#hiking article

[brahmasawakening]

I wanted to share some of these sunsets here as well because aren’t these just drop dead gorgeous? 🌅

[veranavera]

I got another article written about me - first one in two years!!!

Wording's a little funny at times, but I feel like it's a overall fair representation of what I had to say - so feel free to read if you're so inclined!!!

[dis-agreeable]

i wanna run around banging pots and pans weeping yelling hey i'm still really sad! i'm pretty heartbroken over here!! and yet idk what that would change

[krogans-give-the-best-cuddles]

Reading the Orchid Thief and lemme say. So fascinating to see someone like. Try to come up with a Reason Why humans like orchids. Two chapters here in a row pretty much treating Orchid hobbyists and plant hobbyists in general like one would an entirely alien culture- and don't get me wrong I understand why to an extent. Trying to make this book marketable outside just plant circles and what have you. But some of the way the camera is angled here is just. Fascinating.

Like, she explains how there are so many unique ways orchids evolved, as an attempt to contextualize for a reader why people might go crazy for them in specific, and describes individual species unique mating strategies, and the inability of them to self pollinate- but while I think that context is interesting it doesn't explain a damn thing. For one thing, having an extremely specific mating strategy is not solely an Orchid thing- a LOT of plants do it like that. Lots are flexible but I would say a vast swath are not and require specific things. For another- apples also don't self fertilize, but you don't have hundreds of thousands of apple varietal collectors.

She discusses their beauty as a reason they're collected- I won't deny that being a factor for sure, plants that humans like the shape of have a tendency to get collected and overcollected all the time- but like. A lot of people collect things that are traditionally ugly or even smell bad- and if it was exclusively a shallow pursuit, no one would work as hard as is required for an insane amount of orchids.

Part of the reasons orchids in particular are popular has to do with colonization. I can't articulate it all myself bc I haven't done research- but a genus that largely exists in tropical regions, that became popular in the late 1800s, that, in order to get in homes, white men would travel to all sorts of regions to take plants out of to get in the home? That is gonna help it get more popular than tomato or apple varieties for sure. I'm sure she's gonna touch on this eventually, given that the story she's covering actually involves the Seminole nation so I'm not holding it against her.

I suppose I'm just fascinated by her approach so far as to trying to understand why anyone would. Work to grow something? Really like something? I mean she pretty explicitly states that she "wants to want something" as much as these people want their plants- describes hobby communities and the idea of like. Working a hobby into your schedule or having friends related to the hobby as a "religion". She's baffled by like. Putting time and energy into a hobby and gaining joy and community from it and is trying to like. Break down orchids into their component parts to understand what makes someone. Want to grow a plant? And get community out of a hobby?

I'm going to be charitable and not make presumptions that she doesn't know like. The concept of loneliness and therefore a longing for community. Or that on some level she must know what common signs of autism are (ignoring her having spent several paragraphs describing several different people with classic signs and symptoms and then settling on "weird"). But it makes me want to turn the camera lens around for a moment. What makes someone presume that it's Orchid "obsession" (the word hobby is rather rare in the book acrually) that is particularly strange or more obsessed than other obsessions? What makes one abstract others hobbies and interests as needing a solve while the ones you surely have seen all over and even participated in aren't worth that examination? The line between "normal" and "abnomal" is entirely one made by dominant society

So this is why hobbies and kink aren't so different in the way they're perceived-

Orchids are an obsession to this author, to be highlighted and examined, or a hobby, to most people. They get a noteworthy category because they are seen as atypical. Sports-watching, however, is like. Never discussed as hobby. Watching football, watching soccer. It's just normal. No one says "that's my hobby." Even if a guy had a room full of memorabilia he would be noted as a "team fan" not a hobbyist. Sports has been declared normative, so it's not really considered a hobby by anyone. Plants? Non normative, therefore the same exact behaviors will get you considered unusual and a hobbyist.

Kink is the same way. People who are attracted to women being interested in breasts is so assumed to be normal and natural that no one calls it a kink. Breasts, the fatty deposits intended for feeding young, are expected to be hidden bc this kink (which everyone refuses to call a kink or a fetish or what have you) is seen as so universal. It's seen as immutable fact that there is a sexual nature to them. Feet however? If someone's into that that's a kink or a fetish if you're feeling kind, an obsession that makes you strange and worthy of examination and explanation if you're not.

