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Title: Little Bitty Friends
Author: Elizabeth McPike
Illustrator: Patrice Barton
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for YOung Readers, February, 2016
Themes: spring, small animals, rhyme
Ages: 0-2
Genre: concept picture book
Opening: (first two spreads)
Little bitty steps
marching one, two, three,
Little furry caterpillar,
tickle, tickle, knee.
Synopsis:
Sharing strawberries with a wee mouse, stretching up skyward … Continue reading →
My calendar said today is World Read Aloud Day. As you can see, it’s wrong. This took place on February 24th. Not sure how I messed this up, but really, can’t any day be a good day to read aloud? If you know a middle grader who is unable to read, even if only for today, …
Kate Wilson is a New Zealand based illustrator. Her illustrations are peaceful and whimsical, concentrating on the wildlife and small beings that live outdoors. She has a keen eye for small things, which translates in her work. Her influences include; gardening and spending time with animals but she does dislike mowing the lawn!
Observational walking is useful for professional writers and it can be good for students too!
This fall, head outside with your students for a walk around your school's neighborhood. But first, read ASK ME by Bernard Waver and Suzy Lee! (Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of this book.)
A deadly storm striking tragedy on unsuspecting climbers isn't subject matter I would typically expect to inspire adventure. Yet Jon Krakauer's riveting account of a disastrous 1999 ascent of Mt. Everest did just that. At its heart, this outstanding book thrillingly recounts an ill-fated and deadly climb. But the remarkable reportage also captures the striking [...]
For many of us, nature is defined as an outdoor space, untouched by human hands, and a place we escape to for refuge. We often spend time away from our daily routines to be in nature, such as taking a backwoods camping trip, going for a long hike in an urban park, or gardening in our backyard. Think about the last time you were out in nature, what comes to mind? For me, it was a canoe trip with friends. I can picture myself in our boat, the sound of the birds and rustling leaves in the background, the smell of cedars mixed with the clearing morning mist, and the sight of the still waters in front of me. Most of all, I remember a sense of calmness and clarity which I always achieve when I’m in nature.
Nature takes us away from the demands of life, and allows us to concentrate on the world around us with little to no effort. We can easily be taken back to a summer day by the smell of fresh cut grass, and force ourselves to be still to listen to the distant sound of ocean waves. Time in nature has a wealth of benefits from reducing stress, improving mood, increasing attentional capacities, and facilitating and creating social bonds. A variety of work supports nature being healing and health promoting at both an individual level (such as being energized after a walk with your dog) and a community level (such as neighbors coming together to create a local co-op garden). However, it can become difficult to experience the outdoors when we spend most of our day within a built environment.
I’d like you to stop for a moment and look around. What do you see? Are there windows? Are there any living plants or animals? Are the walls white? Do you hear traffic or perhaps the hum of your computer? Are you smelling circulated air? As I write now I hear the buzz of the florescent lights above me, and take a deep inhale of the lingering smell from my morning coffee. There is no nature except for the few photographs of the countryside and flowers that I keep tapped to my wall. I often feel hypocritical researching nature exposure sitting in front of a computer screen in my windowless office. But this is the reality for most of us. So how can we tap into the benefits of nature in order to create healthy and healing indoor environments that mimic nature and provide us with the same benefits as being outdoors?
Crater Lake Garfield Peak Trail View East by Markgorzynski. CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Urban spaces often get a bad rap. Sure, they’re typically overcrowded, high in pollution, and limited in their natural and green spaces, but they also offer us the ability to transform the world around us into something that is meaningful and also health promoting. Beyond architectural features such as skylights, windows, and open air courtyards, we can use ambient features to adapt indoor spaces to replicate the outdoors. The integration of plants, animals, sounds, scents, and textures into our existing indoor environments enables us to create a wealth of natural environments indoors.
