The Old Naturalist

A MAPLE TREE in the Coastal Redwoods

If your body is not rooted to the planet, you cannot know who you are spiritually. If your body does not have the soul of the planet in it, then your etheric soul cannot know your body and your body cannot know the etheric world.

The Earth has created billions and billions of life forms, all of which have to learn to live on this planet and be a part of it. If you want to be conscious, to be knowing, to be spiritual, you cannot do it without your physical body. To know caring, you have to take care of life other than your own. If all you know is what is good for yourself and no one else, you are neither human nor spiritual. You cannot be real until you allow your body to have the spirituality, the awareness of what it is to be part of something so much larger than yourself.

The physical planet you live in is an astounding soul. It is extremely sophisticated and knowledgeable. We know this because of the amount of water and the amount of life it sustains. If you want to be spiritual, I would suggest you begin to allow this planet into your body. And when I say “allow’, maybe you should ask. Ask that it will join you in your body. Ask if you can actually connect to it. Ask if it’s even willing to come to you and you come to it.

The asking is as important as the receiving. Expectations are cruel. If you expect that the planet is just going to connect to you and help your body with your spirituality, that is like expecting the person next to you to hand over everything you want from them. You have to be ready to receive it. And to the best of your ability, you have to be willing to be part of the planet, to understand how the planet is alive.

You cannot demand connection from another life form. You can only ask and hope that the connection will actually occur. When you begin to look for connection you have to begin to look at your responsibility in how you’re going to receive the connection, how you’re going to grow with it, and how you’re going to give the connection to others. When the planet connects to you it allows you to learn much more – not only of the physical world, but the physical spirituality. This then allows your etheric soul to be even much more a part of your physical world and allows your physical world to be more part of the etheric worlds. One cannot do without the other.

In a shared life of physical spiritualness, your body gives life to your etheric soul in the physical domain; your etheric soul gives life to your body in the etheric domain. Where the two come together to make a third and that is where you grow – in the third. As that continues in your life, you are always being reborn, always finding another path or making the path you’re on stronger.

You must develop better roots. Nature gives you roots; gives you the knowledge of who you are as a physical being; and feeds your body and your human soul. It allows your body to be an alive being, alive soul, that can be fluid in a physical form. However, it is the Earth’s soul that teaches your body how to flow. It is not your etheric soul.

If you want to be strong, you have to be like a tree. I am deeply rooted into the soil and to the water. I can only be as strong as my roots are strong and deep into the planet. That includes what I can receive, not what I can take. It is not about what I am going to get. It’s about what I am going to give and receive. If in fact, you believe everything is about you, you will receive nothing from the planet. All that you receive you must look to see where you can share it, not just with your mind but also with your heart.

The Earth will not touch you if your heart is small. The Earth will not touch you if you are small in mind. If you intend to do harm, the earth will withdraw and not connect to you, so you can actually become even more harmful. Evil exists without connection. It destroys connections.

If you cannot be a forest where the roots mingle together and the crowns fill the air and feel the rain together, you cannot grow. You will be a tree that never takes root and never grows. You will be the first one to blow over with the wind. It is within a forest that the trees grow stronger. You cannot do this as one. You have to be one and then the many.

When you bring life you bring so much more spirit, earth, your solar system, what you call God. What you experience when you think of God is just one. Whereas we experience a multiple form, that has no name because it is so many vibrations, so many particles, so many drops of water, so much of everything. It is life and it is death coming together continuously in such a way that it has the ability to breathe life and to breathe death at the same time.

Hopefully that is what you will try to learn— how to be beyond yourself, how to be more than just you – that your root system spreads out all different levels of earth and your crown hears the wind. Listen to the wind. It brings in sounds and shares that with the roots, and the roots share it with the crown. It is that whole, amazing, multitude of life that comes from your planet and so much more with the soul.

You will have everything because then you are real. Then you are alive. Then you can be in caring. Then you can be more yourself.

Many, many life forms would not exist without the forest. We are the home to multiple life forms, and in that we become a multiple life form. When you become a home to so many different forms of life, you become so many different lives yourself. It is the only way you can be really alive when you are a home to so much more life than your own. Without others your life becomes small. It becomes solid. Your roots can’t take hold. They cannot bring in nutrients and your crown cannot bask in the sun. It cannot give life to what’s in the air because it cannot receive life from what’s beneath your feet. If you are only yourself, your roots do not go out to the water. They do not grow strong in the dirt. They do not touch any other life form. They do not give life. They do not become a home to life forms.

