Do I get to skip a day? I didn't skip this Saturday, although I didn't get out into Nature either. At least not what I thought of as Nature when I woke up.
After a lazy morning, we walked over to the James Bay farmer's market. It was a hot and dusty Saturday and we were late, so there were no luscious heads of lettuce at Saanich Organics. Ah well. All I noticed was how the grass in this little park gets ground down into dust during farmer's market season and barely grows back over winter. During Covid, the market had to spread out, so 2/3 was in the paved parking lot beside the patch of grass. But we need to park over keeping the grass healthy, I guess.
From there we went downtown. Less nature there. More people. Downtown Victoria is a sad place in summer. The For Lease signs are more apparent. The unhoused folks and folks with drug problems are huddled together in any patch of shade they can find. Most are wearing as little as possible due to the heat. Skin and bones and dirt and scars. Collectively we either have no aid to give them or, more likely, don't want to give it. Individually, we gave what we had in our wallets, not enough but something.
As the tourists swell downtown and mingle with the unhoused folks, I start to wonder what makes this a tourist destination anyway. Outside of the heavily surveilled Inner Harbour, the cracks of our artifice is starting to show. The make-up doesn't blend in with our real skin. My mind shifts back to three years ago, when Covid closed the harbour and the water was clean and wildlife came back. Our Indigenous relatives must face that memory, and more, every day.
If we are all part of Nature, then I saw quite a bit of it on the concrete and pavement. But it was more disturbing than nurturing.