Notable examples of indoor nature, are potted plants or living walls in office spaces, atriums providing natural light, and large mural landscapes. In fact, much research has shown that the presence of such visual aids provides the same benefits of being outdoors. Incorporating just a few pieces of greenery into your workspace can help increase your productivity, boost your mood, improve your health, and help you concentrate on getting your work done. But being in nature is more than just seeing, it’s experiencing it fully and being immersed into a world that engages all of your senses. The use of natural sounds, scents, and textures (e.g. wooden furniture or carpets that look and feel like grass) provides endless possibilities for creating a natural environment indoors, and encouraging built environments to be therapeutic spaces. The more nature-like the indoor space can be, the more apt it is to illicit the same psychological and physical benefits that being outdoors does. Ultimately, the built environment can engage my senses in a way that brings me back to my canoe trip, and help me feel that same clarity and calmness that I did on the lake.
On a broader level, indoor nature may also be a means of encouraging sustainable and eco-friendly behaviors. With more generations growing up inside, we risk creating a society that is unaware of the value of nature. It’s easy to suggest that the solution to our declining involvement with nature is to just “go outside”; but with today’s busy lifestyle, we cannot always afford the time and money to step away. Integrating nature into our indoor environment is one way to foster the relationship between us and nature, and to encourage a sense of stewardship and appreciation for our natural world. By experiencing the health promoting and healing properties of nature, we can instill individuals with the significance of our natural world.
As I look around my office I’ve decided I need to take some of my own advice and bring my own little piece of nature inside. I encourage you to think about what nature means to you, and how you can incorporate this meaning into your own space. Does it involve fresh cut flowers? A photograph of your annual family campsite? The sound of birds in the background as you work? Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll leave you feeling a little bit lighter, and maybe have you working a little bit faster.
Image: World Financial Center Winter Garden by WiNG. CC-BY-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Written by Patience Mason
Illustrated by Robert Mason
Patience Press 6/01/2014
978-1-892220-10-3
Age 2 to 5 32 pages x x
“The Litter Critters were all found hiding by Patience Mason. As they gather to watch the sunset at the shady river the Litter critters introduce young children to the alphabet.”
Opening
“Near the shady river at the end of the day, Andy Acorncap ambled along.”
The Story
Here is how it happens: Clarice the Caterpillar is long and sleek and singing a song as she watches the sun set. Greta the Giant Gnat buzzes as Luisa and Leif Liveoak, with their long legs and huge feet, dance and put on a show. I doubt anyone is looking at the Nut Family, the bunch of show-offs. Certainly not Rupert the Reindeer, he is too shy to look at anyone. Sarah Sweetgumball, who only wants to fly, keeps both her eyes upon one-eyed Tilly Thistlebottom instead of the setting sun. Tilly likes to bounce around the ground.
Wallie the Walking stick towers over the Volt Vines’ family, whose ties are a tangled mess. Blue, one-eyed Xat and his master Xerxes the Xenos are the only foreigners, having flow in from the stars or maybe even Mars. Finally, everyone gathers around Zippy the Zygodactyl to watch the sun make its final descent and disappear. And that is how it happens most every evening.
Review
As the day slowly winds down, various woodland creatures—litter critters—watch the sun set. From Andy Acorncap to Zippy the Zygodactyl, various critters from A to Z teach young children their ABC’s and a little about creativity. The author created each of these critters from various pieces of the woods that fall upon the ground, hence “litter” critters. Each is remarkably lifelike in appearance.
These critters are cute with their twig arms and legs, acorn bodies, and various decorations. Most of us walk over these cast-off pieces, never thinking at all about the possibility these could be critters. Patience Mason doesn’t think this way. Instead of stepping on the twigs and nuts, leaves and scattered seeds, she sees hiding woodland critters waiting for her to pick them up and give them life once more. These critters look real. Patience has done a remarkable job putting each together with imagination and creativity. Any child could do the same, though not at her level of artistry. Yet, with a little help, kids could create all sorts of litter critters never before seen. There is no artificial coloring added to any critter. Critters like Mike Magnoliacone and Greta the Giant Gnat, get their color naturally—Mike from magnolia cone seeds; Greta from sparkleberry leaves.
