In this episode, we start with an update on the Song Sparrow meets Robin, thanks to Blaine Rothauser, an expert on all things in nature, leading to Lessons from Braiding Sweetgrass.
Sweetgrass, Hierochloe (meaning "holy grass") odorata (meaning "fragrant"), is a grass native to North America and is included in Native American rituals and healing. In the exquisite book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, sweetgrass is a metaphor for respecting and having gratitude for our Earth and the interconnection of all living things.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
Related Stories & Helpful Links:
Lessons from Braiding Sweetgrass – Blog Post
Episode 123, Keeping Lighting Pollinator Friendly – with Blaine Rothauser
Keeping Lighting Pollinator-Friendly – Blog Post
Cornell Labs All About Birds
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
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I'd love to hear your garden and nature stories and your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com.
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Episode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast Page
Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life,
Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
AskMaryStone.com
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
Ep 165 Lessons from Braiding Sweetgrass
Sat, Jun 15, 2024 9:22PM • 12:04
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
onondaga nation, nature, onondaga lake, onondaga, bird, song, blaine, braiding, wildlife, restoration, garden, world, robin, porch, people, sparrow, life, book, read, territory, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens. It's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:23
Hello there. It's Mary Stone on the screen porch, and it is a bright, sunny morning with low humidity. Another camp out on the porch, and I woke to the sounds of a very large Mama Bear scrounging through the woods with her three cubs frolicking around her. It was just so lovely to see although those same little cubs roll through my vegetable garden, and that may be a story for another time. I sit here and see Mrs Robin feeding her brood, I just love sleeping on the screen porch and all the sounds of nature. I want to thank those that wrote back after last week's chat about Song Sparrow Meets Robin. I heard from Blaine Rothauser, an expert on all things in nature. You likely recall our chat with Blaine in Episode 123, Keeping Lighting Pollinator Friendly. In the column post and I'll put a link in the show notes. There's the cutest little picture of a field mouse. Blaine wrote - love the episode. Quick word about song sparrows. Firstly, they are my favorite all around Northeastern bird unsung with birders because of non-descriptiveness, but incredible survivors. They are found in virtually every type of habitat, from city park field edges to deep bogs with esoteric and rare plants, refugia type habitats. I call him swamp mice, and he does that in such a loving way. When you're near any type of wetland, you hear them sing almost year-round, their ethereal song, hence their Latin name, Melopesia, Melodia, translation, song finch melody, and I have wetlands that surround me, and so how I enjoy the song of those lovely sparrows.
Mary Stone 02:09
To your vignette song. Sparrows are ground nesters, very secretive. I've never found one. They dodge into their nesting grounds like ghostly spirits, usually a scrubby field, then sneak under the grass, crawling to their nest. They never give up their location. I've tried to find one a few times, never successful. Your song sparrow may have been aggressive towards a nesting Robin within his territory to rid the competition. My best guess.
Mary Stone 02:37
Thanks for this, Blaine, it sounds like I misidentified the little brown bird. I adore how you describe wildlife. Poetic. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. So, I searched for similar species of song sparrow in New Jersey, and found the wonderful Cornell labs, all about bird site, and they have a song sparrow similar species comparison. So, I'm going to dig into that and see if I can figure out which species this little brown bird is.
Mary Stone 03:03
It's fascinating how instincts lead wildlife to wear and how to nest and care for their young with no one showing them the way. I don't recall when I first heard this, but when you think about it, Monarch butterflies can migrate 2500 miles, sometimes more, before reaching their destination without a GPS and their delicate paper like wings, it's amazing, they can get there. And yet, when we misplace our cell phones, we cannot function or get to where we have to be. It's pretty funny, isn't it true? Yes, indeed, the wonders of nature and wildlife leading to this week's story about braiding sweetgrass a book to cherish, and it starts like this.
Mary Stone 03:43
Hello, fellow listeners and readers. During recent drives to clients, I've been listening to Robin Wall Kimmerer, the author of Braiding Sweetgrass, read her extraordinary book. Her voice brings her lyrical, expressive words to life as beautifully as they are written, singing like the songs of nature. First published in 2013 The subtitle of braiding sweetgrass is indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teaching of plants. Dr Robin Wall Kimmerer is an Associate Professor of environmental and forest biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and author of scientific articles and the book, Gathering Moss, a Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. She is Potawatomi and combines her heritage with her scientific and environmental passions. And I am reading these little bits from her biography.
Mary Stone 04:38
Sweetgrass, Hiero Chloe, meaning holy grass. Odorata, meaning fragrant - is a grass native to North America and is included in Native American rituals and healing in the book Braiding Sweetgrass, it's a metaphor for respecting and having gratitude for our earth and the interconnection of all living things. The part I tuned into yesterday was about the restoration of our dear Earth. The chapter title The Sacred and the Superfund, as you may know, Superfund is the name given to the environmental program to address abandoned hazardous waste sites. Perhaps the chapter particularly piqued my interest because of its setting in Syracuse, New York, where I was born.
