Death, Decay and Youth on a Utah Mountain

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(Edited)

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We took advantage of the lack of snow at the valley floor this weekend to hike around on the side of Buckley Mountain between Provo and Springville. I made a short cinematic video of death, decay and youth for your amusement :)

A Common Sight

Deer or (in this case) elk skulls, sawed open to remove the trophy antlers and then discarded at a pullout on the side of the mountain.

The first time we ran into a deer skull that had been sawed open we thought maybe it was some kind of dark magic cult ritual activity.

You can get a good sense for the size of this skull with my boot in the picture:

A Common Sight part 2

The remnants of mining operations large and small litter the sides of the Wasatch Front. Cable sticking out of rubble is a dead giveaway. Most of the mine openings themselves were sealed with rubble by the National Guard years ago, although there are still a few you can access. I am not sure what this operation was that we stumbled across while going off trail up a slope.

There were dozens of these metal containers scatter out in various states of disintegration into rust.

There were all sorts of interesting chunks of metal. I really do find rust beautiful in a sad way.

Music in the video is free use "Grilled Cheese" from the Google Photos movie assistant.

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Spiffing collection of impressions of big country and small man (with his petty, nonsensical actions); how the death and (attractive indeed) rust offset the freshness of youth. Great stuff Carl!

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impressions of big country and small man (with his petty, nonsensical actions) Summed it up very nicely here, you have sussed out exactly what I was trying to convey. Utah is a place of these contrasts, with so much wild nature, and that literally at your doorstep (the national forest goes right down the mountain sides to the property boundery of the last homeowners on the side of the valley), but also filled with constant reminders of humanity's total disregard for the rest of nature. For a few days last week the worst air quality in the entire country was in the Utah valley; evidence of the pro-industry state politics which have resulted in a bloom of manufacturing plants and corporate outposts, compounded by a regular winter weather inversion which traps the air in the valley. Thinking about the big picture stuff in this world of ours can be pretty depressing, luckily I have my own beautiful family to remind me constantly of the love and joy and light in the world as well. Wishing you love and joy and light in your world, to accompany the darkness always.

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It never ends...
life and Decay

I cannot recall if you have watched it but i shared a little spooky special last Halloween, in reality is not a halloween song but an ode to Nature circles. In the video there is a scene with bones scattered around a tree, we found it during our hikes, probably bones left by the vultures (we have big vultures here). It's sad in a way but it also returns to provide life back again.

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yeah I loved that Halloween video and the scatter bones added a lot of atmosphere. I am always fascinated by death and decay, which as you say is just the other half of the circle which allows life to continue. I think our modern disconnect from death fuels a lot of anxiety and poor human behavior. You can't hide and whitewash away one entire half of the life/death equation. Whether it is putting older people away in separate care facilities, or only seeing neatly packaged meat on supermarket shelves without any exposure to the slaughter and butchering, or spending life surrounded in sterile man-made city environments - a lifetime spent segregated from death does not prepare one for these bigger questions and mysteries. Sending you love ahead for your birthday <3

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thanks for the early best wishes. I confess I embrace death as part of Nature, but me I have fear of it... I had a bad experience and verging so close I felt so much fear that now I'm scared of it... I should not, it's part of everything, though I guess in a way is natural. I don't even eat meat, confess I prefer things living :) once they are dead I don't mind foraging bones or even keep tokens from my dead pets... but well each one is different.

I made the song though to cast a different light on death and its importance in it all, without it there would be no life on this planet. It's needed.

I take the chance to wish you a happy closing of the year to you and yours

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Excellent to see the landscape from here in BC Canada. Thanks for sharing

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