An unusual feature in Woodland Litter Critters ABC, aside from all the critters, is the ABC’s are not only in upper case, as in every other ABC book, but also in lower case. Children can walk into their first day of school knowing both and be ahead of the class.
I think kids will enjoy looking at each critter, trying to find them in subsequent pages, and possibly making their own. In fact, I cannot imagine any child who reads Woodland Litter Critters ABC not wanting to make its own critters. For families that have a creative day, this is an ideal book. The possibilities are endless. While this is not a craft book, there are certainly many ideas represented for kids to follow or mix up. Woodland Litter Critters ABC is the most imaginative and creative ABC book I have ever seen. The pages are not thick as in most ABC books, but torn pages are worth the risk to introduce your child to the likes of Ulysses Unicorn and Elvis Evergreen (with wife Elvira).
I just put a second coat of stain on half of my deck. It’s been three years since I moved into this place, and until this summer, my backyard remained unfurnished and unused, which is a shame because it was one of my favorite features of my townhouse. This summer I committed and purchased patio furniture from IKEA, but once I laid everything out, I realized that the deck floor was coated with years of mucky grime and algae. After giving it a much needed scrubbing; once the wood dried, the deck also needed staining and sealing. My virgo sun couldn’t let the work go unfinished.
Oddly enough, I always tend to begin big manual projects at the end of a book. Right now I am putting the finishing touches on my next project with Lee and Low, and like my deck, now that the spreads are completed, I am noticing little things that need adjusting (this is of course before I turn it in and have my editor and art director notice other little things that need tweaking). Fortunately, this book is 80% digital, so unlike my other books, making changes won’t mean completely redoing spreads. On the opposite side of that coin, I can tweak until the cows come home if I let myself.
Working on books is not always fun for me. It’s work, and like all jobs, you have great days and really sucky days (when you wish you had become an accountant). I find that exercise and manual labor give me more good days than bad. When I was finishing work on Bird, I compulsively decided to paint my half of my Brooklyn apartment. Now, with this new project, I am creating a backyard oasis. There’s something to be said about getting outside of my head (which is often messy and filled with cobwebs and dark spooky shadows) and completing a small to medium-sized project to help propel me through the end of a book. I wish I could channel that energy into cleaning my house, but that is never a small project.
The virgo in me loves to work, loves to complete things, loves to help people, and loves to be good at stuff. I was born under a productive and communicative sign – along with Michael Jackson (MJ FOREVER!!!), Beyonce, soccer champion Ronaldo, and Mother Teresa. When I am not allowing myself time to go outside and play, I become paranoid, stressed, and a bit depressed. I also indulge heavily in sugar (honeybuns give me life!) which leads to weight gain, which leads to lethargy, which kills productivity, which then makes me a crazy person. Summer is a time for renewal. I run and do yoga 5-6 times a week, put down the carbs (okay, most of the carbs) and celebrate the outdoors. It’s also the time when I can fully focus on my art and finish projects. This cycle of growth, productivity, and then self-destruction is one that I am vehement about changing for myself.
As I get older, I aim to be active throughout the year. Many of us artists, though wonderful and creative, can fall into cycles of sadness, self-doubt, and inactivity easily. We work in isolation sometimes also live in isolation. Stepping outside of our heads and selves is key to staying positive and creative. Taking care of our physical bodies is crucial to keeping things in balance. Namaste homies!
Welcome to my blog SCBWI members! I hope you find some of these posts to be of use~
0 Comments on Stepping Outside as of 6/24/2014 12:57:00 PM
Ecologists and entomologists. Natural history buffs. Bloggers with green thumbs. We're among many WordPress.com users focused on nature and the environment. Today, let's celebrate the work of some of these bloggers.
12 Comments on Celebrating Earth Day 2014, last added: 4/22/2014
My blog Living Lightly (www.pczick.wordpress.com) often contains environmental posts. My novel Trails in the Sand also explores the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its devastating effect on the wildlife.
Destination Infinity said, on 4/22/2014 9:32:00 AM
Treehugger & The Alternative are two more amazing blogs that deal with green living topics.
