I loved reading this. I live with chronic illness, and there is nothing ‘paltry’ about giving what you can, when you can. There is nothing paltry about living consciously and kindly. ❤️
Such a kind comment, Hari, and thank you. Coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally), no fewer than three other nature writers here on Substack just recommended your work to me. Funny how those synchronicities pop up. :) Wishing lots of good days your way. 💚
Thank you for your service, Rebecca. Thank you for your love of the natural world and sharing this with us. Really appreciate your Nature Writer directory and being included in it. And thank you for the tip on planting Clarkia. I’ve got a small space off the front porch that will benefit from it. Take good care and hope you are feeling better.
Oh, you’re so welcome, Heidi, and thank you for all YOU do! I can’t always comment, but I read every post. Good luck with the Clarkias! I hope someday in the not too distant future, you’ll find someone has been cutting little half-moons out of their petals. 🩷
Thank you, Rebecca. Perhaps a critter post on Clarkia is in the future! We will keep you in the loop.:) Thank you very much for reading Critters. Take good care.
Never feel you have to apologize to yourself for not doing enough . Knowing that it upsets you, what you could have accomplished if you were feeling better.
Simply stated, that alone defines a good heart.
Be easy on yourself , you know who you are . You know the energy you put out into the world. This is more than enough. Take time to heal.
Lor, thank you. Your kindness is palpable. I think I am still in recovery from a hard-driving career world and the path toward acceptance of a different way to contribute is longer than I expected. A work in progress, for sure, and your words remind me how grace and kindness can only help. My gratitude. 💚
Ah, Rebecca, I love you. Having just read your essay, I feel you speak for all I hold most dear. Thank you for using your beautiful voice on behalf of all beings.
Hmm, that would make a great publication name — or it could be the setting for a novel: a small, Western town newsroom, filled with escapees from big-city newspapers and national nonprofits, doing scrappy reporting and podcasting on the shenanigans of oil companies and lithium miners… I 100% want a job at the Clarkia Evening Bee.
Oh that's fantastic, Nicole, thank you. There's nothing better than large-scale rewilding. I love it so much. I've bookmarked it so I can watch when it comes to streaming in the US! 💚💚
I found this very moving , both for your speaking up for being a living world lover and calling out hijacking of environmental movement by human dominance agendas, and for your love of native plants and pollinators. To me all this is vital in words and action, resting our way to health is love , which we need to give ourselves and our planet. 💚
So much in this post! First to say that that list doesn't feel in the least bit miniscule or paltry to me as a reader. Primarily because it's thoughtful, and thoughtful matters. But also because it apoears in the context of the longer piece. I didn't know that there are kinds of bees that cut flower petals or leaves to make nests. Loved the story-telling and images around that.
And loved the tip to look at what plants in a nursery have insects around them. Can we assume as a general rule that insects are good at guessing what offers them something good, do you know — that is, that if they like, it it's good for them, instead of being the insect equivalent of junk food?
So wonderful to hear from you! (And sorry I'm just getting to this now ... recovery was a bit slow). I do think I've read that some flowers can provide nectar without doing much else for insects, meaning they don't provide much nutrition or habitat in other ways. But there are so many overbred flowers that don't even provide nectar, mostly because the fancy convoluted shapes of showy blooms can exclude insects from getting inside -- I think if insects are visiting a plant, they must at least be able to get nectar from it. So that would be a step in the right direction! Locally bred, native plants are head and shoulders above most hybrid plants though, in terms of providing animals with the full package. :) Thank you for caring and being interested in this. Oh, and entomologist Dave Goulson's books are fantastic for European insect-plant relationships, if you haven't seen them. He's quite an engaging writer, too.
So glad you're feeling better now! Wonderful to see this. And wow, thanks for this reply; it's fascinating and upped my knowledge level greatly. Had no idea that we were in the habit of breeding flowers in ways that make them inaccessible to insects. A painful thought.
Oddly enough I have a book by Dave Goulson, but have never opened it, and probably never would have without your note! I picked it up in bookstore last summer, not knowing anything about him or it, just caught by the title — ”The Wild Garden,” in Swedish, which must ”The Jungle Garden” in the original — and the jacket copy. Assumed it was by someone here.
