Maxwell's Demon

[boxofdelights]

I feel like Maxwell's Demon in the early spring garden, sorting everything at the surface of the soil: sending perennial weeds and last year's herbaceous plant material to the compost, resettling big rocks, tossing small rocks onto the places with rock mulch, combing wood mulch back onto the paths, sending plastic trash and dog poo to the landfill.

I feel like Calvin's mom when I disturb one of the insects that the leaf litter stays on the ground all winter for. I know it's too early for you to want to get out of bed, but bed is leaving now, so...

Must remember to get bait for the yellowjacket trap tomorrow.

Comments

[cimorene]

Okay, thank you for that, because I read the whole Maxwell's Demon article just now. I love philosophical debates that have preoccupied philosophers for a long time.

Although I think that, in line with Szilard, you become part of the system and the energy you spend to exist and do the sorting creates an increased entropy in you that is equal to the reduced entropy in the garden. Probably. Without wanting to be a physicist (or a philosopher) about it...

re: Calvin's mom: I always apologize when I disturb spiders while dusting. It has to be done, but like, I feel you, little guy! Thanks for your pest-control work! (I was in a garden center last summer and I was always accidentally disturbing them when moving the plants around. And trying to always carefully set them in a safe space before watering.)

[boxofdelights]

Me too on spiders!

[lunabee34]

Your garden sounds lovely. I enjoy the fruits of everyone else's labor but don't enjoy it myself.

[boxofdelights]

I am afraid it just looks messy to other people, but it is beautiful to me.