L.G. Cullens's Blog, page 2
April 19, 2021
Meanwhile back at the farmstead . . .
Greetings,
I'm on my feet again, and in keeping with the premise of Braiding Sweetgrass in caring for our little blue canoe, doing what I can in my natural garden. I tire quickly anymore, but have been working at clearing winter tree falls so I can plant more over-harvested trees.
The clearing is easier with a new battery powered chainsaw, but I had to overcome my wife's objection. Karen said that nobody within spitting distance of eighty has any business with a chainsaw. She makes a good point, but I'm not ready to give up yet.
Back inside resting, when I'm not reading, I've started putting together a natural garden (forest edge ecosystem) reference ebook. If I complete it, I want to distribute it as a free ebook, but will have to look elsewhere than the major outlets (like Amazon) that don't allow zero priced books.
Karen and I have both received our second vaccination shot now. I was only a little tired and sore afterwards, but Karen suffered a bad reaction as we were forewarned by the statistics. It seems unfair to me that women (usually the more giving gender) bear more of the suffering in this world.
I hope this finds you all in good spirits, and doing as well as possible in today's troubled world.
My best to you and yours,
Lee
I'm on my feet again, and in keeping with the premise of Braiding Sweetgrass in caring for our little blue canoe, doing what I can in my natural garden. I tire quickly anymore, but have been working at clearing winter tree falls so I can plant more over-harvested trees.
The clearing is easier with a new battery powered chainsaw, but I had to overcome my wife's objection. Karen said that nobody within spitting distance of eighty has any business with a chainsaw. She makes a good point, but I'm not ready to give up yet.
Back inside resting, when I'm not reading, I've started putting together a natural garden (forest edge ecosystem) reference ebook. If I complete it, I want to distribute it as a free ebook, but will have to look elsewhere than the major outlets (like Amazon) that don't allow zero priced books.
Karen and I have both received our second vaccination shot now. I was only a little tired and sore afterwards, but Karen suffered a bad reaction as we were forewarned by the statistics. It seems unfair to me that women (usually the more giving gender) bear more of the suffering in this world.
I hope this finds you all in good spirits, and doing as well as possible in today's troubled world.
My best to you and yours,
Lee
April 15, 2021
Snippet from Togwotee Passage chapter three
“Now we must live on a reservation because your culture covets all there is and calls us ignorant savages. I ask you who's the more ignorant and savage, a culture that believes in respectful coexistence with the natural world that sustains us all, or a culture that is rife with material greed to the point of trashing this little blue canoe our children will need to get by in?”
April 2, 2021
Snippet from Togwotee Passage chapter seven
Snippet from Togwotee Passage chapter seven:
At home a few days later, Calan is working up a sweat in the yard, cutting the grass with a dull push reel mower, trying not to think about his anger and heaped on shame. He's been feeling so ashamed that he's avoided their neighbor Stan's attempts to talk.
Pausing to wipe the perspiration dripping into his eyes, Calan is surprised when his friend Derek pulls up to the house. Momentarily happy and confused he quips, "How'd you get off the res?"
"I'm a shadow in the night. Seriously though, I hear you're going through a rough patch."
"Well, I gotta admit I'm sorely discouraged with the townie lot an' their weaselly ways, not to mention feelin' damn stupid. Wish I could just find a job to help mom get by, but she won't hear of it."
"No disagreement from me about the townie lot. A sign in the window of a diner on the main drag said, 'No dogs, No Injuns.' . . . "
At home a few days later, Calan is working up a sweat in the yard, cutting the grass with a dull push reel mower, trying not to think about his anger and heaped on shame. He's been feeling so ashamed that he's avoided their neighbor Stan's attempts to talk.
Pausing to wipe the perspiration dripping into his eyes, Calan is surprised when his friend Derek pulls up to the house. Momentarily happy and confused he quips, "How'd you get off the res?"
"I'm a shadow in the night. Seriously though, I hear you're going through a rough patch."
"Well, I gotta admit I'm sorely discouraged with the townie lot an' their weaselly ways, not to mention feelin' damn stupid. Wish I could just find a job to help mom get by, but she won't hear of it."