When I got home and realized that I had mistakenly bought an English-language book in translation I got dispirited and put it aside, and haven't thought of it again until I recognized the name here and checked. Will read it now. The world is such a funny place,
This is a beautiful post Rebecca. Thank you for teaching us about the Clarkia bee! Your words touched something very familiar in me - the uncomfortable feeling that the problems of the world are so huge, that the small things we do cannot make a great difference. And yet, we are just us. If our actions are thoughtful and loving, what more can we ask of ourselves? Some days we will have more impact than others - and we may never know which days those were. Wishing you health and a measure of contentment. And many flowers and wildlife friends.
I'm so sorry for the delayed response here. It was a bit of a slow recovery. But I'm glad this touched a sense of familiarity in you ... I think more of us must be feeling this way than I ever imagined. Talking more about it, and finding our common ground, can only help us get the energy to go on, I think. :)
I am here in Oregon, Michael. Willamette Valley. And whew! It's hot. Thanks for checking in -- I have a chronic migraine condition and am sometimes debilitated for weeks, then am sometimes fine for weeks or months. It just comes and goes. I'm in a bright spot now. Much gratitude for you and Mackenzie and others. 💚💚
I can certainly sympathize. I had migraines up to my early teens an well remember how horrible they were. They went away then reappeared as ocular migraines fifty years later. Much less pain thank goodness! 98° here currently!
This whole post is lovely! I’m so inspired to plant in service to our local pollinators, and I’ve never been much of a gardener. Your example of living from love rather than fear is powerful. Hope you continue to feel better, and to be healed by your service to Mother Earth.
Gorgeous, Julie, and sorry for being so slow to respond. Recovery took a while, this time, but I'm back in the saddle! Your work has been so wonderful lately. I can't always comment, but I read (and love) every word.
I hope you feel better soon! Thank you for this; I also feel that the many small things we can do every day to help the Earth are important and cumulative. If only more folks would do so, think what would happen.
Thank you for this (and sorry for the delayed response). I just wanted to circle back and let you know I read your words when you posted them, and although I couldn't reply at the time, they meant so much to me. The idea of everyone doing their own little part gives me so much hope. 💚
There are only so many hours in a day to do things - I understand completely, and thank you for taking the time to come back and reply. At times I get overwhelmed by all things internet and have to step away for a day or more. Here's to doing our parts for the Earth✨💚
Thanks for this. Much of it resonated. I've given up most of my State and County boards and committees for the same reasons - saving charismatic megafauna and "wilderness" while carrying on business as usual. Ditto on no meat, no herbicides, minimum lawn, veg garden, bike to the farmer's market. I'm an entomological ignoramus though. I need to work on that!
Just getting back to this, although I read and appreciated this comment when you posted it, John. One entomological ignoramus to another, check out Bill Davison's piece from today called "A Panther in My Garden" -- not sure if you use a smartphone, but if you do, he suggests a method for learning who's who in your garden that looks like a heck of a lot of fun. I'm going out tomorrow morning before the heat sets in to give it a try. Hope the heat dome is not as bad up where you are.
I do hope whatever is ailing you departs soon Rebecca… meanwhile take the time you need to recover - thank you these little reminders of planet saving tactics! Every gesture helps right!🍃
Hi Rebecca, I just wanted to let you know that I hope you are feeling better soon. Sending healing energy your way.
Thank you, Pamela! I am optimistic that I am on the upswing now. I appreciate your energy. 💚
I loved reading this. I live with chronic illness, and there is nothing ‘paltry’ about giving what you can, when you can. There is nothing paltry about living consciously and kindly. ❤️
Such a kind comment, Hari, and thank you. Coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally), no fewer than three other nature writers here on Substack just recommended your work to me. Funny how those synchronicities pop up. :) Wishing lots of good days your way. 💚
I’m going to pretend I’m cool and didn’t scream when I read that 😎 have many soft days and I look forward to reading more of your work 💕
Thank you for your service, Rebecca. Thank you for your love of the natural world and sharing this with us. Really appreciate your Nature Writer directory and being included in it. And thank you for the tip on planting Clarkia. I’ve got a small space off the front porch that will benefit from it. Take good care and hope you are feeling better.
