I really really enjoy Dave’s photographs of birds – the quality where we can see the detail barbs on the feathers is remarkable. Then he also catches the bird’s expression of the moment. I love looking at them. Click here

Read on to catch some of my thoughts about how this Coronavirus is taking us back to the 18 century, 300 years backward. We may all be happier to start the 18 century over and do it better this time around.

MY CORONAVIRUS STORY:

Coronavirus keeps us from bars, restaurant. clubs, social gatherings, and religious services  – Oh my.  But the bike shops can not keep up with sales, walking shoes ran out of stock, and on our nature trail there are so many folks walking you need to use hand signals just to make a left tune in front of walkers – another Oh my! We have truly gone natural – a third Oh my.

I have over 15,000 photographs in one of my digital banks of photographs. I am guessing that 98% of them are of nature – flowers, bugs, snakes, turtles sunsets, ocean and lake waves, alligators, grass (lawn grass of course), rain, snow, weeds, dry bare land, flowing streams, fish, deer, raccoons, opossums, armadillo, and the list goes on. I wonder why?  I will try to answer that wonderment while sitting around  a campfire.  Come join me.

 I am sitting up here on a northern island in Michigan.  Campfire conversations while drinking cases of beer are where most “intellectual” conversations take place. Just last week, I was talking with some friends around the camp fire and swatting mosquitoes.  After each swat my friends would utter a string of cuss words. The full moon is casting weird shadows at the edge of the flames glow. pause and try to live that campfire scene with me. 

We were social distancing.  Somehow for me that works a lot better than pre-Corona. If I am sitting close to these friends, there is no down time in the conversation.  They put their face into my face and make their point about some dumb topic.  Generally, it is a topic that I don’t give a da…… about. Therefore, I say nothing and just sit there and listen.

But with social distancing, they are not in my face talking and there is dead time in the conversation.  Their mouth works best when it is only inches from my face.  But with social distancing – Yea, I get to talk.

This night I did talk. I pointed out that “For 6–7 million years, human beings have evolved in the natural environment. It was not until 300 years ago during the industrial revolution in the UK, in the 18th century, that led to the rapid growth of urbanization. That revolution significantly changed our living environments away from nature.”

Boy, did their eyes glaze over.  Not a one of them gave a da…… about my very “intelligent” topic. 

Looking back on it I realize how boring I was.  But at the time, I kept right on talking: “You know, that living like this, swatting mosquitos in nature is the way we should live all year. Doctors have proven that patients who were assigned to rooms with windows overlooking natural scenery had shorter hospital stays then patients in rooms with windows facing the brick wall of a building.”

Those beer drinking friend’s eyes not only glazed over – they left the campfire to get another beer and never returned. 

Undaunted, I talked to myself. “From the 18th century until now is only .01 % of the time we human have been on the earth.  That is why our minds and bodies are still programmed 99.99% to live in nature – Not urban environments. That is why my photos are almost all of nature.” Not high quality photos – just high quality memories of visits with nature!

As you swing through life, Stop every day and smile at the nature around you – a blade of grass, a deer, an insect, a butterfly – take the nature trail and keep a photo.

Now that my friends have left the campfire, what should I do? Of course I will take my iphone/camera and go off alone, into the woods, hunting for photos like these:

Deer

Fawns

Frog

Leaves

Flowers/Butterfly

Flowers

Snake

Insect

Mushrooms

Wild bird feather

Insect/Flower

Sky

Great Lake

Geese after dinner

As you swing through life, Stop every day and smile at the nature around you – a blade of grass, a deer, an insect, a butterfly – take the nature trail and keep a photo memory.