I'm not arguing for doing away with calling things hobbies or kinks- I'm actually advocating for calling more normative things those words actually- I think it's just helpful to see where the framing of something, the way in which we choose to examine it, also has a lot to say about that which we leave unexamined, and unnamed. Because we don't categorize the normal.

[asherelbein]

It sounds like satire: a beloved Texas state park has been sold to a Dallas real estate guy, who plans to develop it into a private gated community. How could this happen? The answer: an old lease agreement, some bad timing, and a series of bizarre fumbles by the state of Texas itself.

For The Texas Observer, I wrote about the last days of Fairfield Lake State Park.

[vaguely-concerned]

I went on a stone age art wikiwalk. come partake in some highlights with me

Çatalhöyük. Often called 'the world's first city' and located in current day Turkey. Here's a probable reconstruction of an interior of the houses:

Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük. A figurine found in Çatalhöyük. Personal note: what the hell this art fucks so incredibly, look at that definition, those shapes!!

Venus of Dolní Věstonice, found in current day Czech Republic. It's dated to 29,000–25,000 BCE (!!!!) and is one of the oldest known ceramic pieces ever made.

I don't know why this got to me as much as it did, but during a scan in 2004 they found the fingerprint of a child between 7-15 on this figurine -- they probably weren't the artist, but must have handled it at some point before it was fired. and somehow that gets me real emotional haha

Venus of Monruz. Found in current day Switzerland, likely about 11,000 years old, and of a profile I feel can only suitably be described as 'absolute dumptruck'. Mostly here for the ass enjoyers to balance out the representation of glorious boobage, if I'm being honest. Some similar figurines were found in Germany and at least one of them are theorized to be made by the same artist; I find this idea absolutely delightful because I love the idea that someone so obviously Knew What They Were About back then. (The actual function of Venus figurines, whether for ritualistic/religious purposes as fertility symbols, works of art, or good old fashioned tit(t)illation is uncertain and contentious (as is the use of 'Venus figurine' as a name for them, accordingly), but in my own humble and entirely unqualified opinion: somehow this one feels deeply horny. someone here was all about that base and didn't care who knew it.)

Venus of Hohle Fels Found in current day Germany, the oldest known clear depiction of a human being we know of, dated to 40,000 -- 30,000 years old. (The Löwenmensch figurine is likely older, but it's kind of unclear if that is meant to depict a human being or a god or what. My unprofessional personal opinion: Yes, that is right; the furries got there first, and I don't see why anyone's surprised fhsdfjak.)

Several male anthropologists have said some deeply exuberantly weird and horny things about this one! It does somehow feel like I'm daring tumblr to strike me down even in the absence of female presenting nipples on display here (nevermind the 'more of a pussy out sort of look' of it all) so maybe they have a point, but I find this piece of art so deeply charming I'm ready to take the chance anyway. I adore the way the hands are rendered especially. I also cannot recommend enough that you go to the wikimedia section of this one, not least because I found THIS in there

the power of transformative art. the anime titty jiggle of our modern day applied to the oldest known human figure. art begets art across the ages

Not a piece of art as such, but the the Neanderthal skeletons found in the Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq fascinate me. Lots of interesting speculation about the possible presence of altruism in Neanderthals brought up from this. Special shoutout to the body known as Shanidar 3: a male person who was between 40 and 50 at the time of his death, and who may have been the first guy we know of to have been stabbed to death by someone. what a claim to fame. Caesar may have done it the most but this guy did it first

This little guy

I can't stop laughing. yes that is exactly how I feel too, trace of French cave art possibly depicting a cave hyena from Le Babiliou Cave, Dordogne, France. You're saying what we're all thinking

[tiger-balm]

"Are you the first finish?" "Oh yeah!"

(credit to years of hill training)

[tereghan]

https://www.garagegrowngear.com/blogs/trail-talk/crushing-it-how-we-talk-about-outdoor-adventure-and-why-it-matters

This guy understands it, and puts it much better than I ever could. Coming to nature with a conquering and colonialist mindset is not going to help, but neither will, "Trusting Mother Earth to take care of me, the trail provides!"