I really love my home: mother earth and she is constantly changing, adapting, moulding in response to the weather and human activity. Thanks for sharing! Very impressive and important work.
Yes, let’s give the earth not so much a party as a rest. The poor planet needs to stop working so hard to repair our wrongs.
K. A. Brace said, on 4/22/2014 10:39:00 AM
Earthbound
“As the crow flies.” Is lost on us
Except to explain distances and remind us
Of the simplicity of our nature that we are
Always earthbound in one way or another.
Yes we have machines that take and keep us
Off the ground for periods of time,
Some even can put us into an orbit
Around the globe but it too eventually
Dissipates against the constant pull
Of nemesis gravity which seems to lend
A permanent humility to being human
And comes between us and our dreams
Of soaring effortless among the clouds.
In part is why we believe in and honor
Angels with so much awe and deep respect
If we believe in such beings because
They, to our minds, can simply come and go
At will just by the flexing of their wings.
But being earthbound if one thinks about it
And bothers to look around is not such
A sorry state as we might make it seem.
Think of all the wonders we would not know
If all we did was fly above the world,
The secrets of its wonders we take so much
For a given as if it all were a birthright
To do with as we willed ourselves to do.
Think instead it is where we spend our lives
In joy and sorrow, in laughter and in pain.
Where the natural beauty that surrounds us
We somehow take for granted as being part
Of what it is to be the human caretakers
Of the brilliance of a bright blue orb floating
Like the jewel it is in the dark coldness of space.
By, K. A. Brace
chachomanopapa said, on 4/22/2014 10:52:00 AM
Thank you for today’s post. Earth Day 2014 reminds a few aged ones of the inaugural one.
Thankfully, it’s lasted and, as if a fine wine, even gotten better with time. Alas, all is not well with the world. Earth Day’s days are numbered. Too little, too late, one might have written of it … were there anyone around … at such time.
William Grove-Fanning said, on 4/22/2014 11:00:00 AM
I love your cover picture. I’m an Oregonian and live just down the road from Crater Lake. It never gets old going to explore this great place and all the areas around here.
Venkat Ramakrishnan said, on 4/22/2014 11:20:00 AM
Laura P. Schulman, MD, MA said, on 4/22/2014 11:30:00 AM
So amazing!!! Thanks for featuring these great blogs. I was just now turning over in my mind the question, “what SHALL I read on this rainy afternoon at the laundromat?” And **presto**, you’ve provided it!
There are approximately 18,000 children under the age of 5 in Howard County, Maryland. And another 50,000 older children in school here. Yet when my family takes advantage of a treasure in the heart of the county, we never see another soul! The Howard County Nature Conservancy is a peaceful and beautiful sanctuary full of rolling hills, safe hiking trails, clear running streams, gorgeous gardens, interesting animals and picnic areas begging to be filled with families looking for a fun, easy, cheap way to spend an evening. Locals say it’s the place to be for bird watching, geocaching or growing your own organic vegetables in the lush community garden.
Part of the reason many don’t know about this area is that from 1692-1992 one family, the Brown’s, was fortunate enough to call The Conservancy their private residence. But in 1992, Howard County schoolteachers Ruth and Frances Brown passed away without an heir. The 232 acre farm has since been held in its natural state and glory. With some additions and improvements, you can come visit and see many buildings that have been a part of the pastoral setting for three centuries.
When I say that we never see another soul on our weekend hikes, that is not to say the spectacular landscape is not put to good use. There are summer camps for the kids, regular nature walks and talks, “Wine in the Garden” for the adults, “School is Out” programs for local students, and too many more exciting events to name. (Check here for a full list: http://www.hcconservancy.org/upcoming-events.html)
These programs, and this place, have helped my boys, (Will age 6, Luke age 4 and Sam age 23 months) to be better little men. I take them there as a part of our unofficial family plan. I want my sons to grow up valuing a day in the dirt with their brothers more than a computer. I want them to seek out places to think and find serenity more than places to blend in with the crowd. I want them to know that it is sometimes better to walk quietly holding my hand than it is to scream in the chaos of an amusement park (although we’ll be heading off to Dutch Wonderland in 10 short days and I can’t wait). I want my boys to have a place to take a date in a decade or two and really get to know her. Somewhere safe where they can walk hand-in-hand (God help me) and find out if they are lucky enough to build what we are lucky enough to have.
