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Archive for the ‘environmental art’ Category

Big Red

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2011| 8 Comments »

The informal trail to my plein air studio was marked by something different today.  Old tires that were cut apart to extract their metal wheels were hung upon a few select willows like perverse life preservers.  I saw few people out today and in fact a light drizzling rain probably contributed to that.  Approaching my “studio” I could see that it had been visited again.  The “Choir” group of sculptures that had been thrashed a few weeks ago were once again the targets of abuse.  All the figures that had once been standing were all broken and horizontal.

By now, I am somewhat accustomed to the destruction that happens to the works I regularly leave out here.  This time, however, there was something oddly different.  Why would anyone take the wooden plank that I like to sit on while I make these sculptures?  I checked all around the area and could not find it and so I assumed it was carried off.  My searching did uncover this scene involving a small found object sculpture that someone had previously made and left as a gift.  Here’s how it appeared this time.

Perhaps the same people who made a mess of my outdoor studio set this up.  A small doll that I had found months previously was decapitated and its head placed on this improvised “pike”.  I took a few photos and left it be.  Returning to my polystyrene cache, I decided to recycle some of the larger pieces that were now lying haphazardly on the ground and here are a few in process shots of the new sculpture I came to call “Big Red”.

Because this work was reminding me of something I had made before, I decided it needed something different to distinguish it.  While looking for my favorite plank, I also came across the unravelling rope snagged on a willow branch with its small figure I had posted a few weeks a go.  The rope was now lying in the sand…it had been pulled down from the tree.

I removed the little figure hiding among the fibers and put him in my collecting bag.  I will reassemble him once I get home and perhaps make a gift of him to somebody.  The shredded barge cable I also took along, but I had a different purpose for this…it would become a wig for Big Red.

I arranged the dishevelled rope upon the figure’s head and decided it needed a bit of styling.  Luckily, while walking the river I found the tools I needed.  First I found a brush…and I have found many of these over time.

And then, I located a blow dryer!

In no time I was able to coif my figure.  Here she is as a train passes over the railroad bridge.

I left the figure where I made her and frankly I don’t expect to see her intact again.  It wouldn’t surprise me if she didn’t last the day, but at least I have these pictures to record her existence by the riverbank.  Here is my parting image of her as she waves to the river that partially gave her “life”.

One final snapshot…I got a kick finding that little hair dryer and I do mean little!  To help judge its scale I placed a five cent piece from my pocket next to this artifact and recorded this image.

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Ohio Valley Sphinx

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on February 13, 2011| 9 Comments »

What a day!  I was able to take my time and explore the western section of the park.  It had been a few months since I was last there and the change in location felt good.  As I passed the creek that defines the western most limit of the park’s Woodland Trail, I came across this nice view.  I like how the water has terraced the riverbank in particular.

The fine mud has left a record of the rising and falling water.  Plus there was something reverential to me in the pose of the fisherman.  Making himself humble in the face of this peaceful nature?  Who care’s if you catch a fish when it feels this good to be outside and breathing.

Crossing over, I soon came across a section of the riverbank that is the proverbial elephants’ graveyard for plastic.  I took many photographs of it all.  That’s stuff for a future post wahoo!  Yes, I found a lot of interesting stuff, but I also heard some birdsong as well.  In a month or so, it will be spring migration time for neotropical birds which is one of my favorite moments at the Falls.  I did come across some relics from earlier figures I made and it’s interesting to see how they weathered.  The one with the pinkish lips was last year’s butterfly guide.

How much of our history is based on fragments?  And because it is incomplete, filling in the blanks is guess-work.  Like many people around the world, our family was watching events unfold in Egypt and we were cheering for the people and their struggle for self-determination.  But our own notions of democracy were borrowed from the ancient Greeks, whose armless marble statues were once complete and probably painted as well.  American democracy is what evolved here and heaven knows it’s still a work in progress.  Whatever happens in Egypt will be their interpretation and will take in to account their civilization’s already long history.  I’m happy that the transition is happening now fairly peacefully.

Today, I found two plastic tanks on the riverbank!  Finding one would be unusual so what do you call it when you find more than one?  Just coincidence I suppose?