"No disagreement from me about the townie lot. A sign in the window of a diner on the main drag said, 'No dogs, No Injuns.' . . . "
Snippet from Togwotee Passage chapter thirteen:
Snippet from Togwotee Passage chapter thirteen:
In a conversation about Calan's two malamutes:
"For the moment, we've got a freezer full of moose for them," Calan says. "Now there's a story that begs telling. The warden called me out to a roadkill he didn't think fit for the shelter. Blood and offal everywhere, car smashed in, redecorated with entrails, sucker must a been hauling ass like so many fools do. While Fire and Rescue guys helped get the carcass pieces into my pickup, the driver, unharmed though decorated as well, berated the warden about his department not keeping the road safe."
"Sounds like a normal reaction to me," Derek says with a smile.
In a conversation about Calan's two malamutes:
"For the moment, we've got a freezer full of moose for them," Calan says. "Now there's a story that begs telling. The warden called me out to a roadkill he didn't think fit for the shelter. Blood and offal everywhere, car smashed in, redecorated with entrails, sucker must a been hauling ass like so many fools do. While Fire and Rescue guys helped get the carcass pieces into my pickup, the driver, unharmed though decorated as well, berated the warden about his department not keeping the road safe."
"Sounds like a normal reaction to me," Derek says with a smile.
March 31, 2021
Why all the concern?
Yesterday was a beautiful day here, and I got out and about enjoying it. Maybe I overdid it though, as I was stiff and sore for my last PT session today. Nevertheless, I graduated so I don't have to see the torture lady anymore :-) Anyway, talking to a neighbor yesterday he asked me what my book was about. I started to explain that the book was literary eco-fiction, and before I got into a synopsis of the storyline he changed the subject. I feel like a leper among the alternate reality neighbors here.
Why all the concern/denial about environmental change?
Maybe understanding the simple facts of life will shed some light.
We exist in Earth's no-waste, closed loop system, perpetuated on the basis of life fueled by life. For this system to function, predators to pathogens stabilizing populations for balance, trophic dynamics, detritivores, and decomposers breaking down wastes to essential elements for new life are all necessary. As environments change over geological time, the continuum of physical life within this system depends on the evolutionary process of natural selection adapting life forms.
The root problem we face is that with our weedy species seriously altering the biosphere and diminishing biodiversity in an eye-blink of geological time, we are effecting extreme changes in the environment within our life spans to our increasing detriment. Microorganisms tend to be capable of a relatively fast rate of evolution, whereas multicellular animals like ourselves are less successful due to the increasing complexity of cellular interactions.
With the weight of our evolutionary baggage, are we capable on the whole of wise choices going forward?
Why all the concern/denial about environmental change?
Maybe understanding the simple facts of life will shed some light.
We exist in Earth's no-waste, closed loop system, perpetuated on the basis of life fueled by life. For this system to function, predators to pathogens stabilizing populations for balance, trophic dynamics, detritivores, and decomposers breaking down wastes to essential elements for new life are all necessary. As environments change over geological time, the continuum of physical life within this system depends on the evolutionary process of natural selection adapting life forms.
The root problem we face is that with our weedy species seriously altering the biosphere and diminishing biodiversity in an eye-blink of geological time, we are effecting extreme changes in the environment within our life spans to our increasing detriment. Microorganisms tend to be capable of a relatively fast rate of evolution, whereas multicellular animals like ourselves are less successful due to the increasing complexity of cellular interactions.
With the weight of our evolutionary baggage, are we capable on the whole of wise choices going forward?
March 25, 2021
A Great Flood
A similar version of this legend was reportedly recorded by Professor Hap Gilliland of Eastern Montana College as a Cheyenne legend, and has been included in a number of articles and books. I came across it in Voices Of The Winds (Margot Edmonds, Ella E. Clark), which stirred the memory of a Shoshone version I heard as a child in the northern US Rockies. Here I'm recalling it as best I can, with new awareness. There are many cultural versions of this story, but to me this allegorical version clearly depicts the state of human societies.
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In the early days of reservation life, during an extended downpour period the people were more dispirited than usual. A wise elder saddened by the gloominess lifted his hands and said, “Do not lose heart at the changes that have come upon us, for The Great Mystery works over time beyond our lives. There is a story passed down that may help you understand.”
Huddled in a leaky, makeshift shelter around a campfire, only the crackling of the fire and the patter of raindrops could be heard as the elder seated himself, and adjusted a cloak over his withered frame in preparation to relate the story.
