Long Time Gone

I haven't visited this blog for a while to write anything, but it strikes me that maybe the reason I gave up on this blog was that I limited it to "green" discoveries that bounced back and forth between "this was a good idea, now it's bad" sort of thing.  Paper bags were thought to be greener, until it was discovered that they took up more space and are more difficult to break down.  Local was thought to be greener, but how much water are you using to lengthen the growing season where it should be of a certain length?

I am still looking for strides in ecology, and things that I can improve on as a green citizen, but, again, it strikes me that that kind of focus is too narrow.  Recently I started climbing a local hill/park/peak in San Francisco for exercise, a ritual that I call my "Pablo stairs," and I found that just climbing for the sake of getting in shape was a misdirection of my energy.  The weight loss and muscle toning should be a bonus, I thought, for if that's the focus than I am surely screwed, considering my genetic make-up.  It turned instead into a meditation, in which I started to notice wildlife, climate patterns, visual effects, and so on.  For some time now I have been remarking on each day's adventure on Twitter, but I hesitate to continue it there, since I place so many other subjects there as well and the notes could be lost.  Also, there is so much in nature to see in my backyard, Golden Gate Park, and in the natural aspects of the Bay Area in general, that I don't want to go back to limiting my scope.

I adore nature writers like Barbara Kingsolver, Annie Dillard, William Least-Heat Moon, and Edward Abbey, just to name a few.  I know that I could never be a peer of theirs, but I would like to utilize my writing to share in their joy of the world we live in.  So that will be my goal going forward with this blog--to meditate on the restorative qualities of being outdoors, and taking care of that outdoors.