The Elysian Fields

I'm really starting to look into some permaculture/agroforestry/call-it-what-you-will. Of course, Rachel had a hard sell giving blueberries out to folks on the tree tours at our last cookout - if it isn't wrapped in plastic, it's not edible, I guess.

We tried sassafras leaves today - they'll be good as an addition to salads, and I'm thinking of something with sassafras wrapped fish, maybe grilled. We have wintergreen and blueberries in abundance, and a growing amount of sweet birch, but only one is large enough for a potential tap. The various other berries we have aren't productive - we've seen one strawberry and absolutely no blackberries or raspberries. A couple of the red maples are of tap-able size, although red maples don't have quite the same quality and quantity as sugar maples they are supposed to be somewhat viable, and might make an interesting project next February.

I'd like to get a couple of linden trees growing next year, as well as an assortment of hazelnuts, hickory, and, possibly, some black walnut. The hazelnuts will probably be the only ones to get as usable nuts - the time frame on hicory is something like 10-20 years, and on walnut 25-30 years. The idea with those latter two is to get larger canopy trees supplying a food crop. The beech trees - which have been failing thus far - also have edible leaves, in addition to the nuts. I still plan on getting some of those in a few years.

I'm not planning on bringing in oodles of more trees - I'm pretty much done with that, except for the 70 or so Eastern Hemlocks for screening the property line, and those will be done over the next 5-10 years - but the ones I do bring in will have some edible value, or provide some other benefit (such as bayberries for candles, encouraging the sweet fern for its nitrogen-fixing properties, encouraging beneficial insects, keeping birds away from other foods, etc.)

New National Geographic came yesterday, and in the "My Seven" column of the September issue, Wangari Maathai listed "Government" as one of the seven most important things.

Why?

Because - and I'm doing this from memory, so it's a very rough paraphrase - getting a democratic government in Kenya was instrumental to stopping destruction to the environment through privatization of public lands.

One day, I hope we will also get a democratic government because it would be awfully nice to stop giving away oil drilling rights on national park lands and to prevent local governments from claiming privately held lands for public use when that public use is to turn it over to other private hands so they can build a strip mall or other publicly accessible commercial venture.

Although National Geographic doesn't have the "My Seven" column online, they do offer this multimedia segment where Maathai talks about environmental awareness, hopes for Kenya, and... very democratic stuff here... empowering the people.

I'm going to check it out when I get home from work; I must say, since the "My Seven" column was first started, there has never been another list that I felt was as important to me.

"A similar point, they said, was made by the great naturalist Aldo Leopold in 1949, who predicted this crisis."

That quote at the end of the article THE ECOLOGY OF FEAR: WOLVES GONE, WESTERN ECOSYSTEMS SUFFER sums up what I was thinking as I read through the piece: this isn't a new problem, it's not a surprise, and it shouldn't be newsworthy.

And then I think about why things like this - that state what is, to me, the obvious - have to keep on being published: because there exists a powerful sector of the population that believes they are in charge to shape and mold the world as they see fit.

Unfortunately, I think that the more evidence presented the more blinders will lock in place - they still feel a need to control and "improve".

Ironically, I was pondering a similar subject last night whilst sleeping, my thoughts running thus:

Mankind seems to feel the need - and perhaps even enjoy - taking a mountain, in all it's glory and power, and attaching braces to it to ensure it is there for others to enjoy. The braces help keep it up, and also hold up the framework. Glass, steel, or perhaps even artificial stone-like materials can then be attached in smooth, pre-formed panels, which will help stabilize the environment within. Further application of more power will allow temperature and humidity to be regulated to the most pleasing levels. Irregular irrigation can be best handled by some lengths of PVC or copper tubing, with man's ingenuity pumping a steady supply that is available when needed, regardless of rainfall, snowmelt, or other natural, unkempt, phenomena. Gone are those annoying irregularities, those rough edges. Dangerous rock formations with odd, unnatural angles and geometries are now squared off and plumb, with proper safety equipment well-labeled and noted in accordance with the local statutes. An array of poisons, traps, and anti-bacterial chemicals will take care of the untoward lifeforms that crawl, discolor, or grow in places where they are unwanted.