It’s to the Egyptian peoples’ credit that the military didn’t make this deadlier than it was.  It’s a measure of civilization on how well we take care of the least fortunate among us.  This is a quality that I find eroding in my own country where decisions are often made based on a bottom line.  Walking along, I found another little toy.  Over the years, I have found a handful of these.

Coming across this little plastic cowboy shooting his pistol made me wonder what it might be like if we were the ones experiencing a popular revolution?  With America awash in weapons, I shudder at the thought. 

I rested at this spot along my walk and ate my granola bars.  My left foot was aching a bit from walking along such uneven surfaces.  I wonder how old these trees were before the beaver got to them and what’s that yellow sandstone looking form?  Walking over to it, it’s a large hunk of some kind of expandable foam used for insulation?  There’s more than Styrofoam floating out here. 

It took some effort to roll this to a place where I could work on it.  Partially water-logged, it was really heavy on one side and that kept it from standing upright on the sloping bank of the river.  Over and over I reminded myself to be careful not to hurt my back.  Recently, I did tweak it a bit by being out of position when I lifted.  Anyway, in honor of recent events and because this block gave me the idea…here is the Ohio Valley Sphinx in several images.

I left my sphinx near the river where it could watch that other attribute of civilization wash ashore from far afield.  Good luck to the Egyptians and all the people of that region desiring a more humane life. I ended my last post by finding a plastic duck…and here is another!  What are the chances of that?  It was an old pull toy and is now missing its wheels.

Naturally, this artificial duck went into another collecting bag to join the decoy found on the last expedition to the Falls of the Ohio.

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Skippy’s Day

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2011| 7 Comments »

It’s the Falls of the Ohio and it’s nearly midwinter.  The quality of the light feels like it’s coming from banks and banks of incandescent tubes in the sky.  It doesn’t even feel like light, but more like a heavy presence more  akin to fog than photons.

There are fewer people out today.  The last of the last snow lingers on in the cool places and tomorrow it will probably be gone.  I’m trudging along the river and getting muddy.  I use the stick I brought along to test its sticky depth and tap the thickness of what ice I encounter.

Close to shore dozens of mallard ducks are dabbling in the muck.  I wonder what they are finding to eat?  Whatever it is it seems to be worth the energy expense to go after it.  The normally iridescent colors on the drakes are now subdued and await the splendor of the sunlight to reveal their gaudiness.  Watching the ducks I slip and slide in the less secure places along the riverbank.  My wife is not going to like seeing these shoes!  Once in a while, I find a good spot to rest and scrape mud off the bottoms with the edges of a stick.

I walk by familiar spots along the way to my open air studio.  I like checking out the uprooted trees and appreciate their exposed root masses like the fine subterranean sculpture they seem to me.  Seeing a tree like this is an odd sensation because you know the roots that supported and nourished this tree claimed a space in the earth that was hidden from view.  I often think of these conceptualized spaces.  There is a complete lack of greenery that lays the structural aspects of the park open for inspection.  Sometimes the driftwood feels like the bones of the river.

The sculpture group I’ve come to call the “The Choir” is still standing.  I’ve enjoyed seeing what happens to these guys.  Visitors are still playing with them and I notice small changes here and there.  As the eyes, ears, noses, and mouths fall off, the character of each personage changes.  The starkness and artificiality of my material choices contrasts with all the wood that surrounds them.  When I work in my spot, “The Choir” watches my back.  I like this recent photo of my studio spot.

The wood tells its own story.  All the sticks that wiggle, twist, and reveal character are grouped together and await their potential to be realized in just the right sculpture.  This site looks like it could be ancient.  I remember photos seen in a book about Andeevo in Russia where entire winter structures were made from the remains of mammoth skeletons covered in prepared hides.  That was life 15,000 years a go.  I can picture my site covered by a tarp and maybe I’ll try that this year if the river allows it and the opportunity presents itself.

Meet “Skippy” who is named after the glass I used for one of his ears which came from the bottom of a peanut butter jar.  I found it in the sand. The raised letters told me the brand name.  “Skippy” is also made from Styrofoam found along the way, plastic fishing bobbers, rubber, a plastic mouth guard, and various woods.  The “Choir” is visible behind the studio site.