Oh, you’re so welcome, Heidi, and thank you for all YOU do! I can’t always comment, but I read every post. Good luck with the Clarkias! I hope someday in the not too distant future, you’ll find someone has been cutting little half-moons out of their petals. 🩷
Thank you, Rebecca. Perhaps a critter post on Clarkia is in the future! We will keep you in the loop.:) Thank you very much for reading Critters. Take good care.
Hi Rebecca, wishing you more energy, less pain, and loads of self compassion.
Oh, thank you Karen. I appreciate your kind wishes. 💚💚
Never feel you have to apologize to yourself for not doing enough . Knowing that it upsets you, what you could have accomplished if you were feeling better.
Simply stated, that alone defines a good heart.
Be easy on yourself , you know who you are . You know the energy you put out into the world. This is more than enough. Take time to heal.
Lor, thank you. Your kindness is palpable. I think I am still in recovery from a hard-driving career world and the path toward acceptance of a different way to contribute is longer than I expected. A work in progress, for sure, and your words remind me how grace and kindness can only help. My gratitude. 💚
Ah, Rebecca, I love you. Having just read your essay, I feel you speak for all I hold most dear. Thank you for using your beautiful voice on behalf of all beings.
Diane, thanks for this. I value your work so highly!!
I think I missed an opportunity to call my main Substack the Clarkia Evening Bee.
Hmm, that would make a great publication name — or it could be the setting for a novel: a small, Western town newsroom, filled with escapees from big-city newspapers and national nonprofits, doing scrappy reporting and podcasting on the shenanigans of oil companies and lithium miners… I 100% want a job at the Clarkia Evening Bee.
Hope you feel better soon! 🌸🌸🌸
ps if you want a movie/documentary that will make you feel better about life please see Wilding — https://youtu.be/Uw084uIMo8Y?si=jVnlK27V6ag1jPjk
Oh that's fantastic, Nicole, thank you. There's nothing better than large-scale rewilding. I love it so much. I've bookmarked it so I can watch when it comes to streaming in the US! 💚💚
I found this very moving , both for your speaking up for being a living world lover and calling out hijacking of environmental movement by human dominance agendas, and for your love of native plants and pollinators. To me all this is vital in words and action, resting our way to health is love , which we need to give ourselves and our planet. 💚
Oh Sally, thank you so much for this. And agreed, health is so vital to allow for contribution. I appreciate your kindness.
So much in this post! First to say that that list doesn't feel in the least bit miniscule or paltry to me as a reader. Primarily because it's thoughtful, and thoughtful matters. But also because it apoears in the context of the longer piece. I didn't know that there are kinds of bees that cut flower petals or leaves to make nests. Loved the story-telling and images around that.
And loved the tip to look at what plants in a nursery have insects around them. Can we assume as a general rule that insects are good at guessing what offers them something good, do you know — that is, that if they like, it it's good for them, instead of being the insect equivalent of junk food?
Best wishes for getting better swiftly.
So wonderful to hear from you! (And sorry I'm just getting to this now ... recovery was a bit slow). I do think I've read that some flowers can provide nectar without doing much else for insects, meaning they don't provide much nutrition or habitat in other ways. But there are so many overbred flowers that don't even provide nectar, mostly because the fancy convoluted shapes of showy blooms can exclude insects from getting inside -- I think if insects are visiting a plant, they must at least be able to get nectar from it. So that would be a step in the right direction! Locally bred, native plants are head and shoulders above most hybrid plants though, in terms of providing animals with the full package. :) Thank you for caring and being interested in this. Oh, and entomologist Dave Goulson's books are fantastic for European insect-plant relationships, if you haven't seen them. He's quite an engaging writer, too.
So glad you're feeling better now! Wonderful to see this. And wow, thanks for this reply; it's fascinating and upped my knowledge level greatly. Had no idea that we were in the habit of breeding flowers in ways that make them inaccessible to insects. A painful thought.
