Footnotes to a Conversation, April 1, 2024
“Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is my last week in Europe. The world is a vast and wondrous place and I have seen so many beautiful locations, but it will be good to be home. First a few days in Collioure, a small seaside town close to the Spanish border.
Dare
“The values and lessons of adventure elude many of us because adventure means danger and risk and much of contemporary culture and society has become allergic to danger and risk. We’ve cultivated an unhealthy obsession with safety that feeds into our culture of fear . . . Nevertheless, we all possess an adventure left untaken, unexplored, unlived. What exactly is stopping us from participating in one of the most ancient and instrumental behaviors of our species; an intoxicating mix of serendipitous wondering and wandering?
“Daring to travel down unfamiliar and potentially uncomfortable roads enables unforeseen life trajectories and these moments can dramatically come at times when we most need them.” [Those Who Wander]
Twitchers
Amy Tan spends hours observing the birds in her backyard. Her nature journal entries and sketches have led to a new book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, which she hopes will inspire others to protect and cherish birds. [Audubon]
We could save hundreds of millions of birds each year if we kept our cats indoors. They could still spend time outside in a catio. Here are some examples of portable palaces, pop-up pens, window seats, and more permanent structures. [Audubon]
So Little Time
Now, here’s a word that I should definitely add to my vocabulary! Tsundoku, from Japanese, is the act of buying yet another book that you fully intend to read, but never quite get round to. [Susie Dent]
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.