I don’t have a good story to go along with this figure.  I did kind of imagine that Skippy was checking out the river line and looking for fresh and unusual flotsam and jetsam.

Cold, wet, and muddy Skippy entertains himself by looking for colorful or unusual artifacts such as these found on this trip.  The joy in finding is its own reward.

So many lost toys almost all of the time.  Each time I come out here I find some plastic representation of life.  I usually take a picture of the object as found and then it goes into my collecting bag.  I like that relationship between images and objects…although the years worth of objects is starting to take up serious space.

This is where I last saw Skippy.  He was standing by the snow with a willow tree framing the view behind his head.  The bright blue of a plastic drum adding a note of wondrous color in an otherwise drab riverscape.  We have a way to go before Spring and everyone I know is already sick of winter.  I’m going to try to stay positive and look for the beauty in the common place.  I wonder what the groundhog’s shadow will say?

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The Architect of Ice

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 14, 2011| 13 Comments »

Come along on this vicarious adventure to the Falls of the Ohio.  The seasons and river help make this a dynamic environment.  I stole a couple of hours during a very cold day to visit the park and was rewarded with a riverscape transformed by ice!

Right at the river’s edge was where I found the ice.  The driftwood, logs, and living willows looked as though clear glass had encased their forms.  I love being a witness to all the transformations that happen in this relatively small place.  It literally can change before your eyes.  Ice at the Falls is always a magical event and one that doesn’t last very long.

Ever wonder what it takes for ice like this to form?  The conditions need to be just right.  First it takes a river where the water is warmer than the air around it.  The river appears to steam and fog can form.  The warmer water vapors come in contact with the colder trees and rocks, condenses, and turns to ice as the temperatures fall below freezing.  You also need one other element and that’s an engineer or architect to direct the action.

If you look closely you can see the architect of this scene in the center of this low growing willow tree.  Here he is seen from a different angle.

The little fellow I was observing was a true artist and had such mastery over his materials.  All he had to do was simply point and wave his arms around and an ice fog would cover the trees and other structures within reach of the river.  In this way he painted the Falls in ice…take a look.  Here he is again doing his thing along the riverbank.

Judging from the slightly mischievous smile, he seems to be enjoying his creations.  I followed along and recorded him in action.  He never slowed down and moved from tree to tree in a methodical way.

The architect made ice that varied in appearance.  Some trees he thickly covered and others he decorated with frozen sausages and jellyfish hanging from the slenderest of branches.

I watched the architect will the ice into place according to an intention and plan known only to him.  I suppose if one were to study this…there  probably are some mathematical equations that can explain all this?

But when it’s this pretty and magical…who cares what the numbers are doing?  It’s nature exhaling and gathering itself before the next big breath restores and awakens the land.  As I left the architect to finish doing his work.  I walked alone admiring what he had left behind.  To end, here are three images my camera recorded along the river.  The last one in particular was lucky…and ducky!

Bottoms up everyone, till next time!

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The Orange Curtain

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on January 8, 2011| 6 Comments »

Looking up at me with that reassuring smile, I thought it a good omen on my first foray of the new year.  It’s winter and so it’s cold, but the sun is bright and clear and strong shadows are everywhere.  I’m bundled up and so it’s okay as I venture forth along my spot on the Ohio River.

Today the landscape and it’s living inhabitants are asleep or away.  I see only a few seagulls and ducks along the river and that’s all.  With the leaves now fallen, the polystyrene sculptures that mark my studio area are more visible.  The very bright whiteness of the Styrofoam can be seen from a distance and it helps these pieces are vertical elements too.  This contrasts sharply with Spring and Summer where you could walk within fifteen yards of this spot and not see these figures for the trees.

The “choir” is still all here, which is what I expected.  People are fair weather animals and when it’s cold, fewer are willing to explore this landscape on foot.  I admit to liking the existential “feeling” I perceive on these winter walks.  There is a clarity that I appreciate not only in the light, but within my mind too.  Winter does a good job with its cold in prioritizing things and the relative lack of sound makes it easier to hear my own thoughts. 

My found materials are as I left them at my open air studio.  I decide to sit on the plank (a little cool on the buns!) and make my first figure or 2011.