"When Mother Earth was new, The Great Mystery said to the people, 'The plants and animals are your brothers. Respect and protect them in sharing this sacred land, for they will give you food and warm clothing so that you may live.'
"For a great many winters the people shared the land, respecting their brother plants and animals. There were struggles, but only out of real need and then with regard. The people and their brothers thrived.
"Then other people came in numbers beyond the stars in the sky. They did not think of the plants and animals as their brothers. They killed without need, and they burned the forests and fouled the waters killing even more.
"When The Great Mystery looked down, he was sad. He let the smoke of the fires lie in the valleys. The new people coughed and choked, but still they burned and killed. So he sent rains to put out the fires and destroy the people. As the rains fell, and the water rose, our people moved higher into the mountains.
"When the winter moons arrived, the water froze in great ice sheets, and the remaining plants and animals departed our sacred lands. Knowing we could not survive the winter without stores, a hunting party of young braves set out. As they went, they tried to help and make friends with the plants and animals once more. Still the rains fell and the ice thickened.
"When the young braves returned, they told our people, 'We found buffalo cows, and calves, with a great white bull. The cows and calves had climbed to safety and should return when the summer moons come if the rain stops. But the great white bull fell into the water and drowned. We pulled him out and brought back his hide.'
"The eldest medicine man took the huge white buffalo skin, saying, 'Many people have drowned and our food has been carried away, but this white buffalo hide will be strong medicine.' Then he and the other medicine men spread the hide on the ground and began scraping and stretching it.
"In the rain, the buffalo skin, like all rawhide, stretched until it covered the whole village. All the people who were left crowded under it.
"Each day the rains continued to fall, and the medicine men stretched the skin farther, till it reached across the valley. They anchored the skin in the surrounding mountains so that the whole Yellowstone Valley was covered.
"But still the rains fell and the skin stretched more and began to sag, so the medicine men stood on the westward mountains and raised the edge to catch the West Wind. The wind lifted the skin until it formed a great dome over the valley.
"The Great Mystery saw that the people, and the plants and animals that had gathered in the valley under the dome, were again living as brothers. The rains stopped and the sun shone. As the sun dried the rawhide, the dome shrank away till all that was left was a great arch across the valley which gleamed with the colors red, yellow, and blue."
The old man’s voice was fading, but his arms raised to encompass the valley. The rain had stopped and a rainbow arched across the Yellowstone Valley. Buffalo grazed beneath it.
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In the early days of reservation life, during an extended downpour period the people were more dispirited than usual. A wise elder saddened by the gloominess lifted his hands and said, “Do not lose heart at the changes that have come upon us, for The Great Mystery works over time beyond our lives. There is a story passed down that may help you understand.”
Huddled in a leaky, makeshift shelter around a campfire, only the crackling of the fire and the patter of raindrops could be heard as the elder seated himself, and adjusted a cloak over his withered frame in preparation to relate the story.
"When Mother Earth was new, The Great Mystery said to the people, 'The plants and animals are your brothers. Respect and protect them in sharing this sacred land, for they will give you food and warm clothing so that you may live.'
"For a great many winters the people shared the land, respecting their brother plants and animals. There were struggles, but only out of real need and then with regard. The people and their brothers thrived.
"Then other people came in numbers beyond the stars in the sky. They did not think of the plants and animals as their brothers. They killed without need, and they burned the forests and fouled the waters killing even more.
"When The Great Mystery looked down, he was sad. He let the smoke of the fires lie in the valleys. The new people coughed and choked, but still they burned and killed. So he sent rains to put out the fires and destroy the people. As the rains fell, and the water rose, our people moved higher into the mountains.
"When the winter moons arrived, the water froze in great ice sheets, and the remaining plants and animals departed our sacred lands. Knowing we could not survive the winter without stores, a hunting party of young braves set out. As they went, they tried to help and make friends with the plants and animals once more. Still the rains fell and the ice thickened.
"When the young braves returned, they told our people, 'We found buffalo cows, and calves, with a great white bull. The cows and calves had climbed to safety and should return when the summer moons come if the rain stops. But the great white bull fell into the water and drowned. We pulled him out and brought back his hide.'
