So, here we are on the last leg of our Great Lakes tour for the summer.
Last night we stayed just outside of Grayling, MI at Hartwick Pines State Park, home of the largest stand of old growth trees in the lower peninsula of Michigan. We rented a rustic cabin on Bright lake and spent the evening marveling at the white and red pine, hemlock, cedar, maple, birch, and jack pine.
This morning while we practiced a Bach sonata Andy commented that the virgin pines in this area are older than J.S. Bach. His comment really stuck with me because it helped explain why we are drawn to combine outdoor experiences with making and creating music.
I find that actually being out in nature (as apposed to looking at pretty pictures or seeing it from tourist views) provides a sensor experience that seeps into my creative process. I remember the smell of the forest floor, of balsam…the scratch of the fens against my legs…the sound of wood thrush, and even the sound of guns this morning that came five miles away from the Grayling military base…just another reminder that there is no spot on this earth untouched by humans.
I also learn a lot when I venture away from the city…it refreshes my perspective on life. I learned some things today and remembered others…
Tree-hugging is actually a destructive thing, walking near the base of a tree compacts its roots and can kill the tree.
Pemmican was a winter staple food for people in this area. It is made by pounding dried blueberries and venison together…fruit jerky…yummy.
Lichens grows in the boreal forest, the arctic, the desert, and everywhere in between…something that jogged my memory of lichens that we saw in the high deserts of Canyonlands National Park in Utah earlier this summer.
Pitch from a balsam can remedy a headache.
Michigan’s pre-settlement wetland acreage was 11 million…now it is less than 3 million.
160 million board feet of pine has been cut in Michigan only about 6 billion are left standing.
Sphagnum moss that grows in the wetlands around here has been used by Native Americans for everything from mattress to pillow stuffing to diapers, and since the mosses excrete antibiotics the mosses were used for surgical dressings during World War I.
It seems that at home I easiely forget where all of the “stuff” around me comes from. Being out here helps to remind me in a physical way of how things are made and reconects me with the natural logic behind life.
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