Dogs are animals of integrity. We have much to learn from them.
Category: Environment
The final part of our trip.
It was a most wonderful trip and one that motivated us to find some other journeys in the North-West that we could take. Any suggestions?
For Jana looked after the animals without any issues whatsoever.
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The roads are straight and lonely in this part of Nevada!
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Our final photograph of the trip; Mount Lassen covered in snow!
It was an amazing experience.
And yet more of the photographs.
Yet another one of this fascinating rock face.
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The picture below is primarily of the different rock type that is laid crossways on the top of the ridge. It was the closest that we could get without a major climb.
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I think this is Zion National Park. The pillars above and the stream below.
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A much-photographed site!
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The final set maybe the day after tomorrow.
And a few more photographs.
I’m sure that there’s only so much you can take of our trip to Utah and back. So I have selected the more interesting photographs and will share them with you today and the next two days.
Saturday, 28th September
Vance, of The Flute Shop, gave us directions to some ancient petroglyphs that were painted on a rock wall quite close to where we were staying.
First, that rock wall. The petroglyphs can be seen at the bottom of the rock face.
Then a close up. It was amazing that although there was a great deal of name carving close by there was none on the petroglyph images themselves.
They were about 700 years old.
Sunday, 29th September
Today it was the long drive down to Kanab, about 200 miles, but we stopped frequently to take photographs of the never-ending marvels that we saw.
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Tomorrow some more photographs.
A further collection of photographs from Utah.
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Marvellous, even though I say it myself.
We have had a taste of this a week-and-a-half ago.
We were truly alone when we went to Utah.
But then again, one of the privileges of being on 13 acres, 13 very rural acres, here in Southern Oregon is that being alone is not that far away!
I don’t want to underplay the importance of this posting, republished from The Conversation website (with permission), because we live in so busy times.
Written by three professors, it’s a very wise and profound article.
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June 4th, 2018
Professor of Outdoor Education, Montreat College
Associate Professor and Program Director of Parks and Recreation Management, Western Carolina Universit
Associate Professor of Outdoor Education, Montreat College
Today Americans live in a world that thrives on being busy, productive and overscheduled. Further, they have developed the technological means to be constantly connected to others and to vast options for information and entertainment through social media. For many, smartphones demand their attention day and night with constant notifications.
As a result, naturally occurring periods of solitude and silence that were once commonplace have been squeezed out of their lives. Music, reality TV shows, YouTube, video games, tweeting and texting are displacing quiet and solitary spaces. Silence and solitude are increasingly viewed as “dead” or “unproductive” time, and being alone makes many Americans uncomfortable and anxious.
But while some equate solitude with loneliness, there is a big difference between being lonely and being alone. The latter is essential for mental health and effective leadership.
We study and teach outdoor education and related fields at several colleges and organizations in North Carolina, through and with other scholars at 2nd Nature TREC, LLC, a training, research, education and consulting firm. We became interested in the broader implications of alone time after studying intentionally designed solitude experiences during wilderness programs, such as those run by Outward Bound. Our findings reveal that time alone in nature is beneficial for many participants in a variety of ways, and is something they wish they had more of in their daily life.
Reflection and challenge
We have conducted research for almost two decades on Outward Bound and undergraduate wilderness programs at Montreat College in North Carolina and Wheaton College in Illinois. For each program, we studied participants’ experiences using multiple methods, including written surveys, focus group interviews, one-on-one interviews and field notes. In some cases, we asked subjects years later to look back and reflect on how the programs had affected them. Among other questions, our research looked at participant perceptions of the value of solo time outdoors.
Our studies showed that people who took part in these programs benefited both from the outdoor settings and from the experience of being alone. These findings build on previous research that has clearly demonstrated the value of spending time in nature.
Scholars in fields including wilderness therapy and environmental psychology have shown that time outdoors benefits our lives in many ways. It has a therapeutic effect, relieves stress and restores attention. Alone time in nature can have a calming effect on the mind because it occurs in beautiful, natural and inspirational settings.
