowing that we all came from the same place, the same creator, why would we ever want to be anything but kind to others? We are all connected, so when we hurt another or have animosity towards another, we hurt ourselves. It is said that the sun shines on the just and the unjust. The rain falls on those with evil hearts, as well as those who are good. It does not care. The sun knows only to shine and is not concerned where its beams land. 

I am reading for the second time, The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben. This has spurred memories of events in my life and caused me to think of them in a completely different context. I lived with my grandmother and my step grandfather when I was just a toddler. He was a lumberjack and ran a sawmill high in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I would play in the hills of sawdust made by the operation. Giant trucks loaded with logs and secured with giant chains, from trees that had been felled, was a common sight chugging down the mountain side. I remember walking with my grandmother through the forest, a safe distance from where they were cutting down the trees. She pointed out the wild columbine, and other wildflowers to me, as we meandered through the pine scented trees. 

Many years later, I lived for a few years on a mountaintop in Tennessee. I remember being sickened by the clearcutting of adjacent mountains, left barren and lifeless, as though they had been raped. I recall walking through these areas along rutted dirt roads where smaller trees had been left strewn about as unwanted debris. I was told that this was okay because trees were being replanted to replace the ones that had been cut. 

The problem is that the “replacement” is a monoculture of white pine, which succumbs to the white pine weevil. The weevil spreads its destruction to native trees such as Colorado Blue Spruce, as well as other pines and spruces. I began to hear that the price of wood had risen considerably over the years and much of today’s furniture is made with particle board, or basically sawdust pressed into boards to look like wood. With the loss of our mighty oak and maple forests, most of the wood sold these days is the softer pine wood. 

When my step-grandfather was cutting trees back in the 1950’s he probably never thought that we would one day be running out of trees. I doubt he was the least bit concerned about the habitat that was being destroyed, or the loss of species. I know that his methods were not as destructive as those used today. He used horses to help haul the trees out. I remember one horse that had a patch over his eye because a tree branch had punctured it. Prior to chain saws and bulldozers, trees were cut with axes and handsaws, which limited what could be taken from a forest. 

We cannot hear the cries of the trees as they are murdered one by one. They do not cry tears, but weep sap. Do they feel the same terror that we feel, when our children and our own lives are threatened? Clearly there are not enough trees in the world to sustainably support a human population of 8 billion and we must seek out alternatives. Now; however, as I lay sleeping on my oak bed and look around at my few pieces of wood furniture, my love for them is deepened. The wood that has been beautifully carved into a lovely and functional piece of art, was once a living, breathing tree. Axe murders have given way to mass destruction of forests, just as bombs have replaced face to face combat among soldiers.

I have often talked about the importance of having native flora in a landscape. There are numerous direct relationships between various plants, birds, insects, and mammals. Plants that depend on certain animal species, and vice versa, are essential to the survival of each. A well known example is the connection between milkweed and Monarch butterflies. Oak trees can host as many as 400 different species of butterflies and moths, a wild plum more than 300, and the late summer blooming goldenrod, 100 species. One of the big reasons that we have seen an almost 90% decline in butterflies and moths in some areas, is because of the invasive alien plant species that have escaped and run amok. Most of the native trees have been replaced with non-native ones, leaving nothing that can support the life of our native fauna.

The fact is, humans have created this problem. People decided that they liked certain trees and flowers growing in other parts of the world, so they brought them here and planted them in their yards. The nurseries and garden centers continue to sell them and homeowners, not knowing any better, buy and plant them. One of these problem plants is the Callery or Bradford pear. People are drawn to its conical shape and the pretty white spring blossoms. Although they are supposed to be sterile, they have managed to reproduce prolifically and they are showing up in open fields and along roadsides all across Kansas and Missouri. The problem has been recognized by local parks and recreation departments and they are recommending people cut the trees down, and poison the remaining stump, because otherwise it will simply sprout new trees from the roots. They are even rewarding these citizens by providing them with a native replacement tree. 

This is all well and good, except red flags are raised for me whenever the “experts” begin to recommend poison as a means to eradicate the invasives. The prevailing attitude towards using glyphosates (RoundupⓇ) is alarming. It is sold by the gallons in every garden center and home improvement center, and in every city. People use it like water, pretending that it is harmless; when in fact, it is highly toxic, causing serious threats to human health. It is toxic to earthworms and bees, and destroys biodiversity. The long range effects and the number of other organisms that are directly and indirectly affected by its use, is unknown. 

