Category: nature

Cottage Dreams

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I have recently grown quite enamored with the idea of living in a cottage in the middle of nowhere growing my own food, or buying an obscene amount of non-perishables, and retreating from everything.

Photo Credit: www.pinterest.com

Yes to anyone who is extroverted and feeds off of social contact maybe this isn’t so great, but alas the idea of getting energy from social encounters to me is probably the second most exhausting thing in the universe.

I mean by no stretch of the imagination am I not social I just need some serious me time after. Understandably selfish if you’re the one I’m blowing off, oh well I’m kind of sorry if it’s any consolation.

I’ve always loved the idea of living somewhere that looks like it comes from a fairy tale. And if I can’t live in Hogwarts, a cottage in the woods is the next best thing. There’s something that is so distinctly cozy about this idea that I simply can’t ignore it.

I’ve always bounced around with my ambitions.

What can I say I’m fickle to the moon and back; for a brief time I dreamed of being a city rat or doing some crazy job surrounded by adoring people; or maybe travelling, never settling down living a vagabond life for all of eternity.

Photo Credit: pictures.finomnc.top

But recently I’ve had some revelations.

Yes I love travel, but then again I hate leaving, I fall in love with places too easy, I’d probably destroy myself trying to live eternally on the move. My possessions would lose value, I love my family far too much to leave them for too long, and mostly I like coming home. And so it was decided, no vagabond life for me I’ll never stop fantasizing about it, and I’ll probably try to live it for a few years then head home and stay home.

Now, the aspiration to be surrounded by adoring people and city life…yeah not happening. This life calls to me no longer, at all. I might live a city life for enrichment purposes, but never for a long amount of time. Too much helter skelter, too much contact with strangers, not enough time to just be.

I’ve now turned to the idea of finding a way to do as much as I can without sprinting. To find a way to be comfortable in my own skin, my own life-pacing. Living in a cottage outside of the common world bubble seems incredibly suited for someone as naturally hobbity as me.

Photo Credit: http://openwalls.com/

Not saying I don’t have a bit of a Baggins in me, adventure will always call  but there will also always be the shire to return to.

I am out of my time, surrounded by flashing neon and a world full of people trying to be louder and bolder than each other. Trying to outwit the clock, sprint faster than the second hand. Never enough time.

I like to take my time, I like to watch the clock and count with it, I like to see it stretched out in front of me. I like to see its line slowly meandering across the horizon. A horizon I could see out the window of another world.

Some Love for Rainy Days

mariethearistocat1 Comment

There’s a certain thing I love about rainy days. Being able to take the day off to snuggle under a mountain of blankets and pillows. Breaking into the food cabinet for hot chocolate and marshmallows. Making a batch of warm, gooey cookies. Watching an old play and eating popcorn.

Driving in rain is so peaceful. Watching the drops race each other down the window. The rhythmic swipe swipe of the window-wiper. The drops making little thuds on the car roof. The heater blasting hot air like an invisible blanket.

Playing in the rain is so fun. Getting soaked from the puddles brought on by an endless downpour. Earlier this year, a group of friends and I had a water fight. We filled up buckets or cups or whatever we could find and just threw them at each other. It would’ve gone on for hours if it wasn’t for dinner. We looked like sad little puppies when we came inside, and immediately dried off.

One thing I love doing in the rain is going in the hot tub. I know, that sounds quite odd. But when I’m at home, we’ll turn it on and it feels so cool. The cool drops on your head and shoulders contrasts so much to the hot water keeping you warm everywhere else.

Even though rain can be inconvenient, like when a wedding or party has to be moved inside, it still is something I look forward to. The memories I’ve made because I had to stay inside because of the rain, and the memories I’ve made because of getting soaked by it, are ones I truly cherish. Sadly, in California, it’s drier than a saltine cracker and it rarely rains.

photo credit to: cdn.tripwiremagazine.com

 

Are we destroying our ocean?

thericemuncherLeave a comment

Over 70 percent of the Earth is covered by oceans and over half of the human population lives near the ocean. Yet, human’s do next to nothing in keeping the oceans clean.