Nature also provides challenges that spur individuals to creative problem-solving and increased self-confidence. For example, some find that being alone in the outdoors, particularly at night, is a challenging situation. Mental, physical and emotional challenges in moderation encourage personal growth that is manifested in an increased comfort with one’s self in the absence of others.
Being alone also can have great value. It can allow issues to surface that people spend energy holding at bay, and offer an opportunity to clarify thoughts, hopes, dreams and desires. It provides time and space for people to step back, evaluate their lives and learn from their experiences. Spending time this way prepares them to re-engage with their community relationships and full work schedules.
Putting it together: The outdoor solo
Participants in programmed wilderness expeditions often experience a component known as “Solo,” a time of intentional solitude lasting approximately 24-72 hours. Extensive research has been conducted on solitude in the outdoors because many wilderness education programs have embraced the educational value of solitude and silence.
Solo often emerges as one of the most significant parts of wilderness programs, for a variety of reasons. Alone time creates a contrasting experience to normal living that enriches people mentally, physically and emotionally. As they examine themselves in relation to nature, others, and in some cases, God, people become more attuned to the important matters in their lives and in the world of which they are part.
Solo, an integral part of Outward Bound wilderness trips, can last from a few hours to 72 hours. The experience is designed to give participants an opportunity to reflect on their own thoughts and critically analyze their actions and decisions.
Solitary reflection enhances recognition and appreciation of key personal relationships, encourages reorganization of life priorities, and increases appreciation for alone time, silence, and reflection. People learn lessons they want to transfer to their daily living, because they have had the opportunity to clarify, evaluate and redirect themselves by setting goals for the future.
For some participants, time alone outdoors provides opportunity to consider the spiritual and/or religious dimension of life. Reflective time, especially in nature, often enhances spiritual awareness and makes people feel closer to God. Further, it encourages their increased faith and trust in God. This often occurs through providing ample opportunities for prayer, meditation, fasting, Scripture-reading, journaling and reflection time.
Retreating to lead
As Thomas Carlyle has written, “In (solitary) silence, great things fashion themselves together.” Whether these escapes are called alone time, solitude or Solo, it seems clear that humans experience many benefits when they retreat from the “rat race” to a place apart and gather their thoughts in quietness.
In order to live and lead effectively, it is important to be intentional about taking the time for solitary reflection. Otherwise, gaps in schedules will always fill up, and even people with the best intentions may never fully realize the life-giving value of being alone.
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I would modify that advice from Thomas Carlyle and that is to include a dog.
For in my experience when one is in the mood for a bit of solitary reflection your dog seems to sense it as well.
We are very close to the point of this trip.
Friday, September 27th.
As soon as we were on our way, first thing was to find a bed for the night in the area of the Capitol Reef NP. This was a popular time of the year and so many places were full. Our ‘fall-back’ position was to sleep in the truck but I really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Eventually we found a room for just tonight in The Flute Shop and Motel in Torrey, just 10 miles from the National Park. Run by Vance and Elaine Morrill it was more than just a motel, it was a scene of much fascination. For Vance made flutes the American Indian way.
But more of that later.
Oh, and there’s a dog story as well. Again, I’m writing that up as a separate post.
On to the Capitol Reef Park.
Or rather a pause before we descended off the heights that surrounded this part of Utah down to the park.
The pause was to take a photograph of an intense rain storm that had a spot quite close where the remnants of a rainbow could just be made out. It’s hardly visible in the above picture.
It was simply stunning.
Beyond words.
I promised you a little more about Vance Morrill and his flutes. But apart from the photograph I will delay that for a while (until the draft of the post has been approved by Vance).
Here is Jean looking at them.
Finally, Vance promised to draw some routes in the morning to some of the lesser known spots in Capitol Reef.
Well it’s not a true picture parade but nonetheless it’s lovely.
Taken from here.
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Wedding crashers aren’t usually a good thing. But for one Michigan couple, an uninvited guest made the day even more special.
