“What art of
waiting is practiced by the mosses, crisped and baking on the summer oak? They
curl inward upon themselves, as if suspended in daydreams. And if mosses dream,
I suspect they dream of rain.” Robin Wall Kimmerer
Did you
know that many mosses may lose up to 98 percent of their water content and
still survive for years? Once they receive the water they need, they thrive
once again, but this is not the most interesting fact about the tiny plants that
lack stems, flowers and fruits. There are many quirks that make them
unique and essential to the ecosystems.
After reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book you
will never look at mosses the same way.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no scientific
evidence to prove that mosses damage shingles or that they are responsible for leakages
in roofs. Yet people continue to waste money on chemicals to remove moss, and in doing so,
they ignore the benefits of moss:
“A mossy roof can protect shingles from the
cracking and curling caused by intense exposure to the sun. Moss adds a cooling
layer in the summer and, when the rains come, slows storm water runoff.”
Therefore, it is unnecessary and even deleterious to remove it.
I became interested in Gathering Moss
soon after I read Braiding Sweetgrass by the same author. However, I was
skeptical about whether a book about moss would hold my interest. Oh, boy, I
was wrong to doubt myself. This book was even more engaging than Braiding Sweetgrass!
I was entranced.
I appreciate books that open up my views to
new perspectives of understanding the world around me. I fell into a magical trance
of musings and knowledge. This unique book seems to make time come to a halt; reading
it is an adventure of exploration, yet it provides a space for reflection and
meditation, a sanctuary amid our fast-paced world, a reminder to reconnect with
our natural roots and the precious acts of observing that which is often
ignored or taken for granted.
Gathering Moss will take you on an
adventure of research and exploration through experiences that make you feel you
are by the author’s side, wading through the waters of a river to observe the
details around you, rolling up your sleeves to do the work your project calls
for to unearth the secrets that lie hidden before your eyes.
These secrets display the ways in which the lives of mosses are intertwined with those of other living beings. It takes an open mind to comprehend the intimate bond that develops between the rocks and the mosses, the shelter mosses create for other tiny creatures, the material they become for the nests of birds.
Moss
plays necessary roles: they purify streams and maintain the humidity of microenvironments
that are vital to many living beings. They belong to the vital architecture of
the forests, helping to maintain the health of a forest and the organisms that
are part of it.
Mosses are small,
but being small does not make them unsuccessful. Robin Wall Kimmerer explains
the ways in which being small has helped mosses. Mosses inhabit almost every
ecosystem on earth, and more than 22,000 species of them exist. They thrive in
micro-communities where being big would be a disadvantage:
“Between the cracks of the sidewalk, on the
branches of an oak, on the back of a beetle, or on the ledge of a cliff, mosses
can fill in the empty spaces left in between the big plants. Beautifully
adapted for life in miniature, mosses take full advantage of being small, and
grow beyond their sphere at their peril."
I recommend Gathering Moss to educators
as well. Like Braiding Sweetgrass, it is an invaluable resource to awaken students to the interconnections that make up life on earth...
The solstice is coming up. I consider the
solstice a time for reflection and silent contemplation.
I feel
thankful for the incredible work done by the librarians and for the fascinating
public libraries, which support our work as educators. Without the work of
librarians My Writing Life blog: Awareness, Reflection, Inspiration
would not exist. My heart is filled with gratitude for them.
Next, I
want to express that I am thankful for my loved ones. Thank you for keeping
the interest in my writing alive. Without their love this blog would not
exist.
My
Writing Life blog does not promote books. It promotes a love for reading
books. It offers a space to feel invigorated by knowledge. It attempts to
inspire readers to observe and learn something new, to be thankful for what
exists and for what remains, and to encourage readers to keep moving forward in
constructive and creative ways.
I look forward to another year of sharing the
amazing energy that comes from reading good books.
Finally,
I want to thank you, dear visitor, for reading my words. I hope you find a
sanctuary here, a space of awareness, reflection and inspiration.
If you want to support my writing, feel free
to share a blog post that you love with your friends.
Happy
Solstice everyone, whether you are in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.
Thank you for visiting My Writing Life blog:
Awareness, Reflection, Inspiration.
Till next year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1lU29SHA9E
