A blog is a blog is a blog.....  We all know that it stands for a piece of writing, detailing facts and fiction on your computer screen. In 1999, programmer Peter Merholz created the term blog by breaking the phrase weblog into we blog in the sidebar of his personal blog. Later that year, the blogging service Blogger was released, which was the first online blog tool to officially use the term blog instead of weblog. 

Fast forward to 2017 and Substack was born. Just about when I started blogging regularly on my website, this digital publishing platform was created; a platform not subject to the restrictions and limitations of social media outlets or political leanings of traditional media publishing platforms. Journalists and writers can decide on content without being hampered in by their news outlet. Despite its success (more than 17,000 writers are on Substack) I only became aware earlier this year of its existence via a poet/writer I follow. I'm slow coming to the party! 

I want to support and participate in an add-free, media-restrain-free platform. The Weebly platform has given me that freedom, but it doesn't reach a large audience unless I connect my blogs with Facebook or similar platform.
I want to simplify my writing life. Posting and communicating with readers is cumbersome via the website. I'm switching from blogging on this website to writing on Substack. I will move your blog subscription to Substack. Don't worry, your email address will not be sold or used elsewhere. You won't have to do anything to keep reading what I write. You will be informed of new posts, and notes via email. You can unsubscribe if you don't want to follow me there.

My format will change. I will write shorter pieces related to my walking life. My walking life infuses my thinking. The pace of 2 miles an hour stimulates observation and reflection, and as you know, sometimes I can get quite philosophical.
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I want to thank you for reading my blogs. Some of you have been with me since the beginning. It means a lot to know I write with a purpose; to know my writing stirs your mind and encourages you to think outside of the box you're in. I hope you will follow me to Substack. https://damiroelse.substack.com/
See you there with your comments and likes!

It’s 96 F in the high desert of New Mexico. The South West USA has been in a heat dome for 6 weeks. At the 36 degree parallel, the sun bears down on the open mesa. The brilliant light so coveted during most of the year feels merciless. No monsoon this year; desert plants are surviving on stored spring moisture. Clouds form during the day and travel SW to NE towards the Rocky Mountains.. They hang against the tall peaks of Mt Pueblo and Mt Wheeler, but rarely let loose with refreshing rain. El Nino is having its effect on the season. Luckily, builders insulated the walls and roof of my adobe style home to keep out heat in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter. It’s how it’s done in the desert. I’ve closed blinds, windows and doors to keep in the coolness collected during the night. Fans and a breezy, shady covered portal keep me cool enough when I crave the outdoors.

Climate Change doesn't discriminate
Not everyone has my luck. People across the globe are suffering from intense heat without reprieve. Extreme temperatures are causing wildfires in Europe, leading to the evacuation of tourists. Africa is experiencing famine, because of extreme temps and domestic wars. The electric grids are straining to provide the energy to cool living spaces. Everyone is waiting for it to be over.

Will it be over? Yes and no, the season will change, temperatures will drop. People will not forget this one. Cities are repainting their concrete desert with cooling paint for the next time. Low-income neighborhoods get help in upgrading the electric grid for housing and install air conditioning. Europeans, notorious for not having Airco, are changing their minds. People who cannot change their circumstances think about moving. Migration is in full swing. Migration away from violence, economic hardship, and climate. People migrate to Europe, USA, and Canada, where life is good.

Migration on the Rise
That’s changing. Migrants are inundating the borders of countries who’ve robbed the rest of the world of their resources to make life more comfortable, luxurious, and secure. Media images of men, women and children on their way to a better life, show them laying in the desert, out of water, a hot wind blowing. What about those adrift on a capsized raft in the Mediterranean? The images haunt me. We must create space despite the influence of the changing climate and extreme weather on us. We have to make room in our life for others. Share what we've enjoyed by reducing consumption. We’ve lived on credit, we’ve lived without being responsible for the next 7 generations. We’ve lived for now and for our own tomorrow. The bill is coming due.

Space for Everyone
Don’t panic! There is enough space and food for everyone. Let’s share the livible space we have. We must adjust to living in smaller, more energy-efficient homes. Our travel for pleasure may have to be less frequent and closer to home. We can take more eco-friendly forms of transportation: a train, our walking legs. If agricultural practices can’t adjust to the new demands of conserving water, and develop restorative farming practices, we’ll have to produce more of our own food. This is more energy efficient and has positive mental and physical side effects. Look at how the Japanese utilized space for living and growing for so long. We can learn from each other and from the past.
The hollyhocks are waving their pink, yellow, white and maroon flowers in the afternoon wind. A little field mouse scurries between the pavers looking for seeds. The basil in my little garden bed is ready for picking. Pesto pasta tonight for me. Idyllic or practical? Everything hangs together and if we acknowledge this truth and live accordingly, we can survive. Doing your part matters.

The Wild Things
It’s easy to become overwhelmed with the state of the world. As an individual, sometimes the only option is to go out and be with the "wild things" as Wendell Berry suggests:
“When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief.”
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Do not “tax your life with forethought of grief”. Do what you can at this moment. The bill is due. The sun can cause you to hide or take action. Concerned citizens can change things locally. As an individual, you can create a peaceful state of mind.