I just read the last paragraph aloud my opinionated family. According to my husband and the boys, everything I said is true…but way too girly. They just like to be able to run and play ninjas with sticks. I guess that is a part of our official family plan.
So my real question is this, why aren’t more young families joining us on a beautiful day? No matter what the season? Right now the tadpoles are changing week-to-week and day-to-day! The goats are climbing onto the roof of their habitat and the chickens are laying eggs. Ranger, the owl, is eating his mice and the crayfish and salamanders are hiding from eager little fingers looking to snatch them up. Log bridges with rope sidebars are waiting to be crossed by young explorers and the trees and logs give our young Luke Skywalker lots of convenient hiding places when bounty hunter Boba Fett (aka daddy) comes searching. Maybe you’ll luck out and see a snake while you skip rocks along the creek. If you’re quiet, you’re sure to see some deer and a fox or two. The children’s log garden allows the kids to jump and climb and play in an unusual and safe environment. The indoor playground at the mall is teaming with kids (and germs) every night of the week. Yet we are the only ones at the Conservancy! After seeing the animals, playing or checking out the simple indoor nature room, go for a hike. There is no need to hold hands! Let the kids run on the safe, grassy paths and lead the way as they leave their energy behind to light a trail for you.
Just this weekend I spoke to a young mom who lives within a half mile of the Conservancy. She had never been! What!?!? Why?!?!? Come on! I’ll meet you there on Friday night! We’ll bring sandwiches, juice boxes and kids ready to squeal with delight and satisfy the natural, scientific curiosity that fills their ever-expanding brains….and play ninjas with sticks. Honestly, what could be better?
For more information about the Howard County Nature Conservancy, check out their website at http://www.hcconservancy.org.
Erin Schade is a wife, a mother to three fantastic boys, a teacher in Howard County, Maryland, a freelance writer and an aspiring children’s author. Questions or comments? Please contact her directly at [email protected].
1 Comments on In Awe of Nature: One Mom Reveals Her Family’s Secret Spot, last added: 5/23/2013
Wonderfully written article, written from the heart. The family is so rushed in todays time but will so regret these days if they don’t take advantage of what they have right outside their backdoors. Parents need to appreciate the great outdoors inorder for our children to apprecite it.
This is the amusing, thoughtful, downright zany story of a young woman's eye-opening 1,000-plus-mile trek up the Pacific Crest Trail, all the way to the Bridge of the Gods. It inspired me to undertake my own hike — 10 miles on the Appalachian Trail. It was exhausting! Books mentioned in this post $17.95 Used Hardcover add [...]
0 Comments on Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail as of 12/21/2012 6:05:00 AM
I know this title is everywhere right now. I was very fortunate to get an advanced copy, and I immediately fell in love. Why? Well, like many, my favorite books are those that seem to have been written just for me. I deeply understood the raw ache of grief, anger, and loneliness. I wanted to [...]
0 Comments on Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail as of 12/14/2012 5:04:00 AM
Some 50 miles southeast of Portland lies the highest peak in the state of Oregon: Mount Hood, a 700,000-year-old stratovolcano. The fourth tallest in the Cascade range (around 11,240 feet high), Mount Hood is currently rated fourth by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in terms of "size and potential damage of an eruption." There is, [...]
0 Comments on On Mount Hood (staff pick) as of 10/16/2012 2:17:00 PM
The Eilen Riede (say “EYE-len REE-duh”), Hannover’s huge city forest, is one of the top ten things I’ll miss when we move back to the States over the summer. The Eilen Riede is twice as large as NYC’s Central Park and has 130 kilometers of walking and bike trails.
