Discuss: A Window

Very nice writing but spoilt by the ‘gazillion’ — it would be barely 500mph where you are in Alalska.

Me, I kill rats, stoats, and weazels (all 4 legged) in an attempt to save New Zealand’s birds from extinction.
I smell the sea and the forest’s decay, feel the rough terrain under my boots and, like you, wonder at the beauty of it all.

Thanks, Hank for the breath of fresh air!  A comment about the rate of spining of our world: it is precisely the attention to cranes and coho that can slow down our perception that our world is spinning out of control…a perception at least in myself caused by the ever-increasing overload of a society removed from nature. The slowing down, even if only once a year in crane and coho season, is vital to our understanding and appreciation of our connection to all.  My greatest fear is that we we will alter our world so much that the cranes and cohos no longer return each fall to remind us of this connection.

I am so thankful for writers like you that frame and map what we hope for - but show how it already exists in nature.

Hank,

Thank you. You took me back to August 2009 when I too watched the Sandhill Cranes arrive at the dairy field in Fairbanks after straining my arms for seven hours catching 4 of the 5 varieties of salmon. Your use of words describes better than I the transformation that occurs in AK. For me, a “gazillion” is close enough so John can stick to the preciseness of 500 mph. Time and speed are concepts that seem less important now to the point where I no longer wear a wristwatch. I maintain my AK state of mind by viewing the pictures in my office and soon, you words that will hand on the wall too. Thank you.