I woke up fairly early this morning (5:30am) and heard one of the neighborhood Song Sparrows singing. There are several around the broader neighborhood, but one in particular favors a perch that makes it very audible from my place. At some point I’ll try to go through and see if I can figure out how many different songs he is singing. So far I’ve heard two or three significantly different ones with more minor variations on each.
This afternoon I was on a brief walk at Totem Park and noticed there were a couple of Caspian Terns out at the end along with some other gulls. I also noticed a moth out the flats. It appeared to be the same kind as one I saw several years ago that got identified as far as genus (Pediasia).
Since it was Thursday, a good chunk of the day was spent on calls. The subject of this weeks calls was (holistic) tracking and the power it has to help folks become more connected (through the cultivation of awareness that’s prompted by tracking).
The ‘arts’ of tracking broken down as the ‘w’ sorts of questions plus a little bonus.
1. (associated with the East) – Who?
2. (associated with SE) – Imitation/body language
3. (S) What (happened)?
4. (SW) When did it happen (including placement within sequence of events)?
5. (W) Why? (ecological perspective and the bigger context)
6. (NW) Internal tracking – how is this landing on me internally?
7. (N) Where (did it lead to)?
8. (NE) How (did this happen)? Grand synthesis of the others, re-telling the story with full sensory memory
Although tracking is often thought of in terms of finding some animal tracks and looking at them, in a broader holistic sense it applies to much of what we do. I think in a simple understanding, it’s just paying attention and trying to understand what’s going on.