One of our favorite things to do as a family is to ride our bikes there. In fact, both of our kids learned to ride on the wide forest paths.
The little white flowers you see, according to German friends, are bärlauch, a wild garlic relative. I’m told people do collect and cook with it—you use the leaves, not the bulbs. Evidently there are several bärlauch items on restaurant menus right now, too.
Often we stop at one of the many playgrounds in the Eilen Riede, several of which have little snack bars—even decent cappucino in china cups! Last Saturday we found instead a few surprises in an unexpected spot.
This old stump was full of collected moss, perfect for a witchy potion.
And this tree fort seemed to have sprung up on its own:
I love the way the hideout is so simple, no fasteners, and it just blends into the landscape. I think we’re going to have to recreate this one in our American back yard.
And what would a forest trip be without yet another stick to take home? Ummm…yeah. Just what we need in our flat.
In other news, the weather is still quite chilly (by my Carolina spring standards) and I’m really hoping it will warm up soon. We’re still wearing insulated rain coats and scarves and hats.
Spain posts are still coming, I promise. Hope your week started out well!
*information about the Eilen Riede’s size and trails comes from wikipedia
I’m with you on the stick(s)… such a wonderful treasure… but we really need ANOTHER one?
joycemoyerhostetter said, on 4/24/2012 5:56:00 PM
Lovely! Are you coming back to stay or for the summer only? Somehow I just imagined you would be there eternally. But I know Betty Anne will be happy to have you home.
Betty Anne said, on 4/24/2012 7:45:00 PM
Yes, Betty Anne WILL be happy to have her home!
Emily Smith Pearce said, on 4/25/2012 11:54:00 AM
We’re coming back to stay. It will be hard to leave—we’ve enjoyed it so much—but it will be good to be near friends and family again.
Emily Smith Pearce said, on 4/25/2012 11:55:00 AM
Emily Smith Pearce said, on 4/25/2012 11:55:00 AM
We had to bring another home today, this one with sharp pointed ends—-off to hide it
joycemoyerhostetter said, on 4/27/2012 5:17:00 PM
Wow! I join Betty Anne – glad you are coming home. But I’ll really miss your view on Germany as you’ve shared it here. I want to go back for an extended stay sometime.
Emily Smith Pearce said, on 4/28/2012 1:25:00 AM
I hope you get to do it. Seems like you enjoyed it very much.
I've arrived at the final post in my stint as guest blogger for Powell's. It's been a hectic, joyous, exhausting and exhilarating week.It's been a hectic, joyous, exhausting and exhilarating week. Often, as I dashed from one thing to the next, I wrote these posts in my head and then found once I actually got [...]
Last night I had my launch reading for Wild at the Powell's downtown store. I felt overwhelmed with emotion when I saw the room was packed full. Writing is solitary work, it's true, but it's also work that has brought so many people into my life.Writing is solitary work, it's true, but it's also work [...]
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ves to work, loves to complete things, loves to help people, and loves to be good at stuff. I was born under a productive and communicative sign – along with Michael Jackson (MJ FOREVER!!!), Beyonce, soccer champion Ronaldo, and Mother Teresa. When I am not allowing myself time to go outside and play, I become paranoid, stressed, and a bit depressed. I also indulge heavily in sugar (honeybuns give me life!) which leads to weight gain, which leads to lethargy, which kills productivity, which then makes me a crazy person. Summer is a time for renewal. I run and do yoga 5-6 times a week, put down the carbs (okay, most of the carbs) and celebrate the outdoors. It’s also the time when I can fully focus on my art and finish projects. This cycle of growth, productivity, and then self-destruction is one that I am vehement about changing for myself.
hills, safe hiking trails, clear running streams, gorgeous gardens, interesting animals and picnic areas begging to be filled with families looking for a fun, easy, cheap way to spend an evening. Locals say it’s the place to be for bird watching, geocaching or growing your own organic vegetables in the lush community garden.
