Yeah, not much of a monsoon, is it. But then, when the mean annual rainfall is a little more than 100 mm (less than 4 inches), expecting deluges will be an unrealized hope.
Not at all where I expected the article to go, but I appreciate your thoughtful reflection on the rhythms of life. For me, middle adulthood is where I'm realizing how much of life consists of maintenance and the same household tasks, over and over. The dishes get dirty, so I wash them...and again the next day, and the next, and the next... At some point, I came to realize that these chores aren't getting in the way of my life, they ARE my life. Or at least, a large part. I think Western culture teaches young people to get "around" or "past" mundane chores to do "greater" things. But I think we would do well to recover the lesson that there is joy and contentment in allowing the daily things to be a welcomed part of life, even if it is as annoying as sweeping sand! And now, off to do the laundry and mop the kitchen, ha.
Indeed! If you want a dramatic version of "life is maintenance" check out the Japanese movie, "Woman in the Dunes." It was made in 1964. Here is the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_the_Dunes. There are sites where you can watch it online too. Even as a callow youth, I found it profoundly affecting.
No, nothing to do with mushrooms. The circles are the result of area-wide competition for water by the grasses growing in this windblown sand. Lateral water-conduction in this sand is so extreme that the competition plays out over a wide area, resulting in circular areas from which water (after rains) is extracted by the surrounding vegetation so quickly that grass seedlings cannot grow quickly enough to reach water, and thus die. There is a substantial literature on fairy circles now. Here is a link to one of the papers: https://publications.goettingen-research-online.de/bitstream/2/5535/2/een12267.pdf
I enjoyed this essay and the relentless grace of shifting sands. A check of the weather forecast for tomorrow indicates Kwessiegat is in for 0.1 mm of precipitation. Otherwise, not so much. (https://www.yr.no/en/forecast/daily-table/2-3355822/Namibia/Hardap/Kwessiegat)
Yeah, not much of a monsoon, is it. But then, when the mean annual rainfall is a little more than 100 mm (less than 4 inches), expecting deluges will be an unrealized hope.
Not at all where I expected the article to go, but I appreciate your thoughtful reflection on the rhythms of life. For me, middle adulthood is where I'm realizing how much of life consists of maintenance and the same household tasks, over and over. The dishes get dirty, so I wash them...and again the next day, and the next, and the next... At some point, I came to realize that these chores aren't getting in the way of my life, they ARE my life. Or at least, a large part. I think Western culture teaches young people to get "around" or "past" mundane chores to do "greater" things. But I think we would do well to recover the lesson that there is joy and contentment in allowing the daily things to be a welcomed part of life, even if it is as annoying as sweeping sand! And now, off to do the laundry and mop the kitchen, ha.
Indeed! If you want a dramatic version of "life is maintenance" check out the Japanese movie, "Woman in the Dunes." It was made in 1964. Here is the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_the_Dunes. There are sites where you can watch it online too. Even as a callow youth, I found it profoundly affecting.
Wow, the Wikipedia plot summary is indeed dramatic!
Circles: basidiomycetes??
No, nothing to do with mushrooms. The circles are the result of area-wide competition for water by the grasses growing in this windblown sand. Lateral water-conduction in this sand is so extreme that the competition plays out over a wide area, resulting in circular areas from which water (after rains) is extracted by the surrounding vegetation so quickly that grass seedlings cannot grow quickly enough to reach water, and thus die. There is a substantial literature on fairy circles now. Here is a link to one of the papers: https://publications.goettingen-research-online.de/bitstream/2/5535/2/een12267.pdf