Refuge & wonder
Decades ago, I was awed and inspired by Terry Tempest William’s book, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, about Utah Great Salt Lake, birds, faith, conservation, destruction and loving amid loss. I still have my signed copy, which I take out every now and again to be reminded that words and heart and showing up matter.
More recently, Williams wrote a stunning op-ed in the New York Times about what’s happening to and at the Great Salt Lake now, which is heartbreaking and horrifying, and hopefully will motivate a critical mass of humans to just stop. Stop development, stop diverting so much water, stop bargaining away the future for short-term gains.
One can dream, right?
There’s so much injustice going on right now it’s hard to feel hopeful. I haven’t quite been burying my head in the sand, but I have been taking a lot of refuge outside, double-timing my usual amount of birding. It’s spring and everybody with feathers is singing and nesting or hatching, and you know, “Hope” is the thing with feathers….”
Tuesday morning, I zipped over to Berkeley for a bit of CalFalcons Hatch Day Celebration as Berkeley Art Museum was running the Peregrine Falcon nest-cam live-stream on their outdoor screen. You can watch the nest-cam from the comfort of your own home, but it was fun to watch with other falcon lovers — including a group of schoolchildren who arrived just in time to watch the first hatchling be fed its second meal (some indeterminate black and white bird). Wonder. It’s out there despite everything.