, by Mark Hineline. Hineline argued that writing down seasonal milestones can reduce the oppressive feeling of unease you get when you see the dogwood trees putting out flowers before Easter. We, as humans, are susceptible to an idea from ecology called, in which we too easily mentally adapt to degradations in our environment because we don’t remember how things used to be. We question ourselves . Taking notes through the years, Hineline argued, could help.
I thought about Hineline’s directive recently. Here in southeastern Ohio, spring is early this year, like it is in many places. But I didn’t get just. I happened to see that on March 13, 2016, I had noted in my weekly missive that the daffodils were out, trees were in bud, and there were tree frogs singing. “It’s too early for this, by a full two or three weeks,” 2016 me wrote.Reading this, 2024 me realized I’d lost the plot.