Shedding perceptions in the Year of the Snake

Step 2: Plan for spring with seeds, birdhouses; plus a word about growth rates and resistance

Today we enter the year of the snake. I know, y’all thought that happened nine days ago. But our sweet, wild snakes don’t need to be associated with that mess. While our dominant culture and religion might tarnish their reputation, in some mythologies snakes are symbols of wisdom and transformation; noble little dragons who shed their skin in order to grow.

Snake skeleton in the Everglades. Probably dropped there by a raptor.

If you see one in your yard, congratulations! You have an ecosystem going on. If you have a rat or insect problem, snakes are part of the solution. (With exception, of course, for venomous snakes. They are perfect in nature, but not in your garden. Facebook groups can help identify them, and animal control or the police or fire department can remove them humanely.)

It’s a bit early in most of the country for luring snakes into our yards or otherwise tending to our outside spaces, but now is the time to plan for spring. A few ideas:

Put up birdhouses, so they’re ready for nesting season.

Last year’s bird nest. I had been told we’re supposed to clean birdhouses out each winter, to help prevent disease. But after I saw how much work went into building it, I felt regretful. To my relief, a few weeks later, she’d already created a new one.

Spread native grass and wildflower seeds. Especially if you live in a snowy area, they’ll go through their natural cycle of freezing, which helps them germinate. The melting snow will also help them get on their way with less supplemental water.

Transplant. For many plants, it’s ideal to transplant them now, while they’re still dormant.

And, what not to do:

Try not to rake the fallen leaves. Wait until after the spring birds have fledged, if you can, since they will need the caterpillars and other invertebrates that are hiding in that leaf litter.

Lots of creatures hide in the leaf litter, including this walking stick we found in Arkansas.

Try not to till your soil. There’s a lot of newish evidence that the microscopic community thrives on undisturbed soil, so your gardening will be all the better for it. Google a few alternatives.

Definitely don’t put out any sort of poison, especially for rodents and insects. Those quickly move up the food chain, killing raptors and songbirds alike. Instead, create a biodiverse yard that will naturally balance itself — like with snakes!

Speaking of snakes, while we’re taking a moment to change our perception of them, let’s also let their transformative nature help us rethink a few other concepts, which we tend to swallow as gospel.

1. Our “progress” of shaping the land, uprooting it, dousing it in chemicals, and otherwise forcing it into the box and purpose we think it should be used for, should not be considered normal. It is a form of violence. But it’s often difficult for us to see it as such because this violence has been so normalized. We’re told it’s necessary for our survival, even, when in fact, the opposite is true. We are part of the land, beholden to it. Yes, of course we need mining and such, but we need to minimize those impacts, not just maximize the profits of a few. Finding elegant ways of working in cooperation with nature will ultimately be the only way for future generations to thrive.

Dirt bike tracks that will likely be visible on this mesa in Utah for hundreds of years. The impact of 15 minutes of entertainment for one or two humans.

2. Growth is not good. The same masterminds who gave us the above definition of “progress” also insist that growth capitalism is the only possible economy. But logic, and math, tell a different story.

f(x) = a(1+r)x

That’s the equation for exponential growth. It’s something that all of us, and especially our policy makers, should be required to learn. Luckily, it’s an exceedingly simple concept that goes something like this:

If you have a 7% growth rate per year, then whatever it is that you are measuring will double in ten years. For example, if our plastic use grows at 7%, then in 2035 we will use twice the amount of plastic that we used in 2025. It also means that between 2025 and 2035 we will use more plastic than we did during the entire time from when we invented the material through today.

Apply this to carbon dioxide and methane. Apply this to the number of houses we need, and the land they overtake. Apply this to the number of forests that must be cut down. The number of ecosystems that must be upended for mining. Then imagine 2045, at which time 2035’s sprawl has doubled yet again.

Bison in Yellowstone National Park. If you’re looking for an important information source concerning the next round of onslaught against our parks and their stewards, follow Alt National Park Service on social media. These coming months are going to hit public lands particularly hard.

Granted, a 7% growth rate is high for these examples. Plastic use is predicted to grow by more like 4% during the next decade, which means a doubling rate of 17.5 years. I’ve heard city councils talk about a target 3% growth rate, which sounds small, but translates to their town’s population doubling in 24 years — a concept they likely aren’t grasping.

Yet this is a very easy concept. But for some reason, few people acknowledge it.

3. Economists are fretting over flattening population growth rates, to the extent that Russia has outlawed media from depicting happy childless couples. Hey folks, forcing women to have more kids isn’t the solution. Instead we need an economy that isn’t dependent on growth. Because no matter how much the Wall Street brokers, real estate agents, and makers of throw-away furniture want to ignore the fact that we live on a finite planet, one way or another a growth economy is not going to end well. Better for us to rethink it now, then to wait until we’re packed together in the megastructures of a dystopian future, where everyone wants to hear tales of what trees looked like.

Great observations, but what can any of us possibly do about it?

As we enter the Year of the Snake — Year of the Wood Snake to be precise — it feels like we have zero control over anything. We’re being intentionally divided on every level, even over what to call our country’s highest, sacred peak, down to the name of the nurturing wetlands and waters of the Gulf.

But, there are a few things we do have control over. We have the ability to realize we are all fingers on the same hand. All humans. All animals. All plants. All fungi and soil bacteria. With that knowledge, we have the free will to instead work to normalize kindness. Kindness to all beings and ecosystems.

One of our brethren.

One way to do that is to denormalize our consumeristic growth culture. No more idolizing excess; instead let’s buy only what we need, and look beyond material goods for ways to bring joy to our souls.

The other, and most important way, is to be here for one another. Let’s make strength and courage our hallmarks. And instead of asserting our dominance over the land, and one another, let’s take our little patches of earth and help them become ecosystems, free of poisons and rich with native plants to feed our wild cousins. One small, yet radical step toward change.

Milkweed, the sole source of food for Monarch larva. There are many nonprofits that give away free seeds specific to your region. Try to plant at least 10 plants in order to make sure there’s enough food to feed them.

Milkweed, after.

Whether you have a humble windowsill or a backyard field, even small gestures toward rewilding it will make a big difference — both for the tiny creatures who have lost so much, as well as for the gratification and sense of control we get from being positive catalysts. In this swirling circus of anger and separation engulfing us, making those connections with nature keeps our own inner ecosystems resilient and transformative.

In other words, it helps to think like a snake.

As the editor of the High Country News recently wrote: “Ultimately, it's up to each of us to decide which side of the balance our efforts will fall on. Have we given back? Have we volunteered, planted, honored, protected, donated, cared for, safeguarded, stewarded and restored more than we destroyed, denuded, consumed, abandoned or passively disregarded? The beginning of a new year is an excellent time to take stock, make a course correction or decide to double down in the year ahead. If we all leave the place better than we found it, it will be a more beautiful world.”

In the coming months, I’ll share more concrete ideas for rewilding our spaces, so we can help with those sentiments. In the meantime, there are a lot of resources out there. Especially consider joining the Homegrown National Park movement.

And, finally, for those of us who use the Roman calendar, here’s the February installment of our family calendar.