~SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOR CHALLENGING TIMES

[sumisu]

I've seen the same collapse trend over many decades! Being just a gardener now without much traveling, I will confine my comments to my garden.

Most or the Monarch butterflies are now gone.

I still see honey bees, but they are in decline.

Bumblebees are still abundant. Never been stung by one in 36 years and the 2 stings in each of the last two years. They've become aggressive and my activities have not changed.

To aid the bees over time, I've added many annuals, perennials, and let herbs to to seed to satisfy them. I seem to have more bees than most neighbors.



There is an abundance of squirrels and chipmunks; with gentrification, there is little wild land left and they gravitate to gardens to augment their diets. I have to fence in everything now.

Last summer my rain barrels had constant levels and I did not have to use any municipal water.

The societal progress since the mid 1950s, in my opinion, has been its regress for the environment and our spirit of living. Gone are the days of a kitchen garden in most yards and making food from scratch. Our agrarian past has been severed for most people and many youngsters are not taught gardening. It is a shame.

sumi