"The eldest medicine man took the huge white buffalo skin, saying, 'Many people have drowned and our food has been carried away, but this white buffalo hide will be strong medicine.' Then he and the other medicine men spread the hide on the ground and began scraping and stretching it.
"In the rain, the buffalo skin, like all rawhide, stretched until it covered the whole village. All the people who were left crowded under it.
"Each day the rains continued to fall, and the medicine men stretched the skin farther, till it reached across the valley. They anchored the skin in the surrounding mountains so that the whole Yellowstone Valley was covered.
"But still the rains fell and the skin stretched more and began to sag, so the medicine men stood on the westward mountains and raised the edge to catch the West Wind. The wind lifted the skin until it formed a great dome over the valley.
"The Great Mystery saw that the people, and the plants and animals that had gathered in the valley under the dome, were again living as brothers. The rains stopped and the sun shone. As the sun dried the rawhide, the dome shrank away till all that was left was a great arch across the valley which gleamed with the colors red, yellow, and blue."
The old man’s voice was fading, but his arms raised to encompass the valley. The rain had stopped and a rainbow arched across the Yellowstone Valley. Buffalo grazed beneath it.
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February 11, 2021
Moving on
No doubt a good number of you have experienced going into a room and wondering why. Something that occurs more frequently as we age. Added to that, the other night entering the kitchen I paused some minutes contemplating how to mentally move my Mac's mouse to turn on the light. I wasn't in touch with reality at the moment of course, as the light could only be turned on the conventional way — by flipping the light switch.
Yet another indication that I don't have another book in me. I've worked on my book Togwotee Passage for around a decade now, through countless rewrites, homing in on the best wording, and technical difficulties in creating/updating an ebook (.epub) and preparing print-ready .pdf files. Given a spurt of energy I may add some more illustrations in time, but with this latest revision, live in retail outlets as of 02/12/21, I'm reasonably satisfied with the wording. My goal with this book has not been fame and fortune, but rather through an interesting enough story to contribute my little bit to the growing awareness of how our evolutionary baggage is leading us down a self-destructive path. With the feedback so far, it looks like I've presented an interesting enough story for a majority of readers. One can't please all readers of course.
We have all faced turning points in our lives. The last one I faced was an ending of my woodworking decorative arts when my dexterity with the necessary hand tools diminished. A sampler of works I have done can be seen at: https://lgcullens.com/l-g-cullens-sam...
Otherwise, I have much more time for reading now. I'm still interested in learning all I can about the natural world, and I'm finding new works to broaden my perspective. Interspersed among the 'heavy' reading, I'm also entertaining myself with lighter eco-lit.
To find a book I might be interested in reading, I search through both traditionally and indie published books. Among the indie published books there is a raft of poorly written books, of course, given the dearth of controls. But I've found enough books where the author expended considerable effort, and expense in engaging quality editing. I pass by as many traditionally published books because of their frivolous content. Traditional publishers are by and large businesses with a priority on increasing profits. To achieve such they pander to reader's baser instincts, and I'm not interested in meaningless mayhem and head between the legs subjective entertainment. I'm also irked by all the false hype, with so many sticking their finger in the pie at the author's expense. Regardless of how a book is published though, the author gets the short end of the stick. Think of the billions that businesses like Amazon and IngramSpark make off of aspiring authors, not to mention all the smaller entities riding the backs of aspiring authors. An example being the printed version of my book. Because of the illustrations it is printed in premium color, with a printing cost per copy of $19.33. Yet with a retail price of $34.99 my take home royalty is only $1.66. Can you guess where the other $14.00 per copy goes?
I found a similar situation with my past artwork. My goal with my book being more a broadening of perspective, the print copy price is more of an advantage in deterring our diminishment of forests. There are environmental issues with ebooks also, but not of the same magnitude. Personally, I buy only ebooks anymore.
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” ~ Chris Maser
My best wishes for your futures,
L. G. Cullens
Yet another indication that I don't have another book in me. I've worked on my book Togwotee Passage for around a decade now, through countless rewrites, homing in on the best wording, and technical difficulties in creating/updating an ebook (.epub) and preparing print-ready .pdf files. Given a spurt of energy I may add some more illustrations in time, but with this latest revision, live in retail outlets as of 02/12/21, I'm reasonably satisfied with the wording. My goal with this book has not been fame and fortune, but rather through an interesting enough story to contribute my little bit to the growing awareness of how our evolutionary baggage is leading us down a self-destructive path. With the feedback so far, it looks like I've presented an interesting enough story for a majority of readers. One can't please all readers of course.
