On With It
A neutrino is one of my favorite things. It's one of those bits of nature that seems invented by poets. Atomic scientists discussed the possible existence of this little particle in the 1930s, but actual detection didn't occur until 1956 in a lab. A naturally occurring one was found in a complex detector at the bottom of a gold mine in Africa in 1965. Believed to have no mass at all and having no electrical charge, "neutrino" is Italian for "little neutral one." Birthed in the nuclear guts of all stars, this particle streams in every direction unimpeded -- they go directly through the Earth without slowing. Our bodies are being bombarded by 65,000,000,000 per square centimeter every second. Zoom. I feel fine. Do you? Fundamental particle, yes indeed.
But fundamental with nuances, as all good characters are. They apparently have "flavors" and can oscillate between these states in flight. Experiments have shown that there are anti-neutrinos, but a respected Italian physicist suggests they might just be neutrinos behaving weirdly, not other particles at all. Studies prove they, in fact, do have just the tiniest mass, nearly zero, therefore the laws of the universe say they can't go faster than light. Other research postulates that they have no mass, like light itself, and may actually travel faster than the speed of light and therefore are going backwards in time. You know, like Merlin. Wizards do that sometimes... Ok, but how big are they? Well, "size" is not a thing for these guys. There is no minimum distance between them -- they have no width or volume. Science or ghosts, poetry or physics... Neutrinos are an invisible constant in our lives, the force of the sun pouring through us every moment. Billions of dollars are being spent globally on neutrino astronomy. Are they part of dark matter? Can we detect some blown from a far off supernova? Or from the Big Bang? Space doesn't slow them down or gas or dust or rocks or age or viruses...
Since the pandemic started, phoebes returned to the yard, built a nest, laid eggs. Fledglings flew away. A spider as big as my eyeball appeared every night for a few days and wove a web eight feet in the air. Hunting. Next day, gone. Next night, web and fog. Etc. Bumblebees in the backyard cram their bodies down the gullets of snapdragons just to the right of my chair on the deck. My pals post Instagrams of outrageous sunsets. Paul and LIzzyliz just had a baby girl. Jameson learned to bike.
Comet Neowise is visible tonight and for the next couple weeks to the naked eye below the Big Dipper. Discovered on March 27th, it's a three-mile ball of ice and rock with a blue and golden tail. It will return in 6,800 years. It's the far and the slow tempo. You really should have a look. For the near and the speedy: Levi, the good dog, threw up for two days; he's fine now. My son Schuy and I have been working to keep the black Spyder running and playing plenty of frisbee on the sand these hot evenings. Neutrinos blaze through me. Through us. Cucumbers are ready. There is nectar still.
Saturday a moth was determined to hang out on my left knee. Using an app called "Seek," I discovered it's a skipper, the Silver Spotted Skipper, and a butterfly, not a moth. It's the most common skipper in North America and I had never noticed one before. Introductions ensued.
NEOWISE is an acronym of science stuff (it's an orbital observatory looking for planet killers heading our way -- the comet that ended the dinosaurs was only slightly larger than this comet we can see sailing by), but I'm breaking it down to "new wisdom." "Skipper" is the perfect name to guide us forward. Civilization is evolving through the suffering. Pain is all around us. But, vegetables grow as always; skippers visit; fathers and sons hang out; the invisible winds of the cosmos are blowing through our beings every second. I can't fix the world, but I'll catch light and push it your way. I'll try to find grace and share it. The theme here is On With It. Now is a great time to find a little slice of joy and share it. Lots of little bits can be lots...
Summertime and the living is queasy.
But, here we are. Same as it ever was -- quantum mechanics, birds, spiders, cukes and kids... As reality flings apart, hold on to the perennials. Find the rhythm and try to join in just a little bit. Look for the familiar that is cycling the way it always does. We can do this.
On With It.
P.S. Buy art now. It's good for the soul and the very, very local economy. Time for some big pieces. More light means more light. And, by the way, love. Make that visible. Love in a time of chaos is redemptive.
P.P.S. Come to think of it, in The Two Towers, Gandalf was talking to a moth too. That led to a fabulous outcome.
B Mac
