I have a few favorite waterfalls, one with a perfect swimming hole. When it’s too hot to do anything else, I can sit for hours rapt in the sound of that waterfall.

I learned how to watch a drop of water from one of my favorite nature authors, Edward Duensing.

If you have access to a waterfall, take a look at the rocks behind the flowing water. You’ll notice two different colors. The lighter color is the soft rock that has been eroded by water over time.

If it were not for Mindy Reed, I would be missing out on some excellent reading.

My booklist relates to nature study and the craft of writing. I am thinking of organizing this ecclectic list and adding a category for well-written work – the level of mastery I dream of achieving.

The Authors Assistant just launched its website.

I just got an email from a friend who lives in New York and Israel.

She forwarded a joke, which I interpret to mean that everyone near and dear to her is safe.

There’s a resiliency about people with the ability to maintain a sense of humor in what I would find a terrifying situation. I admire this survival skill.

Last year at this time, I was on my way to Israel.

If you use the Jewish calendar, last year at this time I was in Israel. Why I was hiking in the desert in July is another story. My first and still most overwhelming impression is my awe at what this tiny nation was able to accomplish in sustainable technology in the sixty years since it became a nation.

Making the desert bloom is nothing short of a miracle. But creating and maintaining infrastructure – in spite of repeated assaults – adds new meaning to my understanding of the word �vision.�

If you were to take a helicopter ride, you’d get an aerial view of the reforestation – which conforms to the shape of the State of Israel. Maybe this piece of planet earth had been forest when God created the Garden of Eden, but what from my eyes see in my lifetime, Israel is desert – reforested desert.

The latest round of bombing is particularly painful, because it’s hitting the areas I loved most.

Spicebush tea can be made from fresh leaves in summer.

This shrub has fragrant twigs and narrow alternate leaves. This plant likes moist areas like thickets or stream banks. Since it loses its flavor when dried, summer is ideal for gathering fresh leaves and making a fragrant, refreshing tea.

Always test to ensure wild plant edibility before consuming a large quantity of any new food.

Many people dear to me have been impacted by extreme weather.

I am sitting in awe of the images of twisted trees along the Saw Mill River Parkway as TV meteorologists insist that it’s tornado damage. Apparently government agencies are reluctant to use that word.

I have updates from Hawk Circle. Director Ricardo Sierra in NY and another extremely accomplished outdoors friend in PA write so eloquently, that I’m compelled to quote them.

I love foraging and I’m fortunate to have local experts available.

But I’m the first to admit that locating, harvesting and preparing wild edibles could be a daunting task to the beginner.

I have written about the availability of wild edibles in many farmers markets and specialty stores. This is a very good way to start. Once you learn these plants, you will find it easier to recognize them in the wild. My Wild Food Recipes page has my recipes and links to recipes from other sources.

For me, nothing beats fresh picked. But locally grown is a very close second. Wild plants are filled with nutrition, but as you should with any new food, always test a small amount to ensure edibility.

Sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina) is in fact, a shrub.

The fragrant simple leaves growing from the woody stems resemble ferns, hence the name. It likes dry, rocky or sandy soil in pinelands, clearings and edges of wood lots.

I find the aroma calming. I use it fresh as a natural insect repellent on my skin and dried as both tea and incense. There was a patch growing in one of my favorite places on our family farm and the scent of this plant anywhere will make me feel good no matter what else is going on.

None of my foraging resources include this plant in their cookbooks, but I have been drinking it for years.

Always test to ensure wild plant edibility before consuming a large quantity of any new food.

Sharing Nature With Children is my all time favorite nature activity book.

I’ve used Cornell’s Un-Nature Trail activity whenever I have a chance to share nature observation skills. It takes a bit of set-up, but the rewards are worth the effort.

This is a variation on the game of tag.

The bigger the group, the better the game. It’s an excellent opportunity to practice using peripheral vision and fox walking.