Forest System

I saw a fascinating video on Facebook about forest ecology and how there is so much sharing, communicating, interfacing going on beneath the forest floor, unseen and little known.  In the brief video, a forester shared her research.

According to the forester,  the trees are not competing to survive, as Darwin might have suggested,  but in fact are participating in a fascinating below ground community.   A large "mother tree" is networked into all the trees around it, as far as the eye can see.

Trees send down carbon, and just beneath the forest floor fungi connect one plant to another.  There is a constant shuffling of C02 and nitrogen,  sent to where it is needed most, a complex ecology.

But for me, the most fascinating part of forest system is how the trees leave a legacy.   I vividly recall seeing burned forests out west, when we did a National Park tour a decade or so ago.  I was very struck by how the floor of the forest was covered with new growth, despite the destruction of the fire.   I understood then that when the mature trees died,  that let in enough light for the new growth to start a new forest.

But that is not the whole story.  Trees that have been cut down also leave a legacy for the next generation.  The dying trees will move their resources to the living young trees before they go,  passing their legacy from one generation to another.

In many ways,  the tree is like our inverted body, the root system our brains.  Our brain functions very much like a tree root system, sending out complex messages to the limbs and trunk, tending to its life, via veins, arteries, capillaries, not unlike that of the tree and the forest ecosystem.

I am deeply moved to learn of the inter-connected-ness, and the 'consciousness' of the forest.

I've always loved trees,  but I have never seen them in this particular light before.  They,  too, want to share with the community and leave a legacy for the next generation.

The Last Wedding

"Eve" is the last of my daughters to get married.  Hers is the last wedding at which I expect to officiate. As a non-appointed retired clergy,  doing weddings is not something I have done in my retirement. At least for me, those grew out of my relationship with a particular parish.  And as a Methodist pastor, when you leave a parish, you are not supposed to go back and do weddings.  You leave that for the new pastor, and stay out of the way.

 The last wedding at which I officiated was that of my youngest daughter.

I have always hoped that "Eve" would someday get married,  but I wasn't really sure I would ever live to see that!   Now, a wedding is scheduled to take place in early September.

Eve has been through so many huge changes and challenges this year.  If you looked at the list of the major life stresses,  she has had them all.  She has moved away from the area where she has lived her entire life, to move in with "Ivan".   It is only an hour away,  but still,  that is away.  She left the manager's job she had done for the past dozen or so years, working her way up. She sold her house and got rid of most of her worldly goods.   She was hospitalized with emergency surgery.  Her car died, and on and on the list goes.  Life has never been easy for Eve.  It is as if Eve and Struggles are joined at the hip. Yet, somehow, she always manages.  Hard work.  Perseverance.  Dedication.  Blood, sweat and tears.

Eve and Ivan's wedding will be at a state park, informal, perhaps a picnic, outside, with a reception in a pavilion---a simple celebration with family and friends.  Nothing fancy.  But a very happy occasion.

While I do not think that marriage necessarily makes the struggles to go away,  I am certainly most grateful that she will have someone with whom to share life's challenges,  someone who loves her and accepts her and appreciates her.  Having a supportive partner is so much better than having to do it all on your own!

Watermelon

I have a daughter who always "gifts" me with things that are watermelon-themed.    I assume that is because she has memories of us eating watermelon together when she was a child.  {Or more specifically, having watermelon-seed-spitting contests.}

There is a watermelon piece of art she has given me, which hangs in the kitchen.
I always assumed that is us.

Also:  Watermelon napkins.  A couple of pair of watermelon earrings. Anything watermelon she sees, she thinks of me!  She even sent me a picture of a bikini with a watermelon print!   I said I thought I would pass on that one!

My own attachment to watermelons goes back to my childhood.  My grandfather grew truckloads full of watermelons, which he sold.  They were always free in my world.  Whenever we went to visit, we brought home a trunk full.   Why, occasionally, I might even open one up and eat only the heart!!  That would be the absolute epitome of sinful indulgence!

 I've never gotten over the shock of the price of a watermelon in New York!

I saw a "food art" picture which I thought watermelon-daughter might enjoy.   This is for you, dear:  A Gondola Ride on the Watermelon River!

Binge Watching

I have learned a new term this summer,  because I have done a new thing.

Binge Watching.

Even though we have 63 channels provided by cable, most of the time I cannot find anything at all that I am interested in watching.

I discovered that there are a number of television shows on Netflix.  I no longer get the DVD's in the mail, but opted for "streaming" so everything is right there on the television at any time.

 Often the shows have multiple seasons available for watching.   One example might be Downtown Abbey.  I could watch four seasons of that show.  Generally, a season has 13 episodes.  

Binge watching is watching the same television show, episode after episode, season after season, until the series ends.  I binge by watching one episode per day of a particular show.  But what that means is that I might watch three years worth of shows, with the same characters and story line, over the course of a couple of months.  Imagine watching 52 shows, one after another!

That does play havoc with one's mind.  You get saturated, overdosed, obsessed, possessed.  And sick of the story.  But you keep watching because you want it to be over, and to see that happens.  That's the disadvantage.

The advantage is, you can watch a television show on Netflix whenever it is convenient for you.   And since I watch mine on my Ipad, I can also watch in any location, any room, any comfortable chair.

Oh, how technology has changed our entertainment habits!