Now we wait :)

20 Questions for Simmers

1.) Favorite Sims Game

While I have played and loved every version of The Sims, I think my absolute favorite was The Sims 2. It was the one I couldn’t put down! The little details and humor are what really stand out when I look back, and I don’t remember having any real problems with it either since the game itself was pretty solidly developed and bugs tended to be squashed quickly. Overall, I was never bored playing The Sims 2 and I still occasionally boot it up just to reminisce.

2.) Yourself in 3 Traits

Ambitious, dog lover, neat

3.) CC or No CC

I play with a small amount of CC. Everything I download is Maxis-match, and I pull pieces out whenever we get new official content that I can use instead.

4.) Preferred Part of the Game

I really like each part of the game and try to spend my time evenly among them. Lately I’ve been building and messing around in CAS more than actually playing though. Oops!

5.) Favorite Expansion Pack

In The Sims, my favorite EP was Makin’ Magic. I was so young when I played that I thought I was incredibly clever for figuring out the pattern to the spells in the dueling arena so that I’d win every time. And I had a lot of fun creating one of each type of potion and then trying them out on the poor, unsuspecting townies!

In The Sims 2, my favorite EP was Bon Voyage. I spent so much time completing every single vacation memento! Some of them were really hard to figure out too, so finishing the collection was really rewarding to me. All three of the destinations were equally fun to explore with their local dances, gestures, foods, and massages. I could really feel the difference between visiting Takemizu Village, Twikki Island, and Three Lakes.

In The Sims 3, my favorite EP was Ambitions. The firefighter career and the new inventing skill were the real highlights to me. I spent weeks creating a Simbot without cheating, and firefighting was a really exciting change from the standard rabbithole careers. Another neat feature was the ability to sculpt statues of Sims. Never-melting ice sculptures looked great in mansions, and of course stone sculptures made great monuments to ‘famous’ Sims in town.

In The Sims 4, my favorite EP (so far) is Seasons. The weather effects are beautiful, the raincoats and rainboots and umbrellas are adorable, kiddie pools are the greatest item ever created, and temperature is just such a vital addition that it's finally starting to feel like a full game for me! Seasons and weather in general also function differently in each world, which is perfect. I didn’t want snow in Oasis Springs, and Brindleton Bay desperately needed fog and rain to feel complete.

6.) Favorite Game Pack

In The Sims 4, my favorite GP (so far) is Vampires. I never really liked this life state before, but this time around they’re fantastic! The abilities help differentiate each vampire from one another, and I love that they don’t have to ask permission nicely before biting a Sim. The sticker cracks and spider webs are also something I’d been wanting to help make places seem less perfect. Overall, the life state seems so detailed and sets a much higher bar for future life states. I don’t even mind paying for each individually if they’re this well-done.

7.) Favorite Stuff Pack

In The Sims 2, my favorite SP was H&M Fashion. Honestly, I just really loved all the new clothing that kept my Sims from constantly matching each other. And building a clothing store with all the cool retail items that came with it was a lot of fun too!

In The Sims 3, my favorite SP was Town Life. The rabbitholes were more modern and added some variety since most of the others were the same building with slightly different colors. I had a lot of fun remodeling my more modern worlds with them.

In The Sims 4, my favorite SP (so far) is Laundry Day. I’m a sucker for realism elements so adding another menial chore for my Sims makes me happy. The laundry system is surprisingly complex, the furniture filled in a lacking farmhouse style I felt was missing from the game, and stackable machines look perfect in apartments. The clothing and hairstyles were also very well-done and I have to actively try not to overuse them on all my Sims.

8.) Least Favorite Expansion Pack

In The Sims, my least favorite EP was House Party. It felt like the smallest addition we were given, and parties weren’t enough for me to explore more than a handful of times before I got bored. As soon as the next EP came out, I moved on to the new content and I don’t think I ever threw another party again.

In The Sims 2, my least favorite EP was Nightlife. It wasn’t bad at all, it was just the one I used the least. My personal gameplay style at the time was incredibly family-oriented and you just don’t take your kids to clubs. I only ever went to the new Downtown subhood for first dates and a few marriage proposals since the date interactions were pretty cute.

