We look across Boundary Pass and see the dark grey forms of Stuart, Waldron, and Orcas Islands. The San Juans. The United States of America. And it happens, on the day I write this, our friends on the other side are facing big decisions about who they are and who they want to lead their country. The U.S. election is upon them.
I had set out to write about mycelial networks and a fascinating new book I’ve just finished. It’s called Entangled Life by U.K. mycologist Merlin Sheldrake. As I read it, I realized I could never look at plant life on the planet in quite the same way again. Everything, Sheldrake says, is connected, fed and informed by mycelial root systems underground.
Mind-blowing in itself, but they may also say something to our friends to the south, casting votes in the election of their lives.
Welcome to the Wood-Wide Web!
Mycelial networks are familiarly called the “Wood-Wide Web.”
Mushrooms are part of these mycelia, but they are merely the networks’ fruiting bodies, like apples on a tree. Yet those fruiting bodies are supported by unseen root networks many times larger and more widespread than we might assume.
Did you know that lichens that grow on rocks and trees are not one organism but two? They’re a symbiotic relationship between an alga and fungus. They are quite different organisms that thrive as one but can’t exist without the other.
Sheldrake, incidentally, is only 32 years old and has a Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University. He is fascinated with the filigreed coast of British Columbia because of its lichen formations.
Rich web of relationships
Of course, Sheldrake delves into fungal psychedelics, such as psilocybin and LSD, as effective therapeutic medicines for depression and PTSD. They work because they can blur the boundaries of the self, he says. This gives people the feeling of merging with something greater than themselves, expanding their universe of possibilities. Instead of staying trapped in the individual “I,” he says we might start to think of ourselves as part of a dynamic network, embedded in a rich web of relationships.
Entangled Life is a book that has altered the way I look at the forests and wildlife of our world. It’s changed my assumptions about where one biological entity ends, and another one begins.
The Trump base and all the rest
So, for the past four years, we’ve heard about the 40 percent of Americans that form the “Trump Base.” The other 60 percent are either indifferent to Trump or vehemently opposed. Is it possible this once-great nation “under God” can be so polarized as to be tearing apart at its seams?
Every election I’ve observed or taken part in has brought out the divisions in people. What I think may be critical to our country’s future is scoffed at by another who has a different idea. It’s remarkable how friends and family can find themselves, surprisingly and uncomfortably, on opposite sides of an issue.
And one thing true about Trump is that he fans those divisions in the U.S. relentlessly. But I fail to see how the citizenry can be so divided as the media depicts. It’s not just rural vs. urban or male vs. female, it’s educated vs. educated, white vs. white or brother Smith vs. sister Smith.
Deeper connections
Like the mycelial networks described in Sheldrake’s book, there may be deeper connections between us and those on the other side of the spectrum that we find so difficult to understand. That we may be connected somehow by unseen networks in places, we have not yet looked. These connections may allow us to exchange sustenance, compassion, and understandings that nurture us rather than divide us.
And that no matter what the outcome of the election tonight and over the next few days, there may be hope for healing, harmony, and a deeper understanding of who we all are.
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Happy Monk Tidings - October 27, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice this week: Mountain Rye; Blog: Colossal Roughhousing on Boundary Pass [ See link in profile ]
The good earth! We survive the big storm! Been inside all day so I’m going swimming and the hot tub awaits. .
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#coldwaterswimming #coldwaterswim #coldwatertherapy #penderisland #southpenderisland
Happy Monk Tidings - October 20, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Sprouted Purple Barley Sourdough; Blog: To All the Bakers: Past, Present, Future and Imaginary! [ See Link in Profile ]
Celebrating the season of apples on Pender Island, we made a full-on Pender Apple bread with a selection of apples from Black Rabbit Farms and Old Growth apple cider from our own Twin Island Cider (with a little Perry) @twinislandcider. Dehydrated the apples and folded them into the dough part way through fermentation. Beautiful droplets of sweetness from the dried apples and a heady note of cider surrounded by the gentle sourdough tang. Pender Island forever! Long live Pender!
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#apples #apple #applebread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodfiredbread #coboven #bread #breadhead #breadlove #baker #bbga #happymonkbaker #happymonkbaking #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbc
Happy Monk Tidings - October 15, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Pender Island Apple Bread; Blog: Happy Monk Bread Teachers: Francis Olive [ See Link in Profile ]
It snowed Sesame Wheat Sourdough in the kitchen this morning, up to our knees in loaves. This one was so sesame forward and umami, it was addictive and I couldn’t stop slicing and buttering and stuffing down my gullet. Inspired by the Sesame Bread from our friends at @workingculturebread in Victoria, whose Sesame loaf is sublime. I came home from a visit last month and set to making a Happy Monk version, super-charged with lots of whole wheat and a ton of sesame seeds. Still some refinements but heading in the right direction!
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#sesame #sesamebread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodfiredbread #coboven #bread #breadhead #breadlove #baker #bbga #happymonkbaker #happymonkbaking #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #penderisland #southpenderisland
Happy Monk Tidings - October 6, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Sesame-Wheat Sourdough; Blog: Making Your Own Bread - You've Got This; Video: Bake Day with the Happy Monk [See Link in Profile ]
Bake Day with the Happy Monk. The amazing @jomosenpai (my son) came over to Pender last summer on a bake day. Was in my face all the time, taking pictures, shooting video. It was so great having him around, and I’m amazed the bread (Polenta Rosemary Sourdough) turned out so well. This video he made turned out very well, too!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #breadmaking #breadmaking🍞 #sourdough #sourdoughbread #polenta #polentabread #coboven #earthoven #earthenoven #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #penderisland
Happy Monk Tidings - September 22, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Harvest Bread; Blog: Sourdough September and the Real Bread Campaign [ See link in profile ]
A horizontal world, an endless beach with long rollers, sandwiched beneath a low sky ceiling … and hundreds of surfers. Chesterman’s Beach, Tofino.
