\u2013 <\/em>a nearly 2,000-word diatribe against the front lawn \u2013 branch uses a trademark curmudgeonly style to argue the financial and environmental impracticalities of the \u201cexotic, barren monocultures\u201d and also bemoan his own \u201cdual status as arid lands environmentalist and lawn-watering dolt.\u201d<\/p>\nwhile lawns are sometimes referred to as \u201cecological deserts,\u201d he writes, \u201cthis characterization is an insult to deserts, which are remarkably biodiverse ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201ci think the conventions of any genre can ossify over time,\u201d he says. \u201cwith nature writing in particular, we\u2019ve sort of indulged too much in writing that\u2019s either driven by anger or sadness and i think that\u2019s really fatiguing for our readers.\u201d<\/p>\n
the problem with such levity, he says, is that \u201chumor is seen as antithetical to serious work rather than potentially an agent of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
that has not always been the case. \u201cthere have been plenty of periods in world history where humor was thought of as one of the greatest vehicles for conveying the most important information that a culture had to express,\u201d he says. \u201cnobody says that because shakespeare wrote comedy, he was a lightweight writer.\u201d<\/p>\n
but even though the scientific community has yet to fully embrace this method, branch has enough reason to believe that the public is hungry for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cin terms of connecting with other folks, the humor is what worked best,\u201d he says of his early forays into comedic prose. \u201cit was proving to be the most powerful tool in my bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
how the humor started<\/h2>\n \u201chumor came first through just trying to be honest about my own failures,\u201d branch says.<\/p>\n
in 1995, he and his wife eryn moved from virginia to the high cold desert of nevada. \u201cwe wanted to be in a wide open space with lots and lots of critters and opportunities to be outside,\u201d he says. \u201cwe designed and built a passive solar house on 50 acres out here in the middle of nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
their property, located at 6,000 feet on the eastern slope of the sierra nevada, is just a lot away from public land that stretches all the way to california. the \u201cvast sagebrush ocean\u201d is home to rattlesnakes, bobcats, vultures, pronghorns, and all other manner of fauna. \u201cit was going to be a flawless pastoral retreat and i was going to escape the vices of over-civilization and blah blah blah, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
but at some point during their move, eryn became pregnant with their first daughter hannah \u2013 a milestone for which they had been hoping for more stability.<\/p>\n
\u201clife has a way of not really respecting your plan,\u201d branch jokes.<\/p>\n
the first-time \u201cdesert rats\u201d found themselves tackling not only the unforgiving landscape, but also the challenges of parenthood. branch thought the trial and error of raising a family in such non-traditional circumstances so peculiar, he began to document his life unfiltered.<\/p>\n
\u201cwhen you see yourself fail at things, you only have a certain number of choices on how to respond,\u201d he says. \u201cyou can pretend you\u2019re not making mistakes and cover it up, you can beat yourself up about it, or you can learn from it. i learn best when i laugh at myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
the process <\/h2>\n when he\u2019s home, you can find branch \u201cwalking around the desert reading stuff aloud like a madman.\u201d<\/p>\n
ten years ago, he set a goal to walk 1,000 miles a year \u2013 a target he\u2019s about doubled.<\/p>\n
and while he walks, he writes.<\/p>\n
\u201cfor me, walking and writing are part of the same motion,\u201d he says. \u201ci print manuscripts and read them aloud. i really believe in editing by ear and not just by eye. and i\u2019m too restless to just sit around and do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
he says others question is ability to walk the same landscape every day without getting bored. but to him, it\u2019s different every time he ventures out.<\/p>\n
\u201cwhen you walk the same territory at all times of the year, it\u2019s amazing how different it is,\u201d he says. \u201ceven when the landscape doesn\u2019t change, my way of seeing it changes as i change.\u201d<\/p>\n
the land in branch\u2019s work is more than a setting. it is a writer and a central character. it opens the door and invites his survivalist neighbors. it teaches his daughters to avoid scorpions \u2013 despite putting them there in the first place. and most importantly, it supports him during the most precious and vulnerable moments of his life.<\/p>\n
the environmentalist aldo leopold once wrote, \u201cwhen we see the land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
humor is a bonding agent. it brings loved ones and strangers closer together simply through the shared experience of laughter. when we laugh, we open ourselves up to new people, new ideas and new experiences.<\/p>\n
branch offers us exactly those \u2013 with the land at center stage. and after he\u2019s had the last word, we might find ourselves using the land with the love and respect leopold predicted.<\/p>\nmichael branch in the field. (photo courtesy of michael branch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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