Shel Graves' Sensorium

Stone walls divide barren, grey Excluded into small sections. Seen from above Excluded looks like a jagged, slate mosaic. Each farmer in Excluded grows a subsistence crop on his own soil and does not try to sell it. No one shares. The sullen Excluded keep to themselves. No one wishes to visit, but many must pass through Excluded on their way to better places. The fishermen of Excluded sail on small ships each casting his own nets. The seas are barren, the land miserly. The best fed in Excluded live near the fruit trees which grow limbs over Excluded, but have roots in other lands. They pick fruits from these trees and bake pies and tarts and nearly feel satisfied.

The bustling city Boisterous attracts many visitors to its museums, art galleries, and open air markets. Boisterous welcomes guests from afar to all of its celebrations. Many festivals honor adventurers and explorers for their discoveries. Boisterous also holds festivals of plays and storytelling and reenactments of adventures.  “Shy people are advised to keep their visits to Boisterous short,” says the Guide. “There are few spots to find quiet or to be alone.”  Dances and festivities take places at all hours. Restaurants are always open. The streets are always full and loud. Parties of Boisterous sing and laugh through the streets wearing loud clothing. Everyone travels in packs.

It was a horrible year! There was a pandemic with infections, masks, lockdowns, isolation, fear--very zombie apocalypse. The horror was still president with all the adjacent horrors. There were terrible forest fires. I participated in a puppy mill rescue which was an honor, but there were horrors there, too. I had anxiety dreams about terrible things happening to dogs and waking anxieties about terrible things happening to people and fears of infecting people through terrible accidents. Taste: crisco thick bland grease, vegetable oil (this is how not to frost a vegan cupcake) Sound:  a roomful of silence, hours of mewling, the rumbling in her stomach  Smell: smoke, urine, feces, decomp; tar, in dream  Sight: yellow sky, haze  Touch: stiff hands  Quote of the Year:  “Well, the weather today is still dystopian hellscape.”  — Sam

The Animated love to show visitors around their land of colorful rolling hills and bright, blossoming trees.   “Taste the Animated fruits!” they exclaim. “Like no others!”  Year round adventurers and explorers visit Animated on quests. Hikers enjoy the crests and cascades. The Animated travel to other lands renowned for their energy and derring do.   “Animated's overrun with squirrels,” says Amma-Pom.  “I loved the rivers and waterfalls and leaping fish,” says Miss Doe Friend. "The eagles soar in Animated. The land is beautiful, but I most enjoyed the capitol Boisterous, a city like no other."

In a pandemic and election year of lockdown, isolation, and strife it was wonderful to note how my reflections back on the year's Sensorium (although the entries were sparser--I usually try to blog the senses once a week and this year there were just 13) contained rich and delightful memories. 2020 was the year in which I got my first tattoo, started the dog training Academy, framed more art, adopted Lily and Tish, played a lot of Divinity 2, and published a second solarpunk story. In 2020, I also discovered the importance of rest. My word of the year for 2021 will be Restorative . Standout senses: Taste:  elderflower and rose lemonade purchased at the local drug store and snap peas because the dogs loved them, too Sound: Sebille's Theme, the music in Divinity 2: The Original Sin by Borislav Slavov and Jean Donaldson's phrase "happy snacky" the ideal state of a dog ready to learn Smell: timothy grass from working on the farm Sight:  green leaves and blue sky ly...

The brick walled tower of Masculine sits within the meadow Feminine. The Monks of Masculine wear formal attire. They have tusks, hulking shoulders, and bulging forearms. They use their strength to build their tower higher. The tower rings with proclamations, but the Fairies of Feminine flit as usual. Ornate and robust, the city Masculine attracts visitors. They admire the architecture and stroll the bricked streets and stairs in the heavy hats and boots of the Masculine. They visit the Room of Scrolls where the pronouncements lie unfurled. They barter for goods in the open air market. The Masculine are excellent traders. They load ships with bricks and Feminine perfumes and potions and ferry them to other lands.  “The traders are not always successful,” says the Guide. “Many other lands have no use for bricks and proclamations. Although the Feminine perfumes and potions are always welcome.”

Daisies grow in the peaceful meadow Feminine where spring and summer reign. The Fairies of Feminine wear daisy crowns and petal skirts. Their skin shimmers and their laughter sounds like birdsong. A stream glides through Feminine: on one side crops grow on the other a city rises. The Feminine work together to create shelters, store grains, make daily meals, bake breads, and prepare the occasional feast. Feminine welcomes all, loves animals, and encourages cooperation.