Oddly enough I have a book by Dave Goulson, but have never opened it, and probably never would have without your note! I picked it up in bookstore last summer, not knowing anything about him or it, just caught by the title — ”The Wild Garden,” in Swedish, which must ”The Jungle Garden” in the original — and the jacket copy. Assumed it was by someone here.
When I got home and realized that I had mistakenly bought an English-language book in translation I got dispirited and put it aside, and haven't thought of it again until I recognized the name here and checked. Will read it now. The world is such a funny place,
Thanks again and welcome back.
This is a beautiful post Rebecca. Thank you for teaching us about the Clarkia bee! Your words touched something very familiar in me - the uncomfortable feeling that the problems of the world are so huge, that the small things we do cannot make a great difference. And yet, we are just us. If our actions are thoughtful and loving, what more can we ask of ourselves? Some days we will have more impact than others - and we may never know which days those were. Wishing you health and a measure of contentment. And many flowers and wildlife friends.
I'm so sorry for the delayed response here. It was a bit of a slow recovery. But I'm glad this touched a sense of familiarity in you ... I think more of us must be feeling this way than I ever imagined. Talking more about it, and finding our common ground, can only help us get the energy to go on, I think. :)
Rebecca, are you here in Oregon with MacKenzie, me, and the others? What ails you? It sounds familiar. Anything we can do to help?
I am here in Oregon, Michael. Willamette Valley. And whew! It's hot. Thanks for checking in -- I have a chronic migraine condition and am sometimes debilitated for weeks, then am sometimes fine for weeks or months. It just comes and goes. I'm in a bright spot now. Much gratitude for you and Mackenzie and others. 💚💚
I can certainly sympathize. I had migraines up to my early teens an well remember how horrible they were. They went away then reappeared as ocular migraines fifty years later. Much less pain thank goodness! 98° here currently!
This whole post is lovely! I’m so inspired to plant in service to our local pollinators, and I’ve never been much of a gardener. Your example of living from love rather than fear is powerful. Hope you continue to feel better, and to be healed by your service to Mother Earth.
Gorgeous, Julie, and sorry for being so slow to respond. Recovery took a while, this time, but I'm back in the saddle! Your work has been so wonderful lately. I can't always comment, but I read (and love) every word.
💚💚💚
I hope you feel better soon! Thank you for this; I also feel that the many small things we can do every day to help the Earth are important and cumulative. If only more folks would do so, think what would happen.
Thank you for this (and sorry for the delayed response). I just wanted to circle back and let you know I read your words when you posted them, and although I couldn't reply at the time, they meant so much to me. The idea of everyone doing their own little part gives me so much hope. 💚
There are only so many hours in a day to do things - I understand completely, and thank you for taking the time to come back and reply. At times I get overwhelmed by all things internet and have to step away for a day or more. Here's to doing our parts for the Earth✨💚
Hi Rebecca, I hope you feel better soon.
Thanks for this. Much of it resonated. I've given up most of my State and County boards and committees for the same reasons - saving charismatic megafauna and "wilderness" while carrying on business as usual. Ditto on no meat, no herbicides, minimum lawn, veg garden, bike to the farmer's market. I'm an entomological ignoramus though. I need to work on that!
Just getting back to this, although I read and appreciated this comment when you posted it, John. One entomological ignoramus to another, check out Bill Davison's piece from today called "A Panther in My Garden" -- not sure if you use a smartphone, but if you do, he suggests a method for learning who's who in your garden that looks like a heck of a lot of fun. I'm going out tomorrow morning before the heat sets in to give it a try. Hope the heat dome is not as bad up where you are.
Ooh, thanks for the recommendations. I do indeed use a smartphone, and the Merlin birdsong app has taught me a lot. I shall read...
I do hope whatever is ailing you departs soon Rebecca… meanwhile take the time you need to recover - thank you these little reminders of planet saving tactics! Every gesture helps right!🍃
Thanks, Susie, and sorry for the delay in responding! I read and appreciated this so much, at the time. 💚