Why are humans obsessed with killing? For every solution we dream up to counter problems that we have already created, we merely pile insult on top of insult. We really must get away from this idea that man made chemical concoctions, be it pharmaceuticals, herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides, will improve our world. I once had to cut down a tree that was growing from underneath my house. I applied salt and vinegar to the stump and it never grew back. Let’s return to the natural substances that Nature has provided us with and stop playing with matches.

A Frenchman recently won 200 million in the European lottery. It was the second largest winning in the lottery’s history. He said that he only played the large jackpots for the sole purpose of creating an endowment fund to protect and revitalize the forests, in West Africa and in his own country. He gave nearly all of his winnings away to the endowment, saying, “…giving makes people happy, and constitutes a tremendous lever for transforming indignation into concrete and useful actions.” 

When they choose to, human beings have the capacity to do so much good. More and more people are discovering that giving is far more fulfilling than getting. The 2000 movie, Pay It Forward, was indicative of awakening humans who have begun to tame their egos. It reminds me of the saying, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” For generations, humans have mostly taken from our planet, without giving back. The generations that follow are bearing the brunt of the crises our world is finding itself in; but I also think they have the keys for opening the door to a brighter future.

While I am not a fan of Christmas, I believe it shows that most people, whether they believe in the Christian fable or not, truly enjoy giving. That kind of giving, unfortunately, is the giving of material things and generally we are giving a lot of useless crap. It does show; however, that we, as humans, enjoy giving. We need to take the spirit of Christmas giving into our daily lives. When we interrupt the flow of receiving and taking, by greed or fear or hoarding, we cause stagnation.  We need to understand that what we do give, returns to us multiplied. The more we give, the more we have. And simply put, giving makes us happy.

I have been told on occasion that I am stubborn. I prefer to think of this trait in myself as tenacity. I generally have the capacity to see something, that I deem worthwhile, through to its finish. I do not give up easily and I can be relentless when it comes to upholding moral convictions. 

I have always loved horses, but I have not had the opportunity ever in my life, to have one, nor to spend much time in their presence. However; I recently learned some things about donkeys. They are the native wild African ass, which is now a critically endangered species. They belong to the same family as horses (Equidae) but they have been cross-bred with horses to produce mules. Donkeys are better suited to warmer climates. They have longer ears, but smaller hooves than horses. They are not as easily intimidated as horses. They are physically strong, being able to carry four times their body weight, and have often been used as beasts of burden. Their intelligence rivals that of dogs and dolphins since they have the ability to problem solve. Their natural inclination to caution, serves their sense of self-preservation, but many view this as stubbornness. 

Mules are the result of a cross between a paternal donkey and a maternal horse. This makes them stronger than their mothers and better able to endure severe weather. They rarely succumb to illness and they inherit their father’s intelligence. They have excellent memories. A hinny is the opposite – they have a donkey for a mother and a horse for a father. Neither mules nor hinnies can reproduce because they lack an even number of chromosomes. 

When treated right, donkeys can live to around 40 years of age and mules to age 50. They are affectionate and can form lasting bonds with other pastured animals, dogs, and humans. They are fiercely loyal, but when trust is broken, they will never forget. I think that I too, am as stubborn as a mule.

The intensity of the war in Ukraine seems to be growing more sobering every day. Here in our own country it is hard to imagine the terror and despair that the Ukrainians are feeling. Young parents fear for their children and their children are being traumatized by the bombing and the ugly death all around them. One woman had the bright idea to write her 2 ½ year old daughter’s name and birthdate, and her parent’s contact information, on the child’s back. When she shared it on social media, many other parents did the same with their young children, so that if the unthinkable happened (the child being separated from his or her parents) they may be able to spare their children from becoming orphans. Fortunately for this woman and her daughter, they made it safely to France.

The bond between a mother and her child is the strongest bond in the world. The determination of these refugees to protect their children is heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. Putin has descended on these people in a reign of terror that they, nor the rest of the world, saw coming. There is a feeling of disbelief here in the western part of the world, yet all we have to do is see the pictures displayed on the news, to reinforce the outrage we feel for the atrocities that are being committed. There are Jewish people alive today, carrying the painful memories of the terrible experiences they managed to survive, in concentration camps during Hitler’s rampage on the world. Many of them were only children at the time.

Russia is now responsible for millions of Ukrainian children being forced to grow up in a chaotic and horrifying experience. They will be traumatized. Many of them will be grief stricken, if they lose parents or other family members. It is unfathomable. Putin is apparently a father himself. I wonder what his own mother, or the mother of his children would have to say about his murder spree? Clearly, he has given no thought to the children. It is the children who will suffer the most.