A few weeks ago, I discovered a reference to Trevor Goward and his work, in Merlin Sheldrake’s book Entangled Life (see blog post, Entangled Life).
It made me realize that the definition of a lichen species was much more complex than I had previously understood.
This led me down the road to question the classification by Carl Linnaeus as well as Darwin’s work on evolution.
This week, I had to spend several hours waiting at the ER at Middleton Soldiers Memorial hospital (I have no family doctor). I took Entangled Life with me. Previously, I had been stuck on the ‘magic mushroom’ section.
Reading the last three chapters Wood Wide Web (in contrast to World Wide Web), Radical Mycology and Making Sense of Fungi, en route, I visited the writing of Peter Kropotkin, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Ursula Leguin. The book is meticulously referenced. The writing is excellent, as witnessed by the praise from a wide range of commentators.
As we recognize that a stand of trees is so much more than what we see above the ground. Likewise, we start to appreciate the three-dimensional complexity of our natural landscape.
With grandchildren arriving in Nova Scotia for the next few weeks, a blog break should allow me to fully digest this seminal work.
Postscript
This week I did manage to catch Margaret Atwood on CBC Ideas, talking about George Orwell and 1984. Meanwhile, I continue to search out Iceland and Crossing Thames by Peter Wyman, in the Endless Shores books.
Finally, this is the Annapolis Valley Exhibition week, August 15-20th. In Lawrencetown. King’s County Museum hosts the SHORT BRUSH plein air paint-out in Kentville and the Miner’s Marsh, where about 30 artists paint on Saturday morning 20Aug2022 then display their works.
Acknowledgements
Heather encouraged me to return to the Entangled Web. Its focus on fungi connects well with our organic gardening. Edward added the graphics and links.
Reference
Merlin Sheldrake, 2020, Entangled Life, Random House.
Ernest Blair Experiment 