to know the land

In the later part of the Summer, I was walking with my friend and colleague Tamara when we came across some scat with Apples (Malus domestica) in it. I can’t remember what brought it up but she mentioned that she has seen more scats composed mostly of Apple left by Coyotes (Canis latrans) rather than by Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes). This got me wondering.. who eats more Apples, Coyotes or Red Foxes? This question began a weird hook in my mind, and everytime I noticed Apples, Apple based scat, Coyote scat or Red Fox scat, the question would come to mind. I decided I would go for a walk and try and measure a ton of scats, look for evidence one way or another and see if I could get any closer to an answer. Ended up making the show about this question.Correction: 3 ft is equal to 91.44 cm. A yard is longer than a meter. To learn more :Mammal Tracks and Sign by Mark Elbroch and Casey McFarland. Stackpole Books, 2nd ed., 2019.Tracking and the Art of Seeing by Paul Rezendes. Harper Perennial, 1999.American Wildlife and Plants : A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits by Alexander C. Martin, Herbert S. Zim, Arnold L. Nelson. Dover Publications, 1951.Behaviour of North American Mammals by Mark Elbroch and Kurt Rinehart. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.

Listening to the land, in a very tangible way, can lead to some pretty special moments. Whether it is Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapilus) scolding an Eastern Screech Owl (Megascaups asio), hearing the thunder heralding a powerful storm, or the waves washing up on the beach, the land speaks to us through sound in thousands of ways. We just have to stop and listen. To wake up early and walk only a few feet to track on the chilly morning beach is a gift. To spend time connecting with one of my brothers while connecting with the land, truly a gift. To listen to the waves, the Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) while wandering among the rocks and sand, again, a gift. I brought my recorder with me out to McGregor Point on Naadowewi-gichigami/Lake Huron incase any sounds moved me, and of course, such a big beautiful sea tugged at me in the foggy morning. I had to record. To learn more :Online Etymology Dictionary entry on “gossamer”

Aside of our human cultural space there is the broad other-than human animal place. A world we exist along with, and yet are still achingly removed from. This wilder edge is always calling out, audibly and silently, with gesture, scent, behaviour and sound. George Bumann has been practicing paying attention to this world in ways that I long to. In his new book, Eavesdropping On Animals : What we can learn from wildlife conversations, George shares stories and studies which reveal and inspire would be listeners to hear what that imminently natural world is always already singing out. He looks at animal communication strategies and draws out lessons and tools which he shares in approachable and digestible ways. In the interview we explored various communication strategies, from audible calls to subtle body language including unique alarm and welcome calls. We spoke about our presence in nature and discuss ways to minimize disturbance while recognizing our place in the ecosystem. George and I go deep into the diverse forms of communication throughout the other-than human language-scape. He also shared some insights into how engaging all our senses, especially sound, we can better attend to that wonder full zoolexicon at that wilder edge. This is one of the good ones. To learn more : George Bumann’s website Eavesdropping on Animals pageEavesdropping on Animals Online Course with George

As Julie Beeler writes, it wasn’t until 1969 that fungi were taxonomically separated from plants and recognized as inhabiting their own kingdom. There is so much that we do not understand about their taxonomy, their natural history, their functions in their ecosystem, or their medicinal values. With all that we do not know, Julie Beeler’s amazing work, set on paper as the Mushroom Color Atlas draws a clear path towards understanding the possible tones and timbres of colour and shade which we can pull from some of members of this vast kingdom. The Mushroom Color Atlas showcases the variety of colours derived from the fungi themselves, as well as some of their identification features and where we might find them. The book also highlights the dye preparation process, which fabrics and mordants to use, and the some of the chemistry which makes all the magic happen. We spoke about Julie’s history as a designer, artist, and educator, her own deepening relationship with fungi, poisonous mushrooms, and the future of fungi in fashion and beyond. From the colour to the fungi themselves to our human connections with the broader ecology to the movement for a more conscious and considerate fashion, working with fungi creates deep mycelial intimacies with the world we inhabit, and Julie helps guide us through. To learn more : Mushroom Color Atlas.comMushroom Color Atlas on instagram