In the Garden of the Lords of War

Barry Lopez:

It is the determination and desire of each Lord to have at the end of three months enough of an understanding of the culture in which he is reading to be able to make up a single story, one that gives evidence of his study and reflects his respect, but demonstrates no enthrallment.

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Four years ago upstreamdream, a friend of mine and missprune’s, told me about nature writer Barry Lopez (b. 1945). I explored a book of his excellent essays, which I subsequently loaned out, lost, forgot the title of.

Two years ago I found Light Action in the Caribbean in The Bookshelf’s bargain bin. It is a book of short fiction. It’s strange reading fiction written by a naturalist, because he is doing what I like to do. It took me five tries in two years to get into the first story. But suddenly, discovering it was only seven pages long, I finished it. In recent weeks I have read the next four. They’re like meditations: mostly contemporary, mainstream fiction, surprising for their profound gentleness and beauty, and sense of time and place best understood by anyone who spends extended time communing with the land.

I was startled by the fourth story, "In the Garden of the Lords of War." It is science fiction, set in a post-Apocalyptic world reminiscent of Ursula K. LeGuin’s Always Coming Home. And in only nine breathtaking pages he cuts to the heart of what is broken about our world, and what genuine government ought to do.

Easy Three-Bowl Apple Cake; summer planning

An award-winning recipe from The Old Farmer's Almanac 2005, to try sometime when I get home:

4 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1¾ cups sugar
1½ Tbsp lemon juice
3 cups flour
2 tsp b.s.
2 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
2 eggs
1 cup oil
1½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan.

Bowl 1: combine first three ingredients, mix well.

Bowl 2: sift together dry ingredients.

Bowl 3: mix lightly eggs, oil, vanilla.

Add 3 to 1; stir well. Combine with bowl 2; mix well (batter will be stiff). Pour into pan. Bake 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Other things to do when I get home or in Toronto:

1. Order Stratford tickets.
2. Find out whether internet access is available (cafe or library) in cottage country: Dorset, Dwight, Minden, Huntsville or Bracebridge.
3. Obtain some plain yarn and gather resources about dye plants and their use.
4. Book campsites near Montreal and in the Maritimes.
5. Stop at Richter's on the way to or from Marian's grad ceremony on June 17, buy herbal tea plants and pot them for the dock.