“I must break away…”

I’m losing the precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.
– John Muir quoted by Samuel Hall Young in Alaska Days with John Muir (1915), chapter 4, pg. 216.

Apologies, the blog is self-indulgent and a bit directionless at the moment. It has been a funny year. In a time of lockdown and isolation, I have felt anything but isolated. What I have felt is, trapped. Humanity feels too much with me these days.

I feel like we have staggered through this year. Always a bit on edge.

Covid and climate change haunt my thoughts, work and other commitments never let up. I need to slow down, stand back and take stock. I have missed escapes to nature. Right now I am trying to get back on track. Trying to get back into the habit of writing. Creating a schedule and trying to stick to it with the blog, nature escapes and exercise.

Blogging is addictive and yet I have neglected this site. No more! Sorry, might be a few rambling posts to come while I get myself back into the routine, or maybe more random John Muir quotes. Speaking of Muir I find myself wondering about why Australia does not share the great nature writing tradition that exists in the US and the UK. Where is the Australian version of Muir or Thoreau?

This country is magical and yet it feels like we have failed to record and celebrate that magic. The Australian tradition always seems to be more at war with nature than in love with it. We are blessed with amazing biodiversity, and yet we are losing it faster than we can record the loss. I can’t help but think that this lack of appreciation of our world contributes to why Australia is a world leader in biodiversity loss and mammal extinction. Not an achievement we should be proud of, one we should be doing everything in our power to halt. As I observe my world teetering on the brink of climate and ecological disaster it is no wonder I feel anxious.