Last week in Seminar, we talked about the different ways of promoting nature in both Louv and Hinchmen’s books. A Year In Paradise is by far the most compelling advocate for protecting and experiencing nature for me. Schmoe’s descriptions of life on the mountain made me feel like I was right there in all her glory. He made her come alive as this ever-changing organism. Weaving in his incredible knowledge of the cycles of life, like the reproduction process of alpine firs (127) and how everything is working intentionally together to create and further its existance. He brought me on a journey through the incredible transitions of the mountain. I felt like I was vicariously spying on the wild of Rainier, as it lives and breathes through the heights and transitions of the seasons. This volcanic mass lives through so much each year. It was extremely humbling to read about the power of nature, the ’river of ice’ taking with it the imaginable amount of rock each year. And while that incredible force is working away underneath, the delicate wildflowers are turning the mountainside into a colorful wonderland; so many processes all going on simultaneously, that is life in motion. Schmoe made me think about how high we human deem ourselves important. We think we are all-knowing and rule this earth. But next to this incredible organism of nature at work, especially one of such extreme conditions and transitions as Mt. Rainier, humans seem like a joke. Who do we think we are compared to these massive dwellings of life?
Schmoe wrote with so much passion and direct experience, through the yearly cycle of the mountain, from the still snow-covered winter to the “delicate summer dress of crystal snow, flowing water, and fresh green growing things which set her off to perfection” (124). I feel this book, read with intent would bring anyone to a standstill of amazement for this living and breathing earth.