Live at the rhythm of nature
Tristan Gooley, known as nature's Sherlock Holmes, deciphers in a book all the keys to nature's calendar
How do plants and animals know what time it is? What role do the Sun, the Moon, the stars, and the weather play? Why is the water clearest in June and at midnight on New Year's Eve does the star Sirius shine directly south? These are some of the questions that navigator, adventurer, and naturalist Tristan Gooley answers in Las estaciones ocultas (Ático de los Libros), a fascinating book that collects all the keys to decipher nature's calendar. By investigating the inner workings of the seasons, he explains how we can know when, how, and why things change. The researcher points out that every day of the year contains subtle signs (in the sky, in plants, in water, or in animals) that reveal the infinite changes in the landscape, from those first buds that announce the arrival of warmth or the flight of some insects that anticipate rain. An approach to nature's rhythm that is done with scientific precision, but with a literary language that invites you to wander through nature observing all that the signs that nature offers us every day tell us.
Gooley explains that with this book he wants to "make it very clear to the reader that we can enjoy the seasonal change much more intimately and pleasantly if we think in terms of clues and signs": "Thus, in the first part of the book I explain why and how the small things happen when they do, and from there I offer a vision of what is happening in a broader sense." He admits that part of the inspiration for the book came when he saw a very old clock, from the 16th century: "And suddenly I realized that I had been looking for clues and signs in nature for decades related to direction and mapmaking, but I hadn't looked at everything related to time. Therefore, in this book, I focus on explaining how nature's calendar or clock really works." As Gooley points out, the natural year does not have an official start date, but he maintains that if we know what to look for, we can say that it is in the second half of February when the wheel begins to turn.
In this regard, he explains how in many parts of the world, it is the daffodils that signal the end of winter, specifying that, wherever we are, the first flowers we will see when winter begins to give way to spring will most likely be geophytes, those plants that store resources such as carbohydrates underground during unfavorable seasons, which allows them to survive in the cold months before spring.
Seasonal Journey
In previous books, Tristan Gooley has explained how we can read trees or water, for example, but on this occasion he takes a journey through the seasons, collecting everything he has learned over the years from his observations: "First-hand and from the thousands of days spent in different habitats in different parts of the world, observing, trying to understand and always looking for nature's clues and signs. A third pillar of my knowledge comes from the opportunity to meet people, which is why I always seek out people with deep knowledge of a part of the planet".
An indefatigable observer, the researcher assures that, despite what we may think, humans have not lost the ability to read nature. However, he admits that we have lost the practice: "I think we still have the tools to do so, just as our ancestors did every day, because, ten thousand years ago, that was the difference between a good day and a bad day in someone's life. And we have the same tools. What has happened over the last hundred years, and very rapidly over the last twenty, is that we have prioritized other uses of our senses in our brains".
Thus, he explains: “While our ancestors would have picked up the sound of a bird's alarm call, and that would have told them there was a hawk or some kind of predator in the area, our brain now picks up the sound of an incoming WhatsApp message. It's the same use of a sense and a brain, so we probably just need to change our priorities a bit, dedicating a few minutes each day to discovering the sounds, sights, and smells of nature. And the brain will thank us for it, because it is literally what we were born for”.
Gooley talks about countless subtle signs that reveal the infinite changes in the landscape throughout the year. What do we miss if we don't observe our surroundings?: “Well, the first thing is fun and satisfaction in a broad sense. The brain still loves to realize that there are signs in the sky indicating that it is sunny now, but that there will be showers later. It is true that we no longer need to recognize all these signs to survive, but the brain doesn't know that, and that's why it still finds it so satisfying to observe these things and decipher nature's signs”. In this regard, the researcher suggests that we observe everything around us: vegetation, insects, sky, animals. And that we learn to recognize the signs step by step.
- Trees do not have the ability to move, so they always need help to transfer pollen (plant sperm) from male to female flowers. They achieve this thanks to the wind or pollinating animals. In this regard, there are interesting patterns, because almost all tropical trees depend on animals for pollination and almost all trees in high latitudes depend on the wind.
- All animals depend on plants, directly or indirectly. If we understand how the oak marks the time, we will better understand caterpillars and birds, but also the moths that the caterpillars turn into that are not eaten by the birds.
- How do plants read the calendar? Once an organism detects that the duration of the night has reached a certain number of hours, it initiates basic seasonal processes. Many species bloom when the day exceeds a critical duration threshold, for example fourteen hours. They are known as long-day plants and include peas, potatoes, wildflowers, and crops that we see as the summer solstice approaches. Other plants, which we call photoperiodism-neutral, are not guided in the first instance by the duration of the day or night, but respond to other internal and external stimuli. Two examples are tomatoes and cucumbers.
- As for animals, photoperiodism governs the growth periods of reptiles, the appearance of wings in insects, molting of skin or plumage, hibernation, and many other processes. However, most seasonal changes in animals relate to the reproductive cycle.
- Steam and hail may seem very different phenomena, but they convey the same message. Sometimes we can see this phenomenon at other times, but it is a classic sign of the beginning of spring. Until March, the sun is not strong enough; then the air is too warm. Steam indicates that the balance is beginning to equalize: the sun has reached a sufficient height to warm the earth, but the air remains cold. Hail conveys the same seasonal message on another scale.
- For decades, scientists have used insects as «bioindicators» to monitor the health of watersheds, because nothing escapes them. Aquatic insects are sensitive to every variable in their environment: contaminants, nutrients, pH, current speed, turbulence, oxygen, light, plant life, predators… If something changes in the environment, insect populations react quickly.
- The season changes as you climb a hill, but also if you stay at the same altitude and go around it. Orientation has a huge impact on the biology of an area and modifies the plants and animals we encounter. The degree of slope also influences it. Spring begins earlier and autumn arrives later on gentle slopes; steep ones delay spring and advance autumn.
- The intensity of the colors of the rainbow gives us clues about the nature of the rain. A deep red indicates large drops. Also, a rainbow in the early morning means you are looking west, that the weather is good, and that showers are approaching.
- The dawn birdsong differs from the daytime. In many species, it is more complex and varied. It is also louder. Birds sing for longer when the night has been warm: they start earlier and finish later.
- If you see shadows on the water, it is a sign that the water is not pure. Shadows only appear when light bounces off suspended particles.
- In summer, the size of the insects we see changes throughout the day. Large insects are more likely to overheat in the middle of the day than small ones, so it is easier to see them in the early morning and late in the day.
- Birds can warn us of weather changes: they emit alarm calls when bad weather approaches and fall silent just before it arrives. As the wind grows, they fly lower. They always land and take off facing into the wind.
- In December, the stars offer a more intense spectacle than in any other month, with a large number of constellations visible and easy to recognize.