We have all faced turning points in our lives. The last one I faced was an ending of my woodworking decorative arts when my dexterity with the necessary hand tools diminished. A sampler of works I have done can be seen at: https://lgcullens.com/l-g-cullens-sam...
Otherwise, I have much more time for reading now. I'm still interested in learning all I can about the natural world, and I'm finding new works to broaden my perspective. Interspersed among the 'heavy' reading, I'm also entertaining myself with lighter eco-lit.
To find a book I might be interested in reading, I search through both traditionally and indie published books. Among the indie published books there is a raft of poorly written books, of course, given the dearth of controls. But I've found enough books where the author expended considerable effort, and expense in engaging quality editing. I pass by as many traditionally published books because of their frivolous content. Traditional publishers are by and large businesses with a priority on increasing profits. To achieve such they pander to reader's baser instincts, and I'm not interested in meaningless mayhem and head between the legs subjective entertainment. I'm also irked by all the false hype, with so many sticking their finger in the pie at the author's expense. Regardless of how a book is published though, the author gets the short end of the stick. Think of the billions that businesses like Amazon and IngramSpark make off of aspiring authors, not to mention all the smaller entities riding the backs of aspiring authors. An example being the printed version of my book. Because of the illustrations it is printed in premium color, with a printing cost per copy of $19.33. Yet with a retail price of $34.99 my take home royalty is only $1.66. Can you guess where the other $14.00 per copy goes?
I found a similar situation with my past artwork. My goal with my book being more a broadening of perspective, the print copy price is more of an advantage in deterring our diminishment of forests. There are environmental issues with ebooks also, but not of the same magnitude. Personally, I buy only ebooks anymore.
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” ~ Chris Maser
My best wishes for your futures,
L. G. Cullens
December 7, 2020
Opening lines that grab you.
Over the years some opening lines have grabbed my full attention at the get-go. Do you have any favorites?
Likely conceitedly, I think these newly tweaked opening lines from Togwotee Passage are up there with the more effective.
"Hearing another of Pa's vile outbursts from the house, seven-year-old Calan shudders, sideslipping a toy truck he's playing with. A moment later, as the house door slams shut, he scrambles behind the bed of hollyhocks. Hugging the ground amidst pesky crawlies, bees buzzing the blossoms above, Calan watches breathlessly through stems and low leaves as Pa stomps to the old delivery van, curses as he kicks the front bumper, then motors off with gears grinding."
Likely conceitedly, I think these newly tweaked opening lines from Togwotee Passage are up there with the more effective.
"Hearing another of Pa's vile outbursts from the house, seven-year-old Calan shudders, sideslipping a toy truck he's playing with. A moment later, as the house door slams shut, he scrambles behind the bed of hollyhocks. Hugging the ground amidst pesky crawlies, bees buzzing the blossoms above, Calan watches breathlessly through stems and low leaves as Pa stomps to the old delivery van, curses as he kicks the front bumper, then motors off with gears grinding."
December 6, 2020
Did you know?
Doing a little tweaking in my book, I double checked a character's statement that, "there are no statutes of limitations for criminal proceedings in Wyoming." I was surprised to learn that only one other state shares the distinction, that being South Carolina.
First chapter preview with illustrations at https://lgcullens.com/early-trials
First chapter preview with illustrations at https://lgcullens.com/early-trials
November 28, 2020
Quote from Togwotee Passage
Moon's reflection on the Platte River movin' upstream, flickerin' through patchy, bare branches. This culo maybe saw action, maybe a REMF, but sure never learned to respect others' privacy, or take a bath. Not a clue with 'is singled out double-dealin' bastards remark. Three sides to every pathetic human conflict, down through history, with innocents sufferin' the most. Enough bad to go around on both other sides, with each playin' the three monkeys to their part. Especially the fat cats sowin' hate for ever greater war profits. We're no better than animals, outgrowin' our pants instead of usin' smarts. Greedy power plays and materialistic pursuits bring out the worst in people. What's changed for me is havin' it for dinner.
