Alm Wise

Yesterday evening I watched the movie 'The Eight Mountains' (2022) based on the book from Paolo Cognetti with the same name. The book is originally written in italian: 'Le Otto Montagne' (2016).

Nice movie.

Quote from the book (in the Dutch translation):

"Misschien is het waar, zoals mijn moeder beweerde, dat ieder van ons een favoriete hoogte heeft in de bergen, een landschap dat op ons lijkt en waar we ons goed voelen. Het hare was ongetwijfeld het bos op vijftienhonderd meter hoogte, met schaduwrijke sparren en lariksen, waaronder bosbessen, jeneverbessen en rododendrons groeien en waar de reebokken zich verschansen. Ik voelde me meer aangetrokken tot de bergen die daarna komen: alpenweiden, bergbeken, veengronden, hooglandgrassen en grazende beesten. Nog iets hoger verdwijnt de vegetatie, is alles tot het begin van de zomer bedolven onder de sneeuw en is het grijs van met kwarts dooraderde en met geel korstmos ingelegde rotsen de voornaamste kleur. Daar begon de wereld van mijn vader." 

My favorite hight in the mountains is without doubt the grassland in the high mountains (German: Alm) where the animals graze in the summer. Meadows everywhere, groups of houses, views all around and the light brighter. The promise of summer. 

P.S. This is the renovated barn (in Brusson, Val d’Ayas, Italy) in which Cognetti wrote his book 'Le Otto Montagne' (source pictures). It was renovated in 2021 so he must have written his book in the old barn.

Distinct Yet Survive

 The Amish's way of life and their Ordnung rules fascinates me:

• Personality: reserved, modest, calm, and quiet.
• Values: submission, obedience, humility, and simplicity. 
• Jewelry is not to be worn, not even wedding rings.
• Children are to attend school through the eighth grade. After that, they are expected to work.
• Some Amish youth do separate themselves from the community, even going to live among the "English," or non-Amish Americans, experiencing modern technology. Their behavior during this time does not necessarily prevent them from returning for adult baptism into the Amish church (Rumspringa).
  
• Word processors are only allowed for school and church administrative use. Cellular phones and voice mail, may only be used by a business to compete.
• Prohibited are central heating in houses, computers, televisions, radios, and using tractors for fieldwork.
• In general a slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The degree of use of technology differs per Amish affiliation. What is striking is that they all (better: 97%) use a motorized washing machine! See the table below.
  

All in all. "Amish practices evolve over time. As modernization takes place, the Amish negotiate to what degree they will accept and utilize technology and other practices of the outside world. This cultural compromise has allowed the Amish to remain a distinct group, yet survive economically."

P.S. They fascinate me but for me it's a no go because they indirectly reject books and science. Curiosity and wonder are not one of their core values. Such a shame.

Not Necessarily A Tragedy

Quote from the film (source): The marsh knows all about death ... and doesn't necessarily define it as tragedy. Certainly not a sin. It understands that every creature does what it must to survive. And that sometimes, for prey to live ... its predator must die.

Quote from the book (source): The tide was coming in, and a wave flowed over his feet, taking with it hundreds of seashells back into the sea. Kya had been of this land and of this water; now they would take her back. Keep her secrets deep.

And then the gulls came. Seeing him there, they spiraled above his head. Calling. Calling.

As night fell, Tate walked back toward the shack. But when he reached the lagoon, he stopped under the deep canopy and watched hundreds of fireflies beckoning far into the dark reaches of the marsh. Way out yonder, where the crawdads sing.

The artist of the featured watercolors in the film is Alice Ravenel Huger Smith (1876-1958).

P.S. Watercolor on top: 'Iris in Swamp' (around 1925-1935). Watercolor below: 'Lotus in the Great Blake Reserve' (around 1926-1936). Source: here.

Three Cities in Three Days