Winter Waning Moon of Long Nights
In to the Sierra Club for a meeting about legislative work. The scope of the Sierra Club’s work is impressive, including legislative work at each session of the Minnesota Legislature and scrutiny of the government’s stewardship of our natural resources in between them. There is litigation work, the primary one right now being the Stillwater Bridge. There is also the regular work of educating members, the working of the Issue Committees and regular outings. Perhaps most important of all is the attention of thousands of members to both the particulars of environmental work in all parts of the state and to the developing field of issues, e.g. climate change, renewable energy, efficient public transportation, green planning, work with labor unions for Green Jobs, even climate mitigation strategies to help position Minnesota well when climate change happens.
After that I went over to the MIA to check on my mail box, nothing in it. Good. After I went in there I began to wander through the museum, as I used to do in the days before Collection in Focus, before Docent training, just wandering. My first stop was the wonderful collection of Chinese paintings that have been up for a while. Taking them in and meditating on Taoism as I looked, I began to muse about a work that might have the theme art and nature, the nature of art. Some interesting ideas there. My favorite collection remains the Japanese, and within it the works on paper: ukyio-e especially.
It felt good to be in the museum without a task at hand, or a purpose, other than spending time with the objects. I could do more of that.
