"The Comfort of Crows" is a glorious celebration of the natural world written in lovely prose. The book follows the 52 weeks of the year starting with"The Comfort of Crows" is a glorious celebration of the natural world written in lovely prose. The book follows the 52 weeks of the year starting with the winter season. There are 52 essays, and 26 additional mini-essays labeled "Praise Songs" which seem to be a spiritual reflection on a special experience that touched the author, Margaret Renkl. The author's brother, artist Billy Renkl, created 53 beautiful color illustrations, mostly collages.
Renkl's yard in Tennessee is planted mostly in wildflowers and trees. There are also carefully chosen plants in her gardens that provide nourishment and hiding places for birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife. Renkl writes about the interdependence of living creatures, and the cycle of life. She also writes about her family--the deaths of her grandparents and parents, aging, weekends at a cabin with her husband, the joy of raising her three sons and spending precious time with them during the pandemic.
While I admire her connection with nature outside, I was surprised that she keeps a potted plant containing a spider who spins a web around the plant's leaves sitting on her writing desk. Her writing desk is also home to a worm composter which turns kitchen scraps into dirt. She gives helpful ideas for being a friend of nature, some very simple like leaving out water during a heat wave.
"The Comfort of Crows" is a reminder to be more aware of nature during the four seasons. When the troubles of the world seem overwhelming, some time reflecting on the beauty of nature can be a source of peace. Although I read a borrowed book quickly, this would be a lovely gift so someone could read it slowly and thoughtfully during the 52 weeks of the year. 4.5 stars, rounded up....more
"So there I lie on the plateau, under me the central core of fire from which was thrust this grumbling grinding mass of plutonic rock, over me blue ai"So there I lie on the plateau, under me the central core of fire from which was thrust this grumbling grinding mass of plutonic rock, over me blue air, and between the fire of the rock and the fire of the sun, scree, soil and water, moss, grass, flower and tree, insect, bird and beast, wind, rain and snow--the total mountain. Slowly I have found my way in."
"The Living Mountain" is poetic prose in praise of the Cairngorm Mountains of northeastern Scotland. It's nature writing with a philosophical feeling to it. Nan Shepherd started exploring the Cairngorms at an early age, and continued mountain walking until she was aged. Although she was well-traveled, she always returned to her home near the eastern side of the mountain range. Shepherd had climbed its peaks, but she seemed to draw more pleasure from the plateau--observing wildlife, exploring the lochs, and following springs to their natural source. She was a very observant person who often took in the activity of the natural world while she maintained stillness. Shepherd wrote descriptions that use all the senses in appreciating the beautiful, but sometimes unforgiving, mountains.
Nan Shepherd was also the author of three modernist novels, essays, and a collection of poetry about her beloved Cairngorms. She wrote "The Living Mountain" during World War II, but it sat in a drawer for thirty years before being published in 1977. Her image is on Scotland's five-pound note. Robert Macfarlane wrote an excellent introduction to "The Living Mountain" with biographical details and an appreciation of Shepherd's writing. This is a contemplative book that I will tuck away to be enjoyed again. 4.5 stars rounded up....more
Merlin Sheldrake is an engaging writer who shares his sense of awe when he investigates the mysteries of fungi. This book is not a dull textbook sinceMerlin Sheldrake is an engaging writer who shares his sense of awe when he investigates the mysteries of fungi. This book is not a dull textbook since Sheldrake uses his gift of storytelling to show the natural world to us.
We often think of food when we consider the world of fungi. Mushrooms and truffles are the fruiting bodies of fungi. We use yeast to bake bread and ferment fruit into alcohol. Fungi are also used to make cheese. Fungi can also metabolize more unusual substances--rocks, plastics, oil, and even radioactive waste. Work is being done to convert recycled material into useful items using mycofabrication.
Symbiosis is an important quality of fungi. Most fungi exist as branching networks of tubular cells called mycelium. Underground fungi supply nitrogen, phosphorus, water, and other soil nutrients to the roots of plants. In return, plants supply sugars and lipids, carbon compounds made through photosynthesis, to the fungi. Lichens and seaweeds are other examples of symbiosis where algae and fungi act as partners that both benefit.
Sheldrake interviews mycologists all over the world, and also tells about his own experiments in the field in Panama. He also tries psychedelics in a controlled clinical setting since they have a recent use to treat deep depression. Drugs made from fungi have been used for organ transplant patients to prevent rejection. We can't forget penicillin, a wonder drug that is still widely used.
This is just a small sample of the many ways that fungi are important. Not only are fungi entangled with themselves, but they are entangled with their physical environment and other organisms, including humans. Who knew that fungi could be so fascinating?...more
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