Arise, ye loaves from your slumber!
Arise, ye taste buds of want.
For reason in eating now thunders,
And at last ends of the age of cant!
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#internationale #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #seedbread #seedfeast #rusticbread #rusticbreads #firewood #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Post to The Happy Monk Baking Company
Happy Monk Tidings - September 1, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Sprouted Rye and Seed Bread; Blog: We're all rich when you think about it; South Pender Growers and Makers and Heritage Market; The Happy Monk Holidays - [ Link in profile ]
Happy Monk Tidings - August 25, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Cinnamon-Raisin Bread; Blog: Marriage, Laurie Anderson and the Weddings of Pender; and more! [ See links in profile ]
300 hamburger buns for friends’ wedding, Aug. 21. A great honour to be asked to do this and be part of the feeding of the guests. The buns were used not for hamburgers, but spit-roasted pulled pork. The reception was glorious, held at the far end of Pender Island’s retired airstrip, now a farm, in all its rural splendour. I was too tired to stay, but enjoyed a glass of wine, talking to the mother of the bride and a few of the happy guests. Marriages are good news stories!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #earthoven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #buns #bunstagram #bunsbunsbuns #hamburgerbuns #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakersofinstagram #bakery #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #weddingfeasts #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - August 18, 2021 🍞 - This week's Baker's Choice: The Approachable Loaf; Blog: A Benediction on Mount Norman. [ See links in Profile ]
Happy Monk Tidings - August 11, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Polenta and Rosemary Sourdough; Blog: Here's to the Homely Loaves! [ See Linktree in Profile ]
Lo! The mighty Seed Feast! Favoured by Happy Monk customers the Pender Islands over! These loaves, just rolled out of Mildrith, are hot and fragrant with seeds, nuttiness and bready wholesome-ness. O for a steamy slice and a schmear of butter! That I may eat “and leave the world unseen, and with thee fade away into the forest dim.” (Apologies to the ghost of John Keats).
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#seedfeastbread #seedbread #seedybread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodfiredbread #coboven #earth.oven #bread #breadlove #baker #bbga #happymonkbaker #happymonkbaking #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #breadpoetry #rusticbread #penderisland #southpenderisland
Happy Monk Tidings - August 4, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Volkornbrot (German Rye) with Sunflower Seeds; also Seed Feast; Blog: Why Eat Ancient and Heritage Grains?; Goin' Fishin' Soon! [ See Linktree in Profile ]
Happy Monk Tidings - July 28, 2021 🍞- Baker's Choice: Sprouted Kamut; Blog: Mildrith's Body of Miracles; Goin' Fishin' - [ See Link in Profile ]
This is as dark as these loaves are gonna get in the falling heat of Mildrith, the wood-fired cob oven. They’re good enough for me. She’s already baked 53 loaves throughout the morning, and this will be her last labour of the day. Right now, the clay walls are about 420ºF, not enough heat for another load. If I were more organized and more energetic, I’d have a bunch of cookies lined up to bake or, better yet, a few pan loaves of dark rye bread that could bake the rest of the day. She’s a miracle, Mildrith is, and she’s helped feed hundreds of Pender Island residents over the past two-and-a-half years. Saturday is a rest day for the Happy Monk baker and a day of gratitude. And this Saturday, I’m directing my gratitude at Mildrith, the wood-fired oven!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbaking #woodfiredbread #clayoven #clayovenbaking #coboven #cobovenbaking #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #breadmaking #breadbaking #breadlove #bread #seedbread #bakersofinstagram #bakerslife #penderisland #southpenderisland #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbc #happymonk #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery
Moonset and high tide, South Pender Island at 3:50 a.m.
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbaking #woodfiredbread #clayoven #clayovenbaking #coboven #cobovenbaking #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #breadmaking #breadbaking #breadlove #bread #bakersofinstagram #bakerslife #penderisland #southpenderisland #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbc #happymonk #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery
Happy Monk Tidings - July 21, 2021 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Bird Seed Bread; Blog: Rye Bread: The Agony and the Ecstasy [ See link in profile ]
Whole Rye and Spelt Sourdough with generous scoops of seeds and great texture. Mildrith loves these rye loaves … I wish we had smell-o-vision to smell you what I mean.
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#ryebread #wholegrain #wholegrainbread #speltbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #clayoven #clayovenbakery #clayovenbread #woodfiredbaking #woodfiredbread #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #breadmaking #breadbaking #breadlove #bread #bakersofinstagram #bakerslife #penderisland #southpenderisland #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbc #happymonk #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery
In the early light of dawn, Mildrith oven-springs sourdough, caramelizes crusts gold and brown and leaves heavenly smells as evidence. Inside her hot clay dome, 12 boules of Salish Sourdough are on the final stage of their journey. Behold the steam rising out of the chimney!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #clayoven #clayovenbakery #clayovenbread #woodfiredbaking #woodfiredbread #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #breadmaking #breadbaking #breadlove #bread #bakersofinstagram #bakerslife #penderisland #southpenderisland #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbc #happymonk #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery
Heard this book discussed on CBC radio. Fascinating stuff. Made me think of my dad’s descriptions about how forests grow. He always mentioned how intertwined the roots of trees are, and how you should remember that when you decide to cut one down in a group on your property. We all lean on one another. Why should trees and plants be any different?
Hope all’s well with you two!