A workshop developed by ArtStart director, Carol Sirrine, challenged 13 students to create an “Earthly Shrine” that honored the wonders of nature and addressed the impact that humans have had on the Earth. The artists/naturalists ranged in age from 14-17 years old. At the celebration marking the end of the workshop, artists had a chance to share their finished work, their process and their caring for the Earth.

Anissa Wallingford

Songwriter, Anissa Wallingford sang her song, “Quicksand”.

Maeve Murphy

With the use of clay, glass, rocks and many more earthly objects, I hoped to show that we are meant to create a world that complements natural life instead of using its resources for selfish consumeristic actions. I have used recycled plastics and metals to display the reality that we do live in a universe that is plagued with pollution created by man. I hope to demonstrate that there can be beauty in both the natural and unnatural world as long as we continue to love and care for the earth with which we have been granted.
Maeve Murphy

Flannery McGreevey

I wanted to portray the story of an animal living in our present world. I chose to create a chicken that embodies the chaos in our universe. By using many bright busy colors it shows the turmoil that many beings experience. The different textures represent the complexity of the issue we are facing. Although at times the problems of climate change seem overwhelming, there are still things you can do!
Flannery McGreevy

Serena Raths

I wanted to create a piece which literally jumped off of my canvas. I was inspired by our days spent walking beside the Mississippi River. I tried to add as much detail as possible, to demonstrate all of the intricacies which reside within nature. By making the diorama scene out of recycled materials, I wanted to represent the ways in which humans can strip nature of its most beautiful elements and leave it barren.
Serena Raths

Justine Anderson

For my first foray into stained glass, I chose to depict a great blue heron. We saw many of these birds at the refuge and along the Mississippi River, where I first saw the giant trees where the birds nest. Their stately and graceful movements inspire the kind of reverence I wanted to capture. I thought that stained glass was a fitting medium for a piece meant to honor the sacredness of nature. 
Justine Anderson

Adi Banks

My piece represents the commodification of animals and nature by humans. Some humans go hunting and kill creatures just for their heads so they can be displayed as trophies. It is detrimental to the populations of the creatures and to the ecosystems that they’re a part of. I was inspired by the topic of “Earthly Shrines” and thought this was a fitting expression.
Adi Banks

Hajar Ahmed

I write poetry to change your perspective
I write poetry to raise awarenesses
I run to the battlefield with my pen in hand
I raise my arms to the sky and feel the breeze running through my fingers

All this imagery wouldn’t have been possible without experience.
The Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge provided a safe  haven where
you can be one with nature and escape a world of urbanization that’s
too familiar. Taking a moment to take in other life forms unifies the
living with the dead and the empty with the full.

It’s an accurate representation of life.
Hajar Ahmed

Haley Larson

My piece was inspired when we went out into the woods, and we connected with the biggest tree we could find. While doing this, we were given a chance to feel how the life in the forest communicated with each other. Looking around, I was really inspired by the layered feeling the forest has when you’re in the center of it: trees and plants and bushes stack together to create one big picture that one tree could never establish on its own. The leaves are organized in a mosaic fashion to evoke the feeling of a stained glass window, allowing light to flow through freely. The frame is made of styrofoam to symbolize the restricting effect synthetic goods have on nature.
Haley Larson

Adi Banks, Haley Larson
Serena Raths

We took inspiration from the Minnesota prairie lands: the colors, as well as the specific species that reside there. Our goal was to demonstrate the ways in which humans will need to work with nature to maintain environmental sustainability in our modern world. By using recycled materials, we show how humanity must design their urban spaces and consumer goods to work with the environment instead of against it.
Adi Banks, Haley Larson, Serena Raths

Ana Kirshner

My original idea was very vague, and it was supposed to be paintings of human activity that resulted in global warming and environmental damage, like deforestation, factories, pollution, etc., as well as paintings of natural disasters. Eventually I moved on to the slightly more subtle, like flooding from rising sea levels or floods that are occurring from human actions and making them more devastating and irregular. Originally the paintings were just arranged in a cluster, but then I settled on a tree-like arrangement to represent connectivity and a symbol of nature. The main point of this piece is to prompt self reflection. Are you going to help preserve and protect the environment, or not? Will you carry a shovel to plant a tree or an axe to cut a tree down?
Ana Kirshner

Greta Shore

Transparent
In making this piece, I sought to represent that the epidemic of plastic pollution can be partially attributed to multi-national corporations whose products are either not biodegradable or are not easily disposed of effectively, which in turn relates to ideals of convenience and profitability upheld by these corporations. The general population also neglects their responsibility in preserving the earth and dealing with waste effectively.