In the past half-century the use of plastic has multiplied by 20. More than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped in the ocean annually – that’s about one garbage truck per minute.

That’s expected to increase to four garbage trucks per minute by 2050. We are on track to have more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.

At this point the production of plastic is irreversible and the 165 million tons of plastic that’s in our ocean right now will have to be cleaned, but we have to ask ourselves: will we do something to stop this destruction? Or will this wanton dumping continue until we destroy our ocean.

 

growing up

happyrose151 Comment

I used to fear the monster under my bed, now I fear the monster that lives within.

I used to think that a scratched knee would be the worst pain I ever felt, now I know that the pain that doesn’t bear a scar is far worse.

I believed that I would never grow up, but someday in between the AYSO soccer games and the playground, I did.

Life doesn’t wait for you.

It is constantly pushing to let change in and day-by-day, the world that our parents want us to believe in is gone.

We are taught to keep our innocence, don’t let the evil in the world ruin your pure soul, but day-by-day it does.

We see the boy in the news who is never going to come home.

We hear the whispers that adults exchange as the secrets get passed along to us.

As teenagers we are expected to act like grown up, and then they tell us that we are growing up to fast.

Maybe we are just trying to fill these impossible shoes that you have left us.

 

 

Why I Do Not Enjoy Boats

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Yesterday in AP Environmental, our teacher told the class that we are taking a class field trip to Anacapa Island. For most, this news was great, but for me, not so much.

Not many things scare me to the point of wanting to run away, but boats do.

So, let me tell you how this fear originated.

I went on a trip to Catalina Island in sixth grade. They told us the boat ride would be easy, with two to three-foot​ swells. We got on the boat and sailed off into the Pacific.

The boat ride there was easy, just like they said, two-foot​ swells.

But the ride back was much different.

They told us the same wave prediction again, but nearly ten minutes after sailing off from the island, we instantly knew something was wrong.

It was windy and storm – no rain, but clouds completely covering the sky. We continued on, only to be prepping for an emergency about a half an hour into the ride.

The boat was rocking side to side, but not in a relaxing motion, in the way that I was almost sure we were going to capsize. The waves looked like they were going to cover the side of the boat, terrifying everyone.

The scariest part was that when I went to my teacher for comfort, the only thing she had to say was that I should make sure I know where a life vest is.

We made it back to the Long Beach harbor, but since that day I have never gotten on a boat.

 

Wanderlust

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If I could live anywhere in the world, I wouldn’t limit myself to one location – I would backpack across the world and escape from society, exploring each corner of the earth. I would separate myself from civilization as I went from place to place, exploring my inner self and soothing my soul. Wherever I […]

Dirty Feet Blues

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I want to live a life with permanently dirty feet.

The assertion that one is obligated to be confined in shoes, at a job, where you sit in the same spot, and do the same thing everyday.

When I was younger I would play for hours on end without shoes on my feet.

I’d like to think of my dirty feet as an accomplishment. You’ve connected with the earth for so long that is has had time to change you.

The wicked cycle of an endless suburbia is keeping our feet much too clean. The same thing every single day.

Switch it up, take those damn shoes off — forget about your work emails for half an hour and take a minute to be alone.

Uninterrupted, just you and the earth. Breath it in. Feel the dewy grass tickle to spaces between your toes. Feel the rough asphalt grind away at your skin.

I would like to live a life with permanent dirty feet. In this technological age, people are seeming to forget that they’re washable.

You can get as dirty as you want because you can be cleaned. You can wash away the silt from your socks but you can’t replace the feeling of truly connecting with the earth.

Stop checking Twitter and take a look around. See the life that you’re missing out on being glued to the screen of your phone and go get dirty.

