Backwoods Blog

SMALL SOCIETY

The Isolation Blues;

reflections during covid-19

“big yellow”

Summer Highway

The summer days are leisurely paced
if left to themselves
day lilies opening to the sky
humming birds making their regular rounds
sunshine bathing the environs below 
but
I have a busy schedule today
and my list is long with more 
than is likely possible 
and then I will add to that tomorrow.

While standing on the river bank overlooking the stream
(in between tasks)
I’m looking at the gray stone beach below
as it rounds the oxbow.
Odd as it may seem
I notice a pair of orange feet
stuck as it were on the beach
or as if someone had accidentally left them behind 
heading to their next appointment. 
Just above the orange feet (upon closer observation)
I see a white dot
and at that moment 
the gray beach starts to wiggle and shimmy 
like the vertical hold just let go 
on an old black and white television set
and a portion of the beach slides into the water.
Twelve baby mergansers and adult supervision 
are having nothing more to do with me
synchronized 
cautious 
perturbed
free
enjoying a summer’s day on 
the flowing roadway. 

When my father was alive he developed a predictable routine of dropping by the cabin on my days off at 8AM for a cup of coffee, some casual conversation and to see what I was up to for the day.  This time slot became a valued opportunity to share time with my dad that we had never really had before. (We were always too busy.)  One morning as we were talking he used a phrase I had never heard before, and at first I was taken back because I wasn’t expecting it and wasn’t sure what it meant until he explained.  “Woods queer” is a term used by old-timers to describe someone who has been alone in the woods for too long and the prolonged self-isolation has turned them a little squirrelly and diminished whatever social skills they might have previously had.  As I shared earlier in a post, I try to maintain a monitored balance between solitude and society or being “in the woods” and “in town.”  And sure enough, I’ve noticed if I stay in the woods for too many days in a row I start to get a little squirrelly too!

A second distinction I find helpful is the difference between what I call “small society” and “large society.”  When Linda and I met we formed a “small society” of two people sharing the same space, trying to find a way to share our values together and enjoy life together.  Other examples are any group of people self-organizing with shared values and goals such as social clubs, civic organizations, business enterprises or religious societies. While there may be varied diversity within the membership of the group, the common values bond it together as they work together. The up-side to “small society” is that each member can have a direct impact on the expression of the group.

On the other hand, “large society” involves a larger context and larger numbers where the individual may still have direct input in the process but less influence on final results.  Anyone who has been involved in local governance (even in a small town) can attest to the frustrative challenges of community decision making. While we all have a citizen’s right to our personal opinion, it may or may not play out in “larger society” the way we prefer.  A recognition of this “win some-lose some” dynamic helps to keep us sane when (from our perspective) the world is going bat-shit crazy.

As I watched the “small society” of mergansers self-organizing and heading downstream into the larger world of nature I like to think that we too as global citizens and Americans in our particular social experiment will succeed in finding our way in this meandering, yet marvelous world. The task is at hand.

In the woods,

Dave

August 14, 2020