CryptoNaturalist

CryptoNaturalist, 3 months ago to random

Bespoke

Butterfly wings and grizzly bear jaws
are both successful pathways to survival.

There is no single, best way to thrive.

Cover image of Leaf Litter by Jarod K Anderson. Black and white drawing of Osage orange leaves.

CryptoNaturalist, 3 months ago to random

There is endless wonder in the world,
in nature, and in each other.

Our grateful attention to such things
can feel like an indulgence in light of the work
yet to be done. But it isn't.

Our love is a part of the worthy work.
It's the foundation of our certainty
that we can do better.

CryptoNaturalist, 3 months ago to random

I'm going to keep the secret for now, but I gotta say that, for my next podcast episode, I got a voice actor I have wanted on the show for years.

CryptoNaturalist, 3 months ago to random

Poems from Leaf Litter by Jarod K. Anderson.

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CryptoNaturalist, 3 months ago to random

New ep of the podcast out now!
Episode 54: Mirror Falls.
This one created some... fun audio challenges.
Available wherever you find podcasts or streamed from YouTube/my website.

CryptoNaturalist, 3 months ago to random

It's not a mistake to need rest.
Or seek help.
Or make secret pacts with household spiders.
Or find friendship in the dark beneath a log.
Or to think "hello" into the night sky and wait for a response.
Or sink your fingers into the soil to see if they take root.
Or, despite everything, to love this world.

(From the poetry collection Leaf Litter by Jarod K Anderson)

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

Long ago, a stone felt a tingle on its skin.

Moss. A new feeling. A green feeling.

The granite spoke of ages in the deep heat of the Earth.

The moss sang the taste of sunlight
and the softness of salamander bellies.

They gave each other the gift of names.

And told those names to no one at all.

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

This morning,
I look out at thick snow,
knowing there is clover beneath.

Part of honoring nature,
honoring a world bigger and wiser than me,
is that I don’t hold back hope

to the limits of my own sight.

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

New episode of The CryptoNaturalist is live now!
Episode 53, The Uneasiness.

Featuring poetry and a visit with what watches beyond dark windows.

Find it at CryptoNaturalist.com, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

Folks forget nature is more important
than technology or economics
because it rarely insists on our attention.

It’s the same way many consider
the open air to be “empty space,”
forgetting that it’s a chemical mix
that sustains us wholly thanks
to nonhuman lives and processes.

The nature that fills our lungs and bellies
deserves more respect
than our games of commerce
and our tech that cannot rival a single seedling.

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

English is an absurd language. Somehow, a stick bug is pretty much exactly what you’d expect while crab grass is an absolute letdown.

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

If you have my collection Leaf Litter and could take a moment to leave a review on amazon, I would sincerely appreciate it. Reviews help new readers find my poetry.

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

Just posted a new poem for Patreon supporters. You can join for just a dollar a month.

Patreon dot Com/CryptoNaturalist

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

Once you realize that life is a thing that always ends with unfinished goals, the question becomes,
"what do you want to spend your life pursuing,
completely divorced form the idea of catching it?"

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

New year, new episode of The CryptoNaturalist Podcast.
Episode 52: Mecha-Shrew

Featuring poetry from Emily Benson and a return
to a classic cryptid-watching location.

Wherever you find podcasts
or stream at CryptoNaturalist.com.

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

Compliments for Humans:

"For a thing so full of blood, it's amazing you don't slosh when you walk."

"Three breath-holes? Now you're just showing off."

"The way you move makes it hard to believe you're stuffed with bones."

"Wow, that's a lot of skin, but you really make it work."

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

If the price for the survival of your ideology involves rationalizing bombing children, I'm against it. I don't need other details.

CryptoNaturalist, 4 months ago to random

When we speak for nature,
we pretend it’s a work of translation,

not because she speaks a different language,
but because it’s fashionable to pretend she does.

It’s a way of refusing to hear,
like when our mothers or angels call us

to pour out our care beyond ourselves
and grow the way they know we could.

CryptoNaturalist, 5 months ago to random

As we enter a new year, it’s worth remembering the many reasons why this is a special place to be alive.

Bats can hear shapes.
Plants can eat light.
Bees can dance maps.
We can hold all these ideas at once and feel both heavy and weightless with the absurd beauty of it all.

CryptoNaturalist, 5 months ago to random

Somewhere, beneath a leaf,
a soft salamander waits to join
your most vital memories.

Somewhere, in an autumn's rich soil,
a mushroom will stand above ground
and remind you of the strange life deep below.

Somewhere, a person like us,
will need the magic only you can bring them.

CryptoNaturalist, 5 months ago to random

Episode 52 of The CryptoNaturalist Podcast
is now live wherever you find podcasts.

A special welcome to Tracy Barnett,
the new producer/editor of The CryptoNaturalist.
You will have them to thank for my new consistency and quality in the coming year.
I'm thrilled to have them on the team!

CryptoNaturalist, 5 months ago to random

I don't want to be three-didactic-ghosts rich.

But I would happily take whatever supernatural lesson comes along with simple financial security.

CryptoNaturalist, 5 months ago to random

Have I mentioned that The CryptoNaturalist podcast returns on December 15th?
Suddenly, that's just a few days away!

If you're not familiar,
the podcast is a scripted show about real love
for fictional nature. It's about cryptids.
It's about an odd, enthusiastic expert in strange wildlife.

CryptoNaturalist, 5 months ago to random

Leaf Litter is the #1 New Release in American Poetry on Amazon.
Thank you for supporting my little book. 💚

CryptoNaturalist, 5 months ago to random

Earth’s memory holds many lifeless times.
Burning white seas of glacial ice.
Years of night beneath swirling ash.
The world’s fiery youth before the first cell split.
In all these contexts, one green leaf would be a miracle.
One child’s sigh, magic beyond belief.
Let these desolate images teach you what life is.
Let us not forget its worth.