WriterByNature.com

November 28, 2007 6:02 am

As the opportunities to access the Internet grow, so do the options for communicating for business and pleasure.

I prefer to spend my time in the woods, so that makes me one of the few people I know who limit computer time. My goal is to find the most productive online communities. Lately, I’ve been overwhelmed. I signed up for a lot of these groups. I’m still in the lurking stage. (more…)

November 27, 2007 6:11 am

It took me several hours to crack one cup’s worth of black walnuts. If you crack your own walnuts, be sure to hand pick through the nut meat at least twice. I rely on my fingertips rather than my eyes to ensure no microscopic nut shells find their way into my food.

The rest of the recipe is pretty straightforward. Now I know why black walnuts are so expensive. They are