Looking around I pick up two smallish pieces of Styrofoam and constructed this delicate figure.  Here he is before the addition of found glass ears.  The mouth is also glass and I like how the river and sand polish this material as it grinds away the sharp edges.  Once completed, I look for an interesting backdrop to create the images that represent this day.

I featured this on a late post from last year.  I’m fascinated by this frayed barge rope or cable that has been snagged by this willow tree.  I like how it is slowly unraveling and the bright orange nylon? fibers add that unnaturalistic element that seems so out-of-place in this environment. 

As I move this little figure around this orange fiber outburst I wonder if the beauty I’m perceiving from the color is somehow out-of-place and perverse?  I begin the year wondering if what I’m also doing out here is aestheticizing garbage as much as I am calling attention to our relationship with nature?  In my defense, I tell myself that I’m just an artist doing what artists have always done…which is react to materials and processes and selectively ordering things in the ways that artists do.  What do you think?

When I last saw this frayed cable, it was helping to form this interesting drift that was a combination of wind, snow, sand, and ice.  I posed a different figure around that formation.  Now all the snow is gone for the moment, but surely we will receive more before season’s end.  Oh, I forgot about the small shoe sole that I tied onto my figure.  Since it came from a child’s shoe…it is meant loosely to be an attribute of innocence.  I have done this with other figures in the past.

When I could no longer push the cold out of my mind and finger tips, I decided to leave this figure by its orange curtain.  I moved him into a position that suggests he’s taking shelter from the elements.  On my next outing to the Falls, I will stop by and see how he’s doing…that is if he’s still out here and hasn’t walked away.

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Styro-Snowmen, Dogs, and Polar Bears

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , on December 26, 2010| 8 Comments »

 

We awoke to a white Christmas in Louisville.  Just enough snow to cover the lawns and trees.  By now all my Falls of the Ohio holiday cards have been sent out.  Usually, I have several designs going at once.  This year, I made cards featuring snowmen, a dog I made from river delivered Styrofoam, as well as one featuring a Styrofoam polar bear with one leg I found out here amazingly enough!  Sometimes the cards are funny and sometimes they riff on some aspect of the holidays we could live without.

Both of the snowmen I made were created using parts of old Christmas ornaments I have found out here.  Usually, the perfectly round Styrofoam balls I find were originally fabric covered baubles meant for the tree.  This first snowman also features a bottle cap hat which gives you some sense for its scale.  The nose on this one is actually a miniature carrot I also discovered in the sand and kept for just such a purpose as this!  I waited for the snow to arrive which it did this year just in time.

The little dog came from a previous post that most everybody missed and so I don’t feel as badly about recycling one of my former projects.  In this case, I thought the dog came out particularly well and deserved another chance to shine.  It’s made from Styrofoam and sticks, plastic, and tiny bits of coal thrown in to create eyes and a nose!  He’s so light that he doesn’t leave tracks in the snow!

I featured another image of this dog in my last post on the spoor of a particularly large bird which was a fun juxtaposition to work with.  In this overall group of photos, the object’s shadow plays a role as a design element.  As I recall, this was a very cold day with wind which caused some issues with the camera’s batteries.  I had little time to snap these before the camera turned itself off.  Among the other bits of polystyrene I was carrying on me was a “bear effigy” that I found out here this year.  I posed it in a few places along the way and here are some of the images.

Emerging from its hibernation, the one-legged Styro-Polar Bear encounters a rapidly changing landscape.  What was historically all ice and snow is now a melting landfill.

I mounted the Styro-bear on a small piece of wood I found out here so it could stand up.  I found it in damaged condition missing one of its legs.  I have no idea what this was originally intended to represent, but it reads bear-like to me.  The bear is such a resonant image going back to the beginnings of art and ironically I find one that says something about the here and now and our relationship with nature.  Much has changed.

 One final snowman before closing and this one wears a blue hat!  I made this guy as a window decoration for a display at work, but couldn’t resist adding his portrait to the winter series.  Although he was made with Falls materials…he’s strictly a visitor.

Happy Holidays, Winter Solstice, etc… to everyone out there.  My best to all in the coming year!

