Benign Neglect

Diversification and preservation often accompany a purposeful, deliberate kind of neglect. Witness the relatively intact architecture and perfectly preserved cars of Cuba, a nation that was in extreme isolation from us. What would new wealth have done to its iconic architecture? Probably given us one badly done renovation after another. How many beautiful brownstones would we have lost in New York City, if Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant were rich white neighborhoods? 

And so it follows in nature. The front lawn of a certain old house in the historic Hudson Valley has an intact lawn; not the artificial one made with an abundance of pesticides and aggressive weed-pulling, but an incredibly rich and diverse tapestry that holds hundreds of plants, weeds, and wildflowers one doesn't typically see untouched in the suburbs, simply because the current owner does not tend to it with the same kind of care he would to his own lawn. It is often through this kind of neglect that the most beautiful wildflower flourishes. 

Welcome to September, dear readers.

Deer in the Park! A Good Sign....

A beautiful day for a walk. Wait, what is that?!

On a recent walk, I cut through a local park with an apple orchard (http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2013/08/gardens-dr-henry-v-borst-park.html), and as I grew closer, I saw something move. Wait a second, what is that?! Oh, snap! Deer! And not just one, but two young strong healthy males growing out a nice set of antlers, happily munching wild, native apples fallen to the ground.

Deer! Two of them, too! And they're eating apples!

It's such a great sign. Our area used to be filled with wildlife, but just like global warming, we altered the landscape to such an insane degree, animals were driven out. Not cool. We need our fellow Earth inhabitants to keep our precious ecosystem intact.

Healthy, beautiful young males growing antlers. Oh, good!

If you mess with one element too much, you drive the entire system out of whack. Seeing healthy deer feel comfortable enough to eat apples unmolested is a very good sign indeed. It means better days are ahead, ones that will bring us back into balance with nature, which is necessary for every living thing's survival on this beautiful blue planet. A healthy, thriving ecosystem. That's where it's at. That's what's up. Peace.

Brood Cicadia: Back Again in 2014

No way! What an incredible specimen.

Last year, a certain type of cicadia that only breeds every 17 years or so (http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2013/06/nature-brood-ii.html), emerged from their dormant state to spectacular profusion, and they are enormous. This lovely specimen (pictured above), was so completely fresh and intact, some of its' front legs still moved from the fluid flowing within. Yes! That's fresh, yo.

Bug specimen next to piece of wood for size comparison.

So, I did what any self-respecting, wanna-be, 21st century da Vinci would: I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and took a picture of it, then wrapped that bitch up in a couple of pieces of paper torn out of a notebook I always carry, so I could look at it more closely at home later on in the day.

Last years' specimen, labeled and protected for future preservation.

It was even more beautiful up close, a phenomenally unique specimen. Keen observation out in the field is so essential to our type of scholarship, that an art student cannot enter the hallowed halls of RISD (The Rhode Island School of Design) without it. 

The Nature Lab, at the Rhode Island School of Design

We have a nature lab on campus that speaks to the core of who we are as a people out in the world: artists, designers, scientists, engineers, educators, leaders, and mentors. We are the builders, makers, doers, thinkers, and hardcore scholars that make the world go forward in such beautifully perfect harmony. Well, most of the time. 

One cannot be an intellectual without a foundation like this at their core, and I wouldn't want to even try it. I've been bringing home samples since I was a kid. It's more than some pretty picture, this is who I am. Happy hunting, collectors.