Category: agrarian

fugit inreparabile tempus

human hand cow nose
Gray and I were walking the Atlantic Avenue, River/Old Harbor Road loop. Visited with the Holsteins.

portion of contact sheet
scanned the negative strips on a flatbed. This the last roll of TriX 35mm/36 I shot.

There have been two rolls of TriX hanging in my darkroom, drying, for years. I cut the film yesterday, discovered images from the summer of 2010. A decade. Fade to black.

Castanea dentata

Castanea dentata seedling
Fortunately, there are not too many parallels between COVID19 and the American Chestnut blight. But in common there is awareness and awakening. Minimize death, be careful. The awakening part… Have you planted a tree during this life? What are you waiting for? It is a rehabilitative and blessed thing to do. Plant. Now. #growingtowardthelight
large dead chestnut tree
The Family of James and Caroline Shelton pose by a large dead American chestnut tree in Tremont Falls, Tennessee, circa 1920. Courtesy of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Library

Greatest forest loss in history

The American chestnut is an historic and beloved part of America’s landscape. Its extinction would be the loss of a symbol of American strength, endurance and resourcefulness. Saving the chestnut and restoring it to its native range at scale could also help give other endangered tree species a new lease on life and directly offset the effects of climate change and deforestation. While no single intervention can completely eradicate chestnut blight, together the science of breeding, biotechnology, and biocontrol (3BUR) offer our best hope for rescuing the American chestnut tree.—The American Chestnut Foundation

Madison County

three horse barn tree
In the country, the urban services, garbage pickup, police, libraries, parks, schools, sidewalks, grocers, professional offices, jobs. They all are at a distance. There is a horse, a barn, a tree. Wildness sometimes, an ordering of the chaos at others. Always beauty. The beauty of creation. There was a song by Canned Heat.

Sledgehammer

Meeting today with a neighbor who understands the Internet. Hoping, with his help, to get back in the good graces of Google. I am tempted by the sledgehammer. In 1978 I was breaking temporary constructions to reclaim lumber. The next owner of the farm burnt down the loved house in the background. Seemingly, because he could.

Lurtie Breedin and Scott Christian in the tall grass
Left, Lurtie Breedin. One of the CCC boys.