The artwork contains a hand-drawn and cut map of the world affixed onto blue paper, which is then disrupted by shards of broken glass, highlighting areas that produce the most pollution. The unaltered map appears more balanced and visually appealing, as it fits our idea of what our world looks like, while the impact of corporations and the ignorance and wastefulness of the general population disrupts this. This is done to redefine our default view of our planet and shine a light on humanity’s wastefulness and disregard.
Greta Shore

Get ready world! It won’t be business as usual with this group.
Photograph by Michael Croswell

I have lived in the Twin Cities for 30 years and have never visited Coon Rapids Dam until last weekend. What a treasure! A lot of birdwatchers, photographers with ultra long lens, families, and bicyclists. Many thanks to Jane Ball and Celeste Rouse who contributed their beautiful photos.

White Pelican with the “horn” on the top of the beak that develops during the breeding season.  Photograph by Larry Wade

The White Pelican has one of the largest wing spans (9 feet across) in North America, second only in size to the California Condor. White Pelicans nest in Northern Minnesota, North Dakota and Southern Canada.

There were 4 or 5 loons at the dam, possibly because most of the lakes in the area and north are still frozen. Photograph by Larry Wade

Loon eating a crayfish. Photograph by Larry Wade

Most of the birds that were at the dam were migratory. I came back next day and 50% of the birds had left. The wind had changed from a north wind to a south wind. Spring migratory birds usually move when the wind is from south because they can get a free ride and not have to expend as much energy.

Red Necked Grebe in breeding plumage. Photograph by Larry Wade

Eared Grebe with a grub.
Photograph by Celeste Rouse

Eared Grebe is on the left and a Horned Grebe is on the right. Both are in breeding plumage.
Photograph by Jane Ball

Male Ruddy Duck or “bluebill”.
Photograph by Larry Wade

Male Northern Shoveler. The bird gets its name because of its large beak that it uses for filtering plankton.  Photo by Celeste Rouse

Both the Northern Shoveler and the Ruddy Duck nest in the pothole region of Northern Minnesota and North Dakota.

Male and Female Blue Wing Teal. Blue Wing Teals nest throughout Minnesota.
Photo by Larry Wade

Hooded Merganser is a fish eating bird. It has a serrated beak and is sometimes called a “sawbill”. Photo by Larry Wade

Male wood duck in the foreground and the female in the background. Wood ducks nest in the Twin Cities.
Photograph by Larry Wade

Great Blue Heron  Photo by Celeste Rouse

The Great Blue Heron is 4 1/2 feet tall. They use their sharp beak for spearing fish, frogs, mice and insects. Blue Herons nest mainly in trees.

Osprey   Photo by Celeste Rouse

There is an osprey nest on the  west side of the Coon Rapids Dam. On Sundays there is an osprey watch volunteer monitoring the nest. He has a very large telescope for interested people to observe the birds.

Text and photos by Gary Friedrichsen. Other photos by Robert Lockett.

Oriental Pied Hornbill
We were fortunate to see all of the species of Hornbills that live in Borneo. Interesting birds that seal the females into a tree cavity nest and the male then feeds her until the chicks fledge.

I feel extremely blessed to have visited many parts of this amazing planet, and been awed by the grandeur of both human and natural wonders. But after a near lifetime of exploration, research, and exposure to many cultures it is a fantastic pleasure to be completely taken off guard.  I recently had the pleasure of accompanying a good friend on an excursion to the island of Borneo.

Cinnamon-rumped Trogon

Male Proboscis Monkey
The Jimmy Durante’s of the Bornean rainforest. These large primates travel in small groups along the river feeding on leaves and shoots.

Phone rings…. “Hello!” “Hey there, this is Bob Lockett. Have you ever thought about going to Borneo?”
Well no, not really. My mind immediately conjured images of bones in the nose headhunters and endless miles of humid, hot rainforests. Didn’t Margaret Mead study natives there and rock our thoughts about male-female roles in society?

Pygmy Asian Elephants
We had an hour with a group of 19 of these small elephants as they bathed, feed and “played” as these two young males are doing.