In The Sims 3, my least favorite EP was Showtime. I don’t think I ever really played with anything from it. The ‘optional’ online connection where you would send your Sims to someone else’s game to perform really made me mad since some of the items you paid for were locked away behind it and I had no desire to participate. And the whole in-game news feed and achievement system were horrible and really caused problems. The venues were also super glitchy so even when I did give the new active careers a go, trying to complete a performance was almost impossible. Overall, the whole thing felt like more trouble than it was worth.

In The Sims 4, my least favorite EP (so far) is Get to Work. I think my expectations were just too high going into it. The active careers are okay, but none of them make me actually want to follow my Sims to work past the first few days because they get highly repetitive and there’s no real risk associated with them. The retail system also seems a bit lacking. There are very few retail items to use when building a store, although I do have to mention that the clothing mannequins are pretty cool. And actually running it is too easy since you can just instantly restock the items even if they’re unique things that you’ve made your Sims create.

9.) Least Favorite Game Pack

In The Sims 4, my least favorite GP (so far) is Spa Day. It’s not nearly as immersive as the others. There isn’t much to do outside of getting a massage or doing yoga, and both are kind of boring to do repeatedly over and over. It doesn’t expand on the gameplay nearly enough to be categorized as a GP in my opinion; I’d demote it to SP.

10.) Least Favorite Stuff Pack

In The Sims 2, my least favorite SP was Glamour Life. It added the least versatile stuff. Most of my Sims weren’t swimming in cash, so the items, particularly the clothing, were rarely used since they’d look and feel out of place. 

In The Sims 3, my least favorite SP was Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats. I didn’t even buy it and I have no idea why anyone did. The objects were all horrible and cheesy. There was literally nothing good about it. At all. Ever.

In The Sims 4, my least favorite SP (so far) is My First Pet. No matter how many times they deny it, it’s a massive money grab. The furniture set literally completes what they left incomplete in Cats & Dogs! The clothing is for the most part just recolors of what we already have! And to top it all off, there’s just one new critter. They claim four, but it’s the same thing with a different skin overlay. I am perfectly fine with some items in a pack being dependent on owning previous packs so that they can continue to expand on past content. But to release this immediately after the associated EP and for it to pretty much be the rest of the items that we were missing from said EP...certainly seems like they withheld content just to wring an extra $10 from their players. Especially since it wasn’t even mentioned in their quarterly teaser. Haven’t bought it, and will not until it’s on sale.

11.) Custom or EA / Maxis Sims

EA / Maxis Sims are the best! I adore the premades and their unique, weird stories. My favorite thing to do is make them over and put an interesting spin on their storylines while still keeping them recognizable.

12.) Households or Single Sims

Definitely households. I prefer organized chaos with lots of things going on at once! There just isn’t enough to do when there’s only one Sim.

13.)  Free Will On or Off

Free will is always firmly set to off in my game. I’m a dictator when it comes to my Sims and I make no apologies for that.

14.)  Favorite Life Stage

Toddlers. They’re just so darn cute! The expanded skill building this time around is really cool since they actually learn in discernible stages instead of all at once, and I’m still not over their ability to go up and down stairs all on their own. The little mess-makers also have some of the cutest interactions with other Sims and their environment.

15.)  Favorite Life State

Aliens. The first time I ever had a Sim abducted was in The Sims 2, and it terrified me because I had no idea what was going on and didn’t know if he was ever going to come back. Then he was finally returned and popped out an alien baby! It was just so surprising and ever since I’ve had a particular fondness for extraterrestrials.

16.) Favorite Skill

Cooking is probably my favorite skill to build. Something about getting to see what those difficult dishes look like is just fun to me. Since The Sims 4 actually includes 3 separate skills for cooking, gourmet, and baking skills I’ve been having a blast discovering all the new recipes!

17.) Ever Completed a Legacy

Only once, way back in The Sims 2. It lasted a grand total of 16 generations before I wound up making the move to The Sims 3. I’ve tried numerous times since then, but The Sims 3 was too buggy to play a single file that long and The Sims 4 is still missing a couple of key features that I’d like to have before trying again.

18.) Longest Simming Session

When I had more free time (and was significantly younger), I happily confess to wasting away a full weekend playing The Sims 2. These days I’m lucky to get a couple hours a week here and there. Ah the joys of growing up!