You’re too busy Instagraming at the tops of mountains for the likes rather than the memories and sense of accomplishment.

 

Whether you hold this true to yourself or not — this time we’re living in feels so artificial.

So, disconnect from the screen and go connect with what’s green.

Control

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Lack of control, lack of consciousness. From a passing feeling of anxiety grows a larger, stronger sensation.

A pit embedded so deep in my stomach, sprouting vines that spread to the very tips of my fingers. The pit grows larger and larger, heavy as rock, hard as steel.

I pass it off as nothing. All in my head, nothing of significance. But this rock, this sensation, leaves me hyper aware.

Each movement shoots throughout my body, ricocheting off of every surface. Any tingle, shiver or prickle is felt in every nerve, magnified by my growing alertness.

And this greater attention leads to a realization, an understanding of this feeling. My depths are screaming to be let out, stopping at nothing to be heard.

I fall, deeper and deeper into my head; I am below the surface, unaware of the world around me. This pit, this feeling, is overtaking me.

The vines wrap around my brain, my eyes, anything they can grasp, bringing darkness to my world and shutting out any understanding.

My hands are immobile, unresponsive to my commands. These vines suffocate me, wrapping around my neck and my brain, squeezing tighter and tighter.

I have lost all ability to speak – to guide and to oversee. Dark clouds loom over my last drop of consciousness, obscuring my last speck of assurance.

I have lost control.

Photo Credit: http://www.markraymondmason.com

Jumping In My List

thericemuncher1 Comment

As an adrenaline junky and extreme sports enthusiast; I encourage activities that include lapses of free-falling. That’s why I felt so compelled to write about the 36th annual Bridge Day in Fayetteville, West Virginia.

This event attracted an estimated 400 jumpers and 10,000 spectators to the 800 foot drop of the New River Gorge bridge. One after one, the jumpers stepped off the edge of the bridge to commence their free fall.

Picture Credit: “www.xtremespots.com”

 

What is BASE jumping and why would anyone ever do it?

Well, let’s explain the easy part first.

B.A.S.E stands for buildings, antennas, spans, and earth. The latter of the two meaning bridges and cliffs. The basic idea is that the jumper climbs to the top of one of the four mentioned and jumps off of it with a parachute. Jumps are usually under 1600 ft and speeds can reach up to 120 mph – Dang!

When questioned whether BASE diving was worth dying for one anonymous jumper explained, “BASE Jumping isn’t worth dying for, but it is worth risking dying for.”

One jumper from New River Gorge explained that BASE jumping feels like “nothing else in the world is a thought that goes through your brain, it’s just pure serenity.” Another jumper said that she could “convince myself to do pretty much anything,” if she could convince herself “to do something like this (meaning BASE jumping).”

Most people probably won’t BASE jump in their lives, but I know I will.

 

Warm Winters

raining17Leave a comment

From my experience, California winters are nothing like actual winters.  With highs of 100 degrees and lows of 70 degrees, this weather resembles summer more than anything other season.

I’m from the Pacific Northwest, and it’s pretty chilly. Around this time of the year I’m usually prepared for cold weather, and lots and lots of rain.

Here, despite the fact that Halloween is right around the corner, I can wear tank tops to school every day. Instead of suiting up in my rain jacket and closed-toed shoes, I find myself wearing shorts and sandals. 

I don’t dislike the weather – it’s really pretty, and let’s be real. I can go to the beach in October! But as far as winter goes, it just doesn’t feel like one.

Photo Credit: http://www.californiatravel.eu

To me, winter means cozying up in sweaters and blankets, and being able to lay inside and listen to the rain. Winter is the cold wind on your face when you step outside, both chilling and refreshing at the same time.

Photo Credit: fcdn.mtbr.com

And while I love the sun and warm weather, I’d like to save it for the summer. It’s just where it fits in! I look forward to cold weather, and the feeling of winter – and that just doesn’t happen in California!