family plan. I want my sons to grow up valuing a day in the dirt with their brothers more than a computer. I want them to seek out places to think and find serenity more than places to blend in with the crowd. I want them to know that it is sometimes better to walk quietly holding my hand than it is to scream in the chaos of an amusement park (although we’ll be heading off to Dutch Wonderland in 10 short days and I can’t wait). I want my boys to have a place to take a date in a decade or two and really get to know her. Somewhere safe where they can walk hand-in-hand (God help me) and find out if they are lucky enough to build what we are lucky enough to have.
are hiding from eager little fingers looking to snatch them up. Log bridges with rope sidebars are waiting to be crossed by young explorers and the trees and logs give our young Luke Skywalker lots of convenient hiding places when bounty hunter Boba Fett (aka daddy) comes searching. Maybe you’ll luck out and see a snake while you skip rocks along the creek. If you’re quiet, you’re sure to see some deer and a fox or two. The children’s log garden allows the kids to jump and climb and play in an unusual and safe environment. The indoor playground at the mall is teaming with kids (and germs) every night of the week. Yet we are the only ones at the Conservancy! After seeing the animals, playing or checking out the simple indoor nature room, go for a hike. There is no need to hold hands! Let the kids run on the safe, grassy paths and lead the way as they leave their energy behind to light a trail for you.
My blog Living Lightly (www.pczick.wordpress.com) often contains environmental posts. My novel Trails in the Sand also explores the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its devastating effect on the wildlife.
Treehugger & The Alternative are two more amazing blogs that deal with green living topics.
A melancholy and ironic piece I wrote this morning:
http://cyranowriter.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/lots-of-earth-but-no-water-revolutionary-improverse-haiku/
I really love my home: mother earth and she is constantly changing, adapting, moulding in response to the weather and human activity. Thanks for sharing! Very impressive and important work.
We urgently need to address manmade global warming and climate change. Here is a blog on making this year climate year: http://ufbutv.com/2014/01/11/make-2014-the-climate-year/
Yes, let’s give the earth not so much a party as a rest. The poor planet needs to stop working so hard to repair our wrongs.
Earthbound
“As the crow flies.” Is lost on us
Except to explain distances and remind us
Of the simplicity of our nature that we are
Always earthbound in one way or another.
Yes we have machines that take and keep us
Off the ground for periods of time,
Some even can put us into an orbit
Around the globe but it too eventually
Dissipates against the constant pull
Of nemesis gravity which seems to lend
A permanent humility to being human
And comes between us and our dreams
Of soaring effortless among the clouds.
In part is why we believe in and honor
Angels with so much awe and deep respect
If we believe in such beings because
They, to our minds, can simply come and go
At will just by the flexing of their wings.
But being earthbound if one thinks about it
And bothers to look around is not such
A sorry state as we might make it seem.
Think of all the wonders we would not know
If all we did was fly above the world,
The secrets of its wonders we take so much
For a given as if it all were a birthright
To do with as we willed ourselves to do.
Think instead it is where we spend our lives
In joy and sorrow, in laughter and in pain.
Where the natural beauty that surrounds us
We somehow take for granted as being part
Of what it is to be the human caretakers
Of the brilliance of a bright blue orb floating
Like the jewel it is in the dark coldness of space.
By, K. A. Brace
Thank you for today’s post. Earth Day 2014 reminds a few aged ones of the inaugural one.
Thankfully, it’s lasted and, as if a fine wine, even gotten better with time. Alas, all is not well with the world. Earth Day’s days are numbered. Too little, too late, one might have written of it … were there anyone around … at such time.
A WP Environmental Blog: When Did Earth Day Become So Lame? http://enviroethics.org/2014/04/22/blog-when-did-earth-day-get-so-lame/
I love your cover picture. I’m an Oregonian and live just down the road from Crater Lake. It never gets old going to explore this great place and all the areas around here.
My blog on World Earth Day 2014 : http://liveandexpress.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/on-the-event-of-world-earth-day-2014/
So amazing!!! Thanks for featuring these great blogs. I was just now turning over in my mind the question, “what SHALL I read on this rainy afternoon at the laundromat?” And **presto**, you’ve provided it!