After leaving Halls Gap late on the way to Werdug, I find I have enough reception to see I am still close enough to camp to stop for a snack.

#hiking #Grampians #adventure #snacks

What is the other half of the saying, “Curiosity killed the cat …”?

I could ask Google but I want to crowdsource this.

#curiosity #psychology

Today I embark on my first solo outdoor adventure since I got married nearly ten years ago. Nine days #hiking in the Grampians ⛰️😍

I just realised this is indeed the context for this trip. I really lost myself in that marriage, and consequently for years my outlook on horizons and potential was like through this window.

Lack of connection with self and #Nature really is a cause of personal and spiritual bankruptcy. But today I feel like Milo from The Phantom Tollbooth. Hallelujah 🙏🏼

@mycotropic @coppercrush @ClimateJenny As we have been conditioned to think like human doings, we can’t just let plants be plants. May we remember the Zen proverb:

Sitting quietly, doing nothing
Spring comes and the grass grows by itself

Also Alan Watts had a way of demonstrating that Nature doesn’t have a purpose like humans try to impose on everything. We could learn a lot about just-being by observing this in plants.

@coppercrush It sounds like the whole over-specialisation thing. Is there an emerging discipline bridging the gap?, if botany is a bit of a silo ~ some group combining botany, ecology and systems theory or something? Also I guess the practice of conceiving the part as separate from the whole is a generalised problem of old-paradigm modern science if that makes sense. Reductionism right, but you probably can’t say the word “holistic” and not get laughed out of the boardroom.

@coppercrush Does this imply that botanists today study plant life in isolation from their ecosystems? Wouldn’t that be like a chef serving pasta in mid-air? And both wondering why there is a mess.

✨ New Daily Tao Reflection:
“The Wrong Church at the Right Time”
A story about detours, AA meetings, toothbrushes, Polaroids, and why Laozi, Frost, and Bilbo all understood something most of us forget.
📖 Read here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-175262636

#TaoTeChing #DailyReflection #SpiritualJourney

@morfil Oh, a family of prodigies!

I see that I will be starting my hike tomorrow on almost-full moon 😍🌖🥾🌲⛰️

#hiking #adventure #photography #moon

Can anyone please recommend some good-quality leak-proof food containers for multi-day #hiking?

I am determined to carry sauerkraut.

#trekking #gear #equipment #outdoor #adventure

I am looking at this Sea to Summit screw-top collapsible cup: https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/sea-to-summit-x-seal-amp-go-small-olive-special/AXSEALSOL

Or this Jiusairui Odor Proof Bear Bags: https://amzn.asia/d/gFKCmiF

🪷 Buddhistdoor Quote for Today: Jianzhi Sengcan (c. 496–606 CE) 🪷

🔗 Explore more at BDG: buddhistdoor.net

#Buddhism #Buddha #Dharma #Zen #Chan #China #Mahayana #Compassion #Mindfulness #Meditation #Liberation #Wisdom #Awakening #Spirituality

I found a website "dedicated to sharing wildlife sounds from all over the world"!

I have been trying to identify a particular bark-like bird sound I keep hearing because I was told it is the honeyeater, and now I have this resource to confirm.

Here is an Australian Magpie song: https://xeno-canto.org/597149.

#birding #wildlife #nature #resources

I am #fundraising for The Men’s Table by #hiking the Grampians as part of my #pilgrimage to find a suitable monastery, and to support men’s #mentalhealth.

There is a link in the attached post to the GoFundMe page, and here as well:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/hiking-the-grampians-for-pilgrimage-and-mens-mental-health

Any contribution is very much appreciated, even just 👋🏻s of support, likes, shares and/or boosts if you think your readers would diggedy dig.

Thank you all for your recommendations, and in the spirit of reciprocity I can highly recommend The Overstory by Richard Powers. It's fiction, but profoundly embroiled in the philosophy of ecology and alllll the inter-relations of biology and culture. At 500+ pages, it's a door-stopper but very easy to read, and compelling.

@brianvastag @ArrowbearMoore @rstar @JMMaok @morfil @clew

#nature #writing #fiction #ecology #forests #trees

@morfil I thought you meant Rupert Sheldrake! Entangled Life looks great though.

@ArrowbearMoore I see Lopez was likened to Thoreau ~ that's a good sign. I've got HDT's "Walking" in my backpack for a hike I'm doing soon.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@cmconseils/115310003150355411

Why it feels so drawn out to be stuck in traffic.

Remember though folks: you're not stuck in traffic; you *are* traffic.

Sunset through the dunny window.

#sunset #photography

@brianvastag Thank you, I will check these out!

My poem for Jane Goodall.

I started it long ago and was moved to finish it when I heard she passed away yesterday.

I hope this honors her amazing life.

Please feel free to share. 💙

Poetry text link:

https://allpoetry.com/poem/18682442-For-Jane-Goodall--1934-2025--by-Robert-J.-Tiess/

#poetry #nature #janegoodall #ecology #earth #conservation #science