19.) Personal Sims Wishlist

There are a few things I’m still really missing for The Sims 4. I’m hoping universities and witches are making a comeback soon as they’re crucial to my planned storylines. Fairies, werewolves, and a beach vacation world would also be wonderful to have but they’re less important to me.

20.) Unpopular Opinion

I don’t miss the open world system from The Sims 3 at all. I’m perfectly happy trading it for every world to be connected. Every save file is a megahood and I find that preferable to a single, completely open world. I also think that it makes the game more stable for everyone, especially lower-end computers. The loading screens are worth it!

Forgot I had this in my notes so here’s this dump XD

This is basically a story writing of doing the quests with Spirit

Short story about Winterdust (Blossom) seeing Spirit’s son coming to Jorvik (italic is Blossom’s dialog, bold is Spirit’s)

Blossom was in her stall, the sound of the other horses shuffling around, eating hay, drinking water, or giving soft nickers to each other were her daily routine of sounds she heard. The stable doors opened, Elsa and Rebel walked in, she usually rode Rebel. Blossom watched as Elsa put Rebel into his stall and took off his tack. She then enters Blossom’s stall and leads her out and puts on tack “We’re gonna meet a new friend today girl. You are the best choice for this mission”. Blossom rides over the soft grassy ground of Everwind Fields and spots a wild horse in the distance. The horse stops suddenly in shock. Blossom looks curiously at the wild mustang. “I need your human to do something” He told about the rodent in the field who was in danger of being run over by the combine harvester. Blossom took Elsa to Barney’s farm and snorted in the direction of the rodent. Elsa understood and dismounted to grab the little critter and give him to Barney. Blossom saw the wild horse watching from a far from her field of vision. He walked away and can only assume he was satisfied with their work.

Walking into Fort Pinta to take a look at the shops, there were two new girls with a makeshift shop by the fountain. Elsa, holding onto the reins of Blossom lead her closer to say hello. “Hi! Have you heard? Spirit is here in Jorvik!” “We’ve come all this way to meet him, we even have all of this merchandise to sell! Check it out!” It was mostly shirts, pants, and boots which neither Blossom or Elsa were interested in. The tack on the other hand caught both their eyes, mainly the constellation tack. It had pretty shades of blue with spots of white to make it like stars. The other tack set wasn’t too eye catching, but it wasn’t bad itself. After learning more about Spirit from the fangirls, Elsa mounted Blossom and off they went to roam Jorvik in search of the new horse.

Upon the Fire trails of Firgrove was the neighing of the wild horse. Spirit approached and gave the information that a baby bunny was lost. Blossom with Elsa picked up a lope to search and found the bunny by the graves of Mr and Mrs Hill. A little spooky Blossom thought, but she picked up the bunny by its scruff and handing it to Elsa who put the little bun bun in her saddlebag. Strolling up to Spirit he lead the horse and rider to the mother bunny. Another hour, another task done, Blossom wonders how long she’ll be out for the day. Elsa directs Blossom to a picnic spot in the Apple Grove and they sit down to enjoy lunch and some fresh apples.

Once the hour lunch was over Elsa mounted Blossom and they ran into Spirit again. He looked sheepishly at them and made a low grumble sound like a stomach growl. Blossom looked back at Elsa and motioned to the saddle bag that had some extra apples for the rest of the horses at the stable. Elsa swung her leg over and landed on the ground, grabbed the apple, and slowly approached Spirit. He took the apple happily. Elsa tried to pet him but he moved his head up out of reach, not trusting her just yet. He ran off and Elsa got on Blossom and headed back to the stable to feed the rest of the horses.

The duo exit the stable and went back to the Fire Trail since he seems to like that place. Lo and behold Spirit trotted up to Blossom and Elsa “I want to see the far reaches of Jorvik” Blossom was not going to go all the way up the mountain for the view he wanted. He’ll just have to settle for second best, on a rock where you can see some of Jorvik. She lead him past Andy’s sheep and chicken pens and where Gary Goldtooth comes ‘round every so often to sell the magically colored Jorvik Wild Horses. There were a few rocks that are climbable and flat with a pretty good view. They climbed easily onto one of the rocks and Spirit ran up excited and reared. He rubbed against Blossom’s neck. She looked over at him curiously “He’s not too bad looking for a wild horse”. They leave Spirit up there and make their way to the two fangirls at Fort Pinta to see what they’ll say.