I did know that the rainforests there, like others around the world, were being devastated by logging and slash and burn farming and that those activities were putting many of the native birds and mammals at risk.  I jumped at the chance.

A Rafflesia blossom can reach 100 cm in diameter. This is the largest single blossom in the world. Their smell attracts the carrion insects that spread the pollen. Very stinky!

Borneo is the third largest island in the world following Greenland and New Guinea (where Dr. Mead actually did her research). There are over 200 species of land mammals; more than 400 native birds, and an amazing botanical display.

One of the 164 species of pitcher plants in Borneo, this one was the largest we encountered and measured about 16 cm.

This is the land of the “Old Man of the Jungle” the Orangutan. It is the home of Pygmy-Asian Elephants, Giant Flying Squirrels, the almost extinct Asian Rhinoceros, the Proboscis Monkey and eight other primates.

Orangutan
The “Old man of the jungle”. This male Orangutan was bored by the attention given him by the eager passengers in the boats below. He often turned his back on the crowds much to our dismay.

 It was wonderful to share in seeing so much fantastic nature. Hornbills, Trogons, Broadbills, Barbets, Babblers and Bulbuls were seen in profusion. Close encounters with Macaque and Langur monkeys, Orangutans and even the big wild-eyed Western Tarsier. The latter is a very small (~12”), long-tailed primate that jumps from tree to tree feeding on smaller animals at night.

www.saynotopalmoil.com
Palm oil plantation in Malaysia. This is one of the two large threats to wildlife and ecosystems in Borneo.

Two major environmental issues facing Bornean wildlife are unsustainable timber harvest of hardwood forests and additional deforestation for palm oil plantations. According to a recent scientific report ( Feb. 2018), Borneo has lost over 100,000 orangutans ( half its population ) in just 16 years due to habitat loss from logging and palm oil plantations.
While flying over the Kinabatangan River, we could see hundreds of miles of cleared forest and a very small buffer of native habitat along the river. The cleared area was solid palm oil production. This was an unending view of monoculture that provides very little habitat to the native animals.
 

Pig-tailed Macaque (above) and the Long-tailed Macaque were our most commonly encountered primates. Very enjoyable to watch as they scampered through he trees or, like this mother son pair doing a bit of grooming.

   Once on the river we were astonished by the richness of the thin strip of native forest. Here were Pygmy Elephants, comical Proboscis Monkeys, Smooth Otters, and an array birds that defy our imagination.

Pua kumbu
www.journeymalaysia.com

Remember my first thoughts of the inhabitants of Borneo?  I was in for an education, when we visited a museum dedicated to Iban* culture Sarawak. Bob and I were both awed by the delicate tapestries and garments on display. These were artifacts of very high culture that we were totally ignorant of and that pre-dated Columbus’s voyages. We also saw Iban natives weaving patterns that have been passed down for over 700 years.

Pua kumbu is the cotton cloth woven by traditional Iban women from weavers who have past the designs and know how down for hundreds of years with no written language only hands-on training from an elder.

*Iban tribal members were one of the first settlers in Borneo. Their culture dates back over 700 years and despite no written language their verbal history recounts early interactions with other tribes vying for prime agricultural land. They adopted headhunting as a method to produce fear in their rivals yet held strong religious views. Most are now Christians and Muslims. Their production of brightly colored cloth for ceremonies and wood carvings are rich in texture and historic tradition.

Joss House Temple Kuching
The Chinese have had dealings in Borneo for over two thousand years and they have a large population living throughout Malaysia and Indonesia. We learned a good deal of history along with our quest for wildlife!

We had come for the birds and mammals but our enlightenment towards this and other unknown cultures was the real reward.

Guide Service:  We traveled with “Field Guides” as our tour group organizer. They were “spendy” but excellent.

Acommodations: Batik Boutique in Kuching ( www.batikboutiquehotel.com).

Old Naturalist’s note: “I first met Gary Friedrichsen when he was living in a shack in Humboldt Bay, Northern California. There was an outhouse, no running water or electricity. Gary spent over 45 years plying the seas as marine biologist, specializing in whale and dolphin identification for NMFS, Cornell University, and Scripps Institute of Marine Biology. He also was a commercial salmon fisherman for a number of years off the coast of California and Oregon. Besides being an entertaining writer and excellent photographer, Gary is a wonderful person to be around.”