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First Snow

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 18, 2010| 10 Comments »

I’m the only one out here and for good reason too.  It is just so cold and the wind isn’t helping matters at all.  My eyes peer through a narrow exposed  slit formed by the bottom of my hat and the top of my scarf which covers most of my face.  On a day like today it is good to have a purpose and I do.  Each year I make my own set of holiday cards and mail them off to family and friends and I use the Falls of the Ohio to provide materials and context.

The snow changes things by generalizing the landscape.  You need to be careful where you step out here since the snow gives you a false sense of security.  All the old dangers are still out here…they are just harder to see.  A misstep can cause you to fall or twist an ankle and it is slippery walking on top of this wood. 

For me, however, all these miserable conditions are worth the moments of enchantment that occur.  Every day objects take on a renewed visual interest and new compositions are created.

With the vegetation gone, this frayed barge cable shows up easily on the willow branches that have snagged it.  The river deposited it long a go and it is finally falling apart.  Next spring, strands of this rope will form parts of next year’s oriole nests.  What I also find interesting here is how the wind, sand, and snow blow together to form a light drifting mixture.

Walking towards my outdoor studio site, I unexpectantly came across these tracks in the sand and snow.  These were made by a very large bird and I thought Great Blue Heron or even Sandhill Crane?  It’s unusual to see these bird tracks here since the herons in particular stay closer to the water’s edge.

The little dog traveling with me couldn’t resist seeing where the tracks led to.  The sand and snow mixture may have exaggerated the true size of this bird.  After a short walk the tracks end here.

I wonder if what is recorded here is a brief moment of indecision?  First, the bird turns one way then another and then the tracks are gone.  It may have jumped into the air from this spot since there are no other tracks in the immediate area.

I come across another nice snow/sand drift and start taking a few shots for my holiday cards.  I had made this little Styro-snowman with a Blue Hat at home with Falls’ materials and brought him along.  Here he is admiring the drift as he walks on one side of it.  Each time I take a picture I need to take my glove off and before long my finger tips start to burn.  The longer I’m out here…the more purposeful I become.

Reaching my familiar site, I find the large figures that watch my back.  Other than the snow, more has changed here since my last visit.  There’s a new figure leading the group like a skinny choir master.  It’s getting harder to take a simple picture and I think the day is getting colder still.  The camera is freezing and the batteries are getting zapped.  Soon, I won’t be able to take pictures and I decide to turn around after about a half an hour’s walk.  I did take one other picture for this post from my snow filled studio.  It shows that indeed, milk crates can hold water…as long as it’s frozen.  See previous posts a go.  Time for some hot chocolate and heat!

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Recent Found Orbs

Posted in Absurd, Art, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, unusual collection, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on December 10, 2010| 7 Comments »

On my last walk at the Falls of the Ohio I came across so many found round objects that I thought a few photos of them might be fun or interesting so what the heck. I’ll start with the first orb I came across which was an  osage orange fruit also called a hedge-apple around here.  It looks somewhat brain-like because of its texture.  There are also a few genuine and fake baseballs in various states of decomposition thrown in for good measure.  I also found another plastic orange…that one will go into the Fake Fruits and Veggies Collection which keeps growing with each trip to the river.  The day began cool and frosty, but warmed up with some sunshine after noon.  Alright now and without further delay, here are the photographs.

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Styro-figure and Roots

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , on December 5, 2010| 11 Comments »

Because the work a day world had me preoccupied, it’s nice to be able to return to the river.  This interaction with the Falls occurred about a week a go, but it also takes me back to the early days of this project.  To stir the imagination I would challenge myself to only use materials found within the circle of a chosen tree.  The results were often incongruous, but it was fun to do.  The following polystyrene figure was made in a similar way where I allowed myself only materials available in a small area.

I found just enough Styrofoam for a head and body.  Splitting a nut in half became the solution for the eyes.  Bits and pieces of brightly colored plastic further called attention to the head.

The first heavy frost is near now.  The flowers have bloomed and the seeds are going on their own journey.  Migrating sandhill cranes have crossed overhead. I’m by this small “creek” that’s more of storm sewer overflow for the nearby village. 

