Summer is over at last and it is time for me to come out of it's doldrums and return to my blog.The beauty,the excitement,the joys of summer and also the frustrations of it as we dealt with the problems of covid 19 is over. It had been a summer of good times and bad times as we dealt with the difficulties of social distancing in our summer activities but it is over. We are now dealing with the covid fatigue
As I look forward to autumn I am excited. Autumn means new beginnings,getting rid of the old and starting the new-new projects, new plans, new ideals, fresh outlooks. Of course it is true the problems of covid still exist though they will be different and will probably be worse but as they say-"a change is as good as a rest." These were the thoughts that were going through my mind last Sunday morning as I was walking down the country road near my daughter's home. It was early in the morning, the air achingly fresh and exhilarating. The sun shone brilliantly, the wind was brisk, almost stormy as it rushed through the forest even drowning the sound of traffic on the Pat Bay highway. It was very very cold, my face tingled, my hands felt frozen and I jammed them into my pockets. Yes. Autumn has come but it is late and already tipping into winter. I loved all the sensations caused by the lively forest that morning as I walked along and felt like dancing with the dancing trees, the swirling leaves flashing gold, the great cedars bending in the wind and even the dust gusting about irratically. Suddenly a grey squirrel darted in front of me, sprang across the road into the forest and up a tree. It looked so free and lively. I had a sudden pang of envy. How I wished I was him rushing effortlessly up a tree and be free from the limitations of my own body. I longed to be him. In this mood I thought nothing would be as wonderful as being able to climb a high tree and fly from branch to branch. The sudden pang of desire was so strong that I said to myself "in the next life --I would like be a squirrel".
I don't really believe in any life but the present but if it were otherwise ---yes I would like to be a squirrel. For one thing-squirrels are attractive: that gorgeous tail- that cute picture as he sits on a branch in a perky stance holding a nut between his paws. We are all familiar with that image. I like his diet of nuts and seeds. I could love that. Furthermore I would finally become -after years of failure- a true vegetarian. Also the squirrel is not hunted and eaten by man-a big plus. Of course he has predators but look at the list-the elegant cougar, the wise owl, the noble eagle--Who could balk at that? Not too shabby to be hunted by these noble predators. Best of all he spends the whole winter in a cozy den surrounded by nuts and seeds-warm and fed. He or she is very intelligent. You can see it. But the most important thing is -the squirrel has an important purpose and is useful to the planet. While he is busy collecting his winter supply of food, he is also busily spreading out nuts and seeds as he hunts for a safe place to hide them As he is industrially digging holes everywhere around miles of forest to hide his treasures, he is also dropping precious nuts and seeds throughout seeding new forests. What a great thing to do. Yes, I would chose to come back not as the noble eagle or lion but the tiny insignificant squirrel.
Now this leads me to the real purpose of writing this blogg. Last Sunday my daughter and I watched a new documentary by David Attenborough filmed in 2020 and just put out by Netflix. David Attenborough ,as we all know, is famous for his visionary documentary films on Nature. He is now ninety three years old and has spent the last sixty years warning us of climate change and destruction of our planet. This last documentary he calls his "testimony of life". He is a vital and passionate man in spite of his age and endearingly an optimist. I have spent the last sixty years of my life panicking about destruction of our planet but like most people and politicians,have reacted as an ostrich. It is too scary a subject. I do try feeble gestures;never use saran wrap; never put my produce in plastic bags etc. But I know this is all not enough. and have felt more and more panicky with the years. For the first time since watching this amazing film I feel hope. One of the things I like about David Attenborough is I know he is an optimist-and so am I. He feels that nature has the ability still to restore it's balance. I too have always felt that nature is stronger than humans who in their arrogance think they can destroy the planet. The planet and nature will survive. What will be destroyed is our version of the planet: Humankind and civilization will be destroyed if we don't change-yes- but not the planet. It will survive. He did say the destruction of our planet is almost irreversible but there are three very basic actions by humans that may halt this. He uses the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl and the amazing recovery of it's habitat in the past forty years to point this out. Chernobyl was totally contaminated by the explosion and the city was evacuated. In the film it was moving to see the recovery of nature in that abandoned destroyed city. The whole large area was occupied by healthy forests and the wildlife. He talked about three changes needed to make to reverse the damage-they are: cleaning up the ocean, eliminating poverty to lower birth rate, and increasing areas of wilderness by reducing the use of domestic animals. In other words -become vegetarian. Can this work? Maybe not. but it is better to instill hope than inertia or frozen fear.
I think this film should be seen by everyone possible. There is much we can still do and we can still hope. Have a happy autumn 2020.