“No way! You got to feed Spirit?!” “That’s super awesome! Seems like you two are becoming good friends!” Safe to say they were ecstatic, much to the annoyance of Blossom. She usually doesn’t mind people, but these two are just insane. “We heard that Spirit is roaming around South Hoof” “Yeah he wanted to be with a herd I guess, he probably misses them”. Elsa tugs the reins over to the side to get Blossom moving towards the ferries. Waiting for the ferry is always boring, but this time there were quite a few people than usual. Finally the ferry arrived and the herd of people moved onto the ferry. Blossom hoped it didn’t sink with so many people. Making it to the shores of South Hoof safely Blossom started to run and so did the herd. “Were they all looking for the elusive stallion?” They spread out in search and it took a while before Elsa spotted the glowing yellow coat of Spirit. He was frantic as he tossed his head over in a direction towards the bridge between South Hoof and Epona. Blossom picked up a hasty pace to see what he was trying to point out. Off to the side of the bridge there was a little pony stuck in a bunch of brambles. Elsa quickly dismounted and went to untangle the pony. Once the pony realized it was free, it ran back to find its herd. Spirit isn’t seen, but his presence is felt close by. “Kinda creepy that he does that”

Back to Firgrove it was. It became the starting spot to try to see if Spirit will show up there and he did. A chicken was loose and in danger of being eaten by wolves. Blossom doesn’t know how to handle chickens, she’s heard the legends of the Sunfield hens, hoping these Firgrove chickens aren’t the same. Thankfully when she went to nudge the chicken it ran normally. It kept going the wrong way and Blossom decided to push the chicken in when it was close enough to the hen house. Spirit looked on behind a tree and snorted, giving Blossom the impression he was laughing at her for being rough with the measly chicken.

The hours drawn on as the sun started to linger. The last hour to see what Spirit was up to. He was up by the abandoned farm in Nimler’s. He pawed the ground and arched his neck, smacking his lips. Elsa dismounted and held out a bundle of hay for him to munch on. As Elsa and Blossom headed back to Moorland stables Blossom looked back at Spirit and he was looking back at her.

Before they could rest for the night, Elsa and Blossom met up with the frantic fangirls. “O.M.G!! You’re besties with Spirit!” Blossom pinned her ears back as both girls squealed in unison.

The next day was a repeat of the others. Grab a baby bunny and give it to its mother. Help the same wild pony from brambles, “Didn’t you learn the last time?” Blossom asked the palomino, but it didn’t respond as it rushed back to the herd. Pick up a rodent that was digging in the road, poor thing almost got ran over and Spirit narrowly avoided the bulldozer as he lead them to the spot. Showing Spirit a beach area that Blossom didn’t think was really there. I mean sure she knew she’s on an island and where water connects with land there’s usually a beach there, but this one was untouched for the most part. When it came to Landon loosing a sheep, Blossom thought it was Juan again who ran away. Checking the tree where he likes to go, she realized the sheep wasn’t there and rushed around to find it. They found the small land cloud by a mill on the other side of a hill where it should be. Blossom nudged the sheep to follow. After a few steps she looked back and saw that the sheep hadn’t budged, staring at her with a blank expression. Blossom looked around and found a large tuft of grass. Pulling the grass by the roots, once the sheep saw what she had it started running towards her. Surprised by the speed of its little legs, she picked up the pace and dropped the grass when the sheep had rejoined its herd. A new creature needed their help this time, a frog. Slimy with big eyes and Blossom was not going to touch that thing! Luckily Elsa picked up the frog with her gloved hands and trotted over to the water to release it. Spirit was near the run down farm of the Dews, Blossom wondered why he was hanging around here? He trotted up to her and pawed at the ground, raising his head up and doing a small rear. “I want to see the portal” “portal?? There’s no portal around here”. Blossom looked up at the separate path leading to someplace. “I guess we can see where this goes” Picking up a trot they follow the path. Turning past rocks and an overgrown path of trees and foliage, the air gets mysteriously misty. A few more steps and they come to a stop, four giant horse statues stood, two on each side across from each other. Spirit runs up and rears in the middle of the statues. Blossom goes around looking at each statue. Noticing the patterns on the horses, she’s not sure what they mean. She’ll have to ask Rebel if he knows. Spirit was hungry after that small adventure. A nice little carrot was enough to satisfy him. Lastly Elsa and Blossom had to help another frog. Blossom gently nudged the frog into the water with her hoof, jumping back when it hopped suddenly. Letting out a snort, Blossom was happy to be done for the day. But then she found herself back in the clutches of the overexcited girls at Fort Pinta. “OMG OMG!! Okay okay you need to give Spirit this!” “An apple? We just gave him a carrot, I’m sure he can live with that” “It’s an apple from Miradero! The place Spirit is from!” Elsa, taking the apple, gave the girls the special and more rare blueish purple coins with a star imprint on them. Elsa clicks to Blossom to move into the trailer. Telling the driver to take them to Nimler’s Highland, they set off to find Spirit one last time. The sun was making the land around them turn to gold. One golden stallion was roaming the land between the abandoned farm and the Mirror Marshes. Blossom whinnies to get his attention and Spirit trots over, stopping just short of her face. Elsa dismounts and holds out the apple in her palm. Spirit’s eyes look full of wonder and he happily munches on the sweet apple. All three companions arrive back at the stable which will be Spirit’s new home.