Morgan and Luke were celebrating their nuptials on the Felt Estate, in Saugatuck, Michigan, when photographer Laurenda Marie Bennett stole the couple away for “golden hour portraits.”
“We walked over this hill and made it to a field where we saw just over a wooden fence was a deer,” Bennett told The Dodo. “As soon as we arrived, the deer looked up and just casually walked over to the bride and groom.”
The friendly deer greeted the couple and quickly spotted the bride’s bouquet. The spray of flowers was too tempting for the deer to resist.
“[He] started reaching his neck over and grabbing flowers from her bouquet and just chewing away,” Bennett said. “Then he steps over the fence so he’s standing in front of them, and he’s just hanging out eating her bouquet.”
After the initial shock of the wildlife encounter wore off, Bennett started snapping photos of the bride and groom. “We were all kind of giggling and looking at each other like, ‘What’s going on? What should we do?’” Bennett said. “Morgan’s expressions were priceless — they just kind of made the photos.”
As it turned out, this specific deer is a bit of a celebrity in the area. He’s even made it to the news for photobombing a few engagement photo shoots earlier this summer.
“Never in a million years did I think I’d run into him, especially when photographing a wedding,” Bennett said. “I felt like it was meant to be.”
The deer would stop at nothing to get the flowers, so the bride eventually decided to give the hungry animal her bouquet. She had to borrow one of the bridesmaids’ arrangements for the bouquet toss — but it was worth it for the hilarious photobomb.
Videographer Patrick Hellenga, of Patrick James Films, was also on-site to capture the sweet encounter on film.
When the couple returned to the field later that night, they found that the deer had left something behind for the bride — a little wedding gift.
“When we walked back to the area where we dropped the bouquet, the deer was gone but there was one white rose still intact,” Bennett said. “She picked it up and joked, ‘It’s the final rose.’”
That’s a lovely story!
An update.
We are staying at the Noor Hotel in Torrey, Utah. We are here for just one night and will be heading South in a few hours time on Highway UT-12, a scenic route, from this stupendous area of geological wonderland down to Kanab, about 200 miles away.
Tomorrow we will have been on our travels for just one week. To say that we have done a lot would be an understatement! It started by us getting to Lakeview, SE Oregon, on Monday evening and finding that Brandy was very unhappy. So much so that on the Tuesday morning we drove the 4 hours back to Merlin and left him with Jana and the gang. He was so pleased to be back and all the other dogs likewise to see Brandy.
Then we drove back to Lakeview the same day!
Now we have seen such sights that are beyond words. This part of the world is variously 7,000 – 8,000 feet high. We are over 7,000 feet now. The region is known as the Waterpocket Uplift that includes Capitol Reef National Park and is dramatic, sensational and overwhelmingly beautiful. I have taken over 150 photographs already. Trust me, I can’t wait to post some of the better ones in about 10 days time.
So that’s all for now. Jeannie and I are well, very fortunate to have come this way, but missing our dogs!
So love to you all.
It may be quite a long time before there’s another update from us, and I’m sorry I can’t yet welcome new visitors or engage in responses to individual comments. And apologies for not being able to share a picture. That will come!
Another one to share with you while we are away!
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Taken from here.
Written by Rob Moir, Ph.DI recently returned from a research sail through the Denmark Straits and I couldn’t be more in awe of mother nature.
We sailed aboard the gaft-rigged ketch Tecla out of Isafjordur, Iceland, bound for Greenland. We were thirteen women and men on a hundred-foot steel-hulled sailing vessel.
As we cleared the steep-sided fjord and sailed out into the bay past towering headlands, we saw a humpback whale breach. It rose straight out of the water, extended enormous knobby flippers, rotated and fell on its side with a large splash.
We sailed on, and another wheeled before us.
Further out, white-beaked dolphins streaked, exhaled, and splashed in the bow waves at the front of our boat.
Gray and white fulmars with outstretched wings carved the sky and nearly scratched the sea. And then there were icebergs.