There’s always water flowing …even when it’s not raining at all.  People like to fish here especially when the river is high and catfish are close to shore.  When we do get high water, this spot catches many of the logs that drift in here and become stranded.  I like to walk on top of this bridge when I’m crossing over from one section of the park to the other.

I moved the small figure I had made to the creek and snapped this portrait.  On the riverbank I can find recently chewed willow saplings and I know there is a beaver currently around.  Evidence of past beaver encounters mark some of the dead trees near the creek’s mouth.

Also in this vicinity are some of my favorite trees.  There are particular sycamore and willow trees that have exposed root systems.  These trees appear to be uprooting themselves and moving on which they do very slowly and deliberately!

The river has retreated from here for now.  This is also a favored place for fishermen.  The nearby fossil cliffs make a convenient place to cast a line or build a fire.  The underlying limestone sends currents flowing in multiple and treacherous directions.  The water here is usually well oxygenated and so it attracts fish.

I left this figure by the side of the path and walked to my vehicle.  This day began sunny but quickly turned overcast and gray as it wore on.  To close, here is another view of a tree with a great platform of roots showing by the nearby fossil cliffs.

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Recalling Opa

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 18, 2010| 11 Comments »

It is late autumn at the Falls of the Ohio and soon all the leaves will be gone having succumbed to the wind, rain, and frost.  For now, there is still color and it is during this transitory moment within the season that the memories of past loved ones comes to my mind and heart.  I was walking along the riverbank recently and thinking about my grandfather and so I created this story for him out of thanks, sticks, and river-worn Styrofoam!

Perhaps it’s the shimmer and play of light upon the water that helps those who have gone before to communicate with the living?  I can picture him now, very tall and very thin and neatly dressed with his fancy bow-tie.  Because he took an interest in me as a boy, I in return have never forgotten him.  My grandfather was not a particular eloquent man, but as the saying goes and there is truth in this…actions do speak louder than words. 

Grandpa or Opa as I sometimes called him loved to tend his small flower garden.  In the heart of the old city this was how he kept his connection to the soil.  And because his garden was tiny it was also precious and everything that happened in it took on added significance.  When a new flower bloomed …that was a cause for celebration as were the times when some new never before seen bird would alight in the yard even for the briefest of moments.  All these little events were full of meaning  to my grandfather and now I see that I inherited this ability too.  Finding wonder when life is at its most mundane is a true gift.

When I was a very small boy my Opa would put me upon his shoulders and give me a unique perspective on the world.  He moved along the city’s canals so easily and I was able to take in all that was going on around me.  I would describe him as being a patient person, but there were some things he found difficult to tolerate.

Perhaps at the top of his list was injustice.  He had lived during the hard times of a world war when his city was occupied.  He had witnessed and experienced how his fellow human beings could be callous and cruel to each other.  When the war ended and prosperity returned, it bothered Grandpa to see how the very land itself was treated with little regard.  He knew about the magic that could happen even in the smallest plot of dirt.  To treat the ground as a garbage can is an injustice to the earth.

Our walks together were always learning opportunities and this was fun for me.  Grandpa seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the living things around him.  He said that life was so interesting that he needed to know about it, but that he was alright too when there were no answers.  He also found contentment in the mystery of it all and that somehow it fit together and worked.  His true position in life was balanced between the twin poles of knowing and not knowing.  It was important to remain open to recognize and receive wisdom when it did come his way.

If my Grandfather could see what is happening with our treatment of the environment…I know it would upset him.  Before the war (which was bad enough) there was also a world-wide depression.  To get by and make ends meet, everything that could be reused and repurposed was.  People even knew how to fix and repair things because they had to if they were going to have anything extra at all.  Creativity and thrift were virtues because they were survival skills.  Nothing was thrown away without careful consideration.  Now economies are based on mass consumption and disposability and something else has been lost in the process.

Grandpa told me that if we didn’t take care of all our precious resources, then we were in danger of losing ourselves.  The more we change the land, the more it changes us and that our ultimate fate is intertwined with what happens in the real world.  Here on the banks of the Ohio River my Grandfather’s concerns have come back to me.  Now I am a father and someday I too may become a grandparent.  During my lifetime, I would like to feel that we can be reawakened to the needs of the planet so that we could build towards the most positive and healthy future possible.

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