The City Mouse in the Country

 First off, I don't write fiction.   However it occurred to me that what I've been writing about lately is difficult to get our heads around.  Climate change is really happening in today's world, and at the risk of hyperbole, it really is end of the world type stuff. I needed to find a way to break it down to the indivdual level.   That thinking, and some natural curiosity about the New Madrid fault lin e got me thinking about how easily things could go bad for a society if a series of natural disasters hit in rapid succession.    Thanks to this writing prompt, something started to form in my head.   Please keep in mind that this is the first draft and it deals more with the themes I'm hoping to explore.   It does not have a current title. So without wasting time...here we go. The world, at least as most people understood it, ended on a rather ordinary Tuesday afternoon.    I remember it was a perfectly ordinary day. Before we can talk about what we built, what we

 Generally speaking I don't trust the government when it comes to climate.  Here in America we basically have an Oligarchy - where a few rich asssholes are more concerned with maintaining their own power than doing what is best for the country overall.   This has not given me much hope for the future.  In fact, I've reached the conclusion that we simply will not be able to relay on the government going forward.  I'm not a doomsayer but the government at the highest levels simply isn't functioning the way it should and because of that it's simply not going to be able to handle the environmental and other climate related challenges in the future - such as massive immigration caused by failing crops.  Due to their age, most of our leaders are living in a world that no longer exists. So, why does President Biden's American Climate Corps pigued my interest? Two reasons really, it is an understanding that we have to do something sooner than later.  Well details are f

  Without going into to much detail, I decided to leave my job at the beginning of September.  There are many reasons for this but for some time I've been feeling that my current position has not been the best fit for either the company or myself.    I did not feel like the company was listening to my concerns nor do I feel like they really cared for their employee's; despite a killer benefit package that I'll never see again.  Their technology was at least 20 years behind everyone else and  I believe that they really didn't have the best interests of their customers at heart. It's not all their fault.  I'm to blame too as it seems that I've not been living up to their goals and needs for the last year, and this is one of the reasons it's taken me so long to write this blog post. In addition to trying to find a new job before the end of the month, I've been dealing with anxiety and a mild case of depressio n.  Writing a blog that deals with nature,

 I consider myself a researcher.   Meaning that I find something of interest and I have to learn all I can until that research itch is satisfied.   I've actually made a career out of it in some ways.  Hopefully not dressed like this Foraging for food has never really interested me much.  I have a passing interest in it because of my desire to make my yard into a edible lawn.   For example I planted an edible (although non native) dogwood tree.  I'm planting or have planted a variety of native perennial fruits and veggie's.  It is an ongoing process, simply because in the back of my mind some post apocalyptic traveler will come across this and have nourishment for a few days. I have identified and used purslane, sheep and wood sorrel, curly dock and; what I believe is fiddlehead ferns in my yard before.  However not being 100% sure about the fiddlehead fern, it's not made it into a dish or salad yet.   Some ferns look familiar to fiddleheads but they are toxic.  As such

As I entered the Energy Innovation Center near Pittsburgh's center,  the ladies at the registration desk asked me to write down what Solar Punk meant to me.  I declined.  The reason being that when I first learned about the Solar Punk movement, I was immediately attracted to its desire to change the fundamentals of the world; solar punk is more than an art and literary movement.    While Steam punk was about a time that never was and seemed to have a certain way of dress and style to it solar punk seemed more grounded.  An old pair of blue jeans bought second hand and work boots were functional and fashionable. Where Cyberpunk seemed to envision a cold harsh future, solar punk seems almost utopian.   It offers solutions through everyday acts like gardening, vegetarianism and recycling.  Those that believe in the solar punk movement are simply not sending money to some charity but living and working to make this world a better place.  Art, music and literature are all ways