The natural beauty of Mother Earth never ceases to take my breath away, no matter how many times I see it.
We traversed the threshold between the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. The south-bound East Greenland current squeezed between the craggy coasts of Iceland and Greenland to become a “superhighway” for turbulent water. Here, the denser Arctic water mass crashes into the bulwark front of warmer Atlantic Water. Arctic water plunges downwards into the Denmark Strait Cataract. This is the world’s largest waterfall. Yet, skimming the surface of immense water all we see are waves that crest white tumble and stream like the tossed manes of charging horses.
Unfortunately, we also saw the threats to nature.
First, a quick science lesson: When seawater freezes at the ocean surface, the ice is actually made of freshwater; the salt gets rejected back into the surrounding water. That surrounding water then becomes denser and sinks. This happens on a massive scale, which results in ocean currents around the world. Think of it like an organic engine that circulates the oceans’ water.
Now, because global warming exposes more of the surface every summer than it used to (about twice as much, in fact) that means more surface ice each winter. That means that our ocean circulation engine is twice as big, which radically alters the seascape, threatens not only the ocean ecosystem – from tiny algae to those humpback whales – but life worldwide.
We caused global warming. Now we must come together to decrease carbon emissions and increase carbon capture. For the Denmark Strait, for the humpback whales, and for our own places of habitation.
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I will do no better than to repeat that last paragraph.
We caused global warming. Now we must come together to decrease carbon emissions and increase carbon capture. For the Denmark Strait, for the humpback whales, and for our own places of habitation.
Here! Here!
A fabulous elephant story!
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Such an incredible moment ❤️️
BY LILY FEINN
PUBLISHED ON 09/13/2019
To Loijuk the elephant, nothing is more important than family — especially now that she is starting one of her own.
In 2006, the orphaned elephant was found all alone at only 5 months old, and was rescued by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) in Kenya. She was hand-raised by SWT until she was old enough to return to the wild.
Years have passed, but Loijuk still has a close bond with her human family. She returns to the grounds of the sanctuary every month to visit. But in September, Loijuk surprised her former caretakers with a newborn elephant calf in tow.
It was clear the proud elephant mom couldn’t wait to show off her baby. The calf, who has since been named Lili, was only hours old — likely born only the night before.
Loijuk has never forgotten the kindness of those who helped her. She even invited Benjamin Kyalo, the head keeper, to have a special moment with her newborn calf.
“Benjamin was able to get close to Lili (who nestled into his legs), stroke her delicate newborn skin and breathe into her trunk, thereby letting her know who he was via his scent,” Rob Brandford, executive director of SWT, told The Dodo. “Elephants have an incredible memory and sense of smell and our keepers will often breathe into the orphans’ trunks so they can recognize who they are.”
You can watch a video of Loijuk and Lili’s touching visit here:
Lili was quite wobbly on her feet during the meeting, but over the course of the week, Kyalo watched as she got stronger and stronger.
“Loijuk has stayed close to the area around the unit, allowing our keepers to watch over her and check how she’s getting on,” Brandford said. “Considering September is the peak of the dry season in Tsavo, not the most favorable of conditions for a new baby, we are delighted that Loijuk has returned close to home so that we can help supplement her diet when she visits.”
In the wild, calves are raised with the help of female relatives within the herd. Loijuk has played nanny to other babies before giving birth to Lili, and now her calf has nannies of her very own — two other wild orphans named Naserian and Ithumbah.
Lili will remain with her mom’s herd in the wild for life, and if she is ever in need, she now knows there is a safe place she can always return to.
Lili is the 31st calf born to female orphaned elephants raised by SWT now living wild, and she is a beacon of hope for threatened elephant populations everywhere.
“Moments like these are momentous,” Brandford said. “In saving one orphaned elephant’s life, we are not only seeing that orphan thrive but start a family.”
“Lili has a brighter future ahead of her than many elephants,” Brandford added, “and we look forward to watching this little girl grow up in the wild.”
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Absolutely wonderful!
Learning from Dogs 