We have a responsibility to take care of ourselves in nature and be prepared so that we come home safely. We also have a responsibility to take care of the areas we enjoy, reduce our harm to the natural environment, and give back if we can. A good walk in nature can do great things for your short term mental health but it will not replace treatment if you need it.

But if you plan ahead, and bring enough water and dress for the weather, then you can have an amazing time exploring all the amazing sights right outside your backyard.

[purposefully-lost]

Alex like a year and a half after Rabbit's death going awol for a while to hike the Appalachian trail

[blackpearlblast]

like i just searched his name and clicked on the second article that showed up and it maybe talked about trevonte for a paragraph or two then spent the rest of the article talking about the nature reserve. they care more about an inanimate location (that was not even harmed, just that something bad happened there at all) than a black man's life and death.

his full name was trevonte jamal shubert-helton.

[thoughtportal]

DTE outages are a long standing problem that have nothing to do with an ice storm

[senadimell]

Cleaned my desk last night (long overdue) and now there are only two projects on it!

[immaterial-girl]

everyone talks about how your frontal lobe finishes cooking at 25 but maybe they are on to something bc i have been suddenly struck with inspiration to live a more fulfilling life?? like mentally.

to try and work toward self-improvement and to stretch & do yoga and meditate and read more nonfiction and do research about things just because i find them interesting and journal more and commit time to creative projects and actually commit to the languages i’m learning and just like invest good things in myself because if i feed my brain garbage it will output garbage.

like i am generally very happy & have been for a minute, and that is fine but it makes me worry that as long as i am happy i won’t have any reason to work toward becoming the kind of person i would meet and want to aspire to be more like. so anyway

TL;DR: if anyone has any thoughts on concrete ways to improve life and being a person i would very much like to hear♥️ in tags, replies or comments

[saurotitan]

The Outdoorsman's Season

Fall is upon us, which means time spent outdoors. Allow me to explain why I think of autumn as the outdoorsman's season.

Autumn is now upon us, dear readers, and that means it’s time to reconnect with nature. Spring and summer may be the seasons for all things green and growing, but they’re both too full of rain, heat, humidity, and biting insects for all but the most diehard fans of the great outdoors to truly enjoy them in peace. That’s why everyone who has a choice has spent the last several hundred days inside…

[borom1r]

ive had to block two fucking AI art blogs in the boromir tag today WHAT is going on

[thrivingisthegoal]

Golf Courses ARE Being Converted

The Solarpunk "fantasy" that so many of us tout as a dream vision, converting golf courses into ecological wonderlands, is being implemented across the USA according to this NYT article!

The article covers courses in Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Colorado, and New York that are being bought and turned into habitat and hiking trails.

The article goes more into detail about how sand traps are being turned into sand boxes for kids, endangered local species are being planted, rocks for owl habitat are being installed, and that as these courses become wilder, they are creating more areas for biodiversity to thrive.

Most of the courses in transition are being bought by Local Land Trusts. Apparently the supply of golf courses in the USA is way over the demand, and many have been shut down since the early 2000s. While many are bought up and paved over, land Trusts have been able to buy several and turn them into what the communities want: public areas for people and wildlife. It does make a point to say that not every hold course location lends itself well to habitat for animals (but that doesn't mean it wouldn't make great housing!)

So lets be excited by the fact that people we don't even know about are working on the solutions we love to see! Turning a private space that needs thousands of gallons of water and fertilizer into an ecologically oriented public space is the future I want to see! I can say when I used to work in water conservation, we were getting a lot of clients that were golf courses that were interested in cutting their resource input, and they ended up planting a lot of natives! So even the golf courses that still operate could be making an effort.

So what I'd encourage you to do is see if there's any land or community trusts in your area, and see if you can get involved! Maybe even look into how to start one in your community! Through land trusts it's not always golf course conversions, but community gardens, solar fields, disaster adaptation, or low cost housing! (Here's a link to the first locator I found, but that doesn't mean if something isn't on here it doesn't exist in your area, do some digging!)