b'Am I the problem?Aditya Datta Lessons in understanding our societal and psychological barriersWas a brisk sunny Sunday insmall furry critters bedded downCutleaf Daisy, Pink Evening January, bout the coldest part ofunder grassy blankets of lastPrimrose were abundant. Plenty the year. Drove up to meet a pairyears lush growth of biomass.Spiderwort, Blue Mistflower, of OBGYN practitioners. It was lateWho knows what all kinds ofWinecup mixed in amongst afternoon when I arrived, shadowsburrowing insects, egg-layingEastern Gama, Big Blue, Texas just starting to get long. I got therebugs, praying mantis cases,Cupgrass and an occasional ahead of the doctors and took asolitary bees, pollinators, butterflySwitchgrass. Several outliers, odd-look around.cocoons, ground nesting birds, etc.to-see still blooming in January, were to be found sleeping in therewere American Basketflower, The few scattered native trees tucked away in a carbon-richBlackeyed-Susan, Bush Sunflower, were leafless. Dormant from thoseorganic matterall waiting theirMexican Hat, Indian Blanket, and bitter cold nights in North Centralturns to birth anew in the comingeven a Common Sunflower seen Texas. The tall grasses still hadspring.here and there where radiant DFW that warm bronze and straw glowcity heat was trapped near lil cast against crystal blue skiesAll that tall grass had done itsprotected corners of the buildings. in the brilliant winter afternoonjob during the previous summerI snapped a few photos.sunlight. Thought for a moment ofseason, too, acting as a living the Wichita people, and all thosecoolant within the citys hardscape who came before. Its been saidheat sink. The green leafy mass they used these tallgrass prairiehad breathed in carbon, exhaled plants to build thatch coveredcool oxygen for the whole growing homes, making nifty sustainableseason. Now that dried grass was shelters to keep warm during timesdoing its winter job duty.like this.Then way down low, hugging close As I scanned the diverseto the ground for warmth, there commercial urban landscape, Iwere all the green rosettes of imagined hibernating species ofhope and resilience. Bluebonnets,'