Mary Stone 05:21
I want to reference some of her wisdom here, which parallels the thoughts we shared last week about being one in this world that we share with wildlife, Flora and the people of all nations. Kimmerer expresses how the environmental movements focus on messages of fear and desperation, leading us to hopelessness rather than inspiring restoration and healing of our natural world. It's true. History has shown desperate times like hardships or situations in our lives that are difficult, we can learn and grow from them, and with that comes healing, strength and endurance, and we can turn wrongs into rights and release the shame for what we've done. As Kimmerer elegantly writes, it's not enough to grieve. It's not enough to just stop doing the things we've done to damage our world. We have to clean it up. Her analogy that it's time to do the dishes explains it well. While people don't like to do dishes after a party is the best place to be with all the laughter and conversation that occurs while doing the dishes. It builds relationships. The goal of restoration is to mirror nature, understanding its power and ability to correct itself if we stop abusing it. I'm going to add a little side note to that. But throwing new technologies to feed our frenzy that still negatively impact our environment while making big bucks for big business is not the answer either. We are students of nature and are dear Earth rather than owners of it. Let us learn how to care for it by following the leads of the rhythms of nature.
Mary Stone 06:53
But to many, it's easier to give up in desperation rather than take responsibility and change things. The same is true for how some conduct their lives, being a victim and blaming others rather than taking charge and responsibility for their lives. Our Earth and mother nature are resilient while damage is done, our planet can heal, and sweet grass can grow again in the wasteland once home of the Onondaga Nation.
Mary Stone 07:18
So I'm going to read an excerpt from the book, if I may. The ancestral Onondaga territory stretches from the Pennsylvania border north to Canada. It was a mosaic of rich woodlands, expansive cornfields, clear lakes and rivers that sustained the native people for centuries. The original territory also encompasses the site of present day, Syracuse and the sacred shores of Onondaga Lake. Onondaga rights to these lands were guaranteed by treaties between the two sovereign nations, Onondaga Nation and the United States government, but water is more faithful to its responsibilities than the United States would ever be. When George Washington directed federal troops to exterminate the Onondaga during the Revolutionary War, a nation that had numbered in the 10s of 1000s was reduced to a few 100 people in a matter of one year. Afterwards, every single treaty was broken, illegal takings of land by the state of New York diminished. The Aboriginal Onondaga territories to a reservation of only 4300 acres. Let us take a pause in the description that Kimmerer shared and imagine those desperate times.
Mary Stone 08:33
As time unfolded, the area became grossly contaminated by industry. Onondaga lake was sacred to the Onondaga Nation in the late 19th century, it became a destination of resorts built by the European Americans until industrialization and industrial waste degraded it, making it unsafe for ice harvesting. Swimming was banned in 1940 and fishing in 1970 due to mercury contamination, which is still a problem today. Kimmerer describes how the Onondaga Nation struggled to reclaim their land, and they did so with such Oh, how can I describe- such love for the land and certainly for their people. But they mostly felt they were partners with the land and not owners, and that's something we can learn from. We can return to being one with nature by respecting it. The world and our Earth can heal, just as societies can heal if we look at each other as part of the whole and not focus on differences of race, religion, gender or culture, because, like the Robin and Sparrow families, we seek the same things in life, to care for our families to live in peace and comfort. But there are histories, some horrific< and wounds that carry forward from generation to generation, perpetuating retaliation between groups and countries. Will it ever end?
Mary Stone 09:55
Martin Luther King said it best, love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.
Mary Stone 10:03
I pause at the power of His words.
Mary Stone 10:06
Since becoming a Superfund site Onondaga Lake is on its way toward restoration, despite the barren landscape caused by industrial waste, sweetgrass began to grow again, signaling renewal and healing. Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com.
Mary Stone 10:24
So as you can hear, Braiding Sweetgrass is a magnificent book. I highly encourage you to read or listen to the audio version on a nifty free library app. I hope you have it where you are, called Hoopla. So I have an idea. Spend some time today observing the world of nature. Don't name the tree, shrub, flower, bird, insect, mushroom or butterfly. Don't judge them as beautiful or ugly. Observe them as if you have never seen them before. Things look different when you don't label them. The intensity of their magnificent colors heighten their intricate details become more evident. Embrace their miraculous role in the cycle of life, then do the same for every person you come across. And every frog.
Mary Stone 11:13
Anyway thanks so much for coming by. I always enjoy our time together, and I hope you have as well. And if so, please share the podcast with a friend or two, especially this one, because I think it will lead to inspiration that can help grow our world and heal it one community at a time. Thanks so much. See you next time.
Mary Stone 11:34
You can follow Garden dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch, and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.