Hi, folks! Sorry for the radio silence; my head hasn’t been in pagan space much lately so I’ve been dealing with a bit of writer’s block in that direction. I’m starting to come out of it a bit, though, and I have a few ideas, this being the first one.

Most essential reading lists for pagans tend to be pagan-specific books, or books that deal with related topics like the history of pre-Christian religions or herbalism. My list is perhaps a little more removed from blatant paganism than that, and might be better termed “Lupa’s Essential Books For Nature-Based Pagans”. Moreover, it’s a list that will likely change over time. But they’re texts I think all pagans would benefit from reading for one reason or another.

The Nature Principle by Richard Louv

Many people, not just pagans, are attracted to nature. But why? In his follow-up to his award-winning Last Child in the Woods, Louv looks at not only why nature is good for us, but concrete ways in which we can reconnect with the natural world, even in urban areas, as a way to combat nature-deficit disorder. (See also Florence Williams' The Nature Fix as a more up-to-date collection of nature-is-good-for-us research for laypeople.)

A Beginner's Guide to the Scientific Method by Stephen S. Carey

Paganism often flirts heavily with pseudoscience, sometimes to dangerous degrees. Everyone should have a solid understanding of the scientific method, to include how a good experiment is put together (as well as how not to conduct research), and how to avoid pitfalls like confirmation bias. Not only will this help you to cut through some of the crap that gets presented as fact within paganism, but it will help you have a more critical eye toward sensational news headlines claiming new cures for cancer or demonizing vaccinations. If you can pick apart a study based on things like sample size and the validity of the results, you're already way ahead of most of the population.

The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins

Okay, put the fact that it's Dawkins aside; this is one of those texts where he's focusing on communicating science instead of tearing religion apart, and he's frankly at his best here. Now, evolution is up there with gravity and a round earth as far as things we know to be true, and hopefully you already have a basic understanding of how it works: It is not survival of the fittest so much as survival of those who fit into the ecosystem most effectively. What this book does is cleverly place us, Homo sapiens, in the context of the grand dance of evolution by tracing on possible path we may have taken all the way back to the last universal ancestor that all living beings on the planet share. Along the way we get to see the origins of everything from our big brains to our opposable thumbs and upright bipedal walking, showing us that we are not the most amazing and superior being that the gods ever created, but rather one among many incredible and diverse life forms that evolution has produced through natural selection and mutation. It is, in fact, the ultimate journey on this planet.

Also, the Walking With Dinosaurs/Beasts/Monsters/Cavemen BBC documentaries are fun, if a bit flawed and dated, ways to look at how evolution has shaped animals over millions of years.

Roadside Geology series by various authors

If you're in the United States, there's a Roadside Geology book for your state! You may not think much about the ground beneath your feet other than as a nice, solid base, but the various stones and formations, as well as hydrological phenomena like rivers and lakes, are all crucial to the sort of life that can thrive in a given place. The Roadside Geology books are a fun way to go look at your local geology in person and learn a little about the land you live on. You can then follow up by picking up some more in-depth reading material for the geology of your area.

Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan

We often assume that plants are relatively sedentary beings with few motivations. Yet they are vibrant and active parts of their ecosystems in ways even we animals can't touch. This book looks at the world of plants through the relationships four of them have with humans, how we have changed them--and how they have changed us. I also strongly recommend following this up with two documentaries: How to Grow a Planet by Iain Stewart (which also happens to be on Netflix as of this writing) and David Attenborough's The Private Life of Plants (which is also in book form.)

Trees, Truffles and Beasts: How Forests Function by Chris Maser, Andrew Claridge and James Trappe

In paganism we tend to look at animals, plants and other beings individually, as stand-alone guides---yet if we want inspiration for just how interconnected we are, there's no better model than an ecosystem. This book explores how just a few of the animal, plant and fungus inhabitants of forests are inextricably bound together. Extrapolate that out to the entire ecosystem, and you begin to see how deeply entwined all beings are in a very real, even visceral sense. If you've only been working with animal or plant spirits, this book may just inspire you to reach out further.

The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms by Amy Stewart

Again in paganism people tend to be fairly short-sighted when it comes to animals. We often look at the most impressive mammals and birds, and then only at the most surface qualities, gleaning what we can for ourselves and our spiritual needs. In order to step out of this self-centered approach to nature spirituality, we need to really appreciate beings for themselves in all their complexity, and what better starting point than the amazing and completely indispensable earthworm? This is a really fun read, but you'll learn a lot along the way, too--and maybe start treating the soil in your yard a little better, too!

There are lots of other books that explore individual species in depth, like Bernd Heinrich's The Mind of the Raven and Of Wolves and Men by Barry Holstun Lopez, but I really recommend you start with the often-overlooked earthworms before moving on to stereotypically charismatic critters like ravens and wolves.

Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work That Reconnects by Joanna Macy and Molly Brown Young

One of the disadvantages of pagans reading only books by pagans about paganism is that we miss out on other awesome and relevant works by people who aren't expressly pagan. Joanna Macy is one of those authors that more pagans really need to know about, especially those who construct group rituals. This is an entire book full of rites for reconnecting to nature and to each other, as well as grieving for global losses and fostering gratitude and hope for a better future. If that doesn't sound like something more pagans could get behind, I don't know what does. Just because it doesn't mention any deities doesn't mean that it's useless.

Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World by Bill Plotkin

This is another one of those "pagan but not" books. I've explored this book in more detail in the past, but my opinion still stands: it is a much better alternative to Maiden, Mother, Crone and Youth, Warrior, Sage. It's based in a developmental approach to ecopsychology (or an ecopsychological approach to developmental psychology?) Growth is not based on your physical age or whether you're capable of popping out babies; rather, Plotkin's eight-stage Wheel looks at your journey as a person and your continuing relationship with your community and ecosystem to determine where you are developmentally. You can even be in more than one stage at once! It's a much more well-rounded way to apply a label to yourself, if you must, and I recommend it for anyone who is sick of the gender-limiting stereotypes of MMC/YWS.

(Honorable mention to Lasara Firefox's Jailbreaking the Goddess as another alternative to MMC for women.)

Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken

If you love nature and honor it and you really want to do something to make up for the damage we've done to the planet, there's nothing much more effective than working to reverse climate change. I mean, really, it's a much better offering to nature spirits than pouting food and drink on the ground, or sending a vague ball of energy to wrap around the planet to do....what? What's even more noteworthy about this book is that it's an excellent antidote to the hopelessness and fear that a lot of people feel about climate change. In it you're going to read about people who are already boots on the ground making a difference, to include in the very industries that are causing the most problems. And it ranks the top 100 causes of climate change (you can see this on their website, too.) Pick one of these causes to start working on, with whatever time and other resources you reasonably have available, and not only are you giving something back to nature, but you're also counteracting the paralysis that pessimism breeds.

So there you have it: my current essential reading list for pagans. Sorry I'm not handing you yet another rehash of the Wiccan Sabbats or a bunch of spells. Over the past few years my paganism has become much more firmly rooted in the physical, and my reading list reflects that. After all, what good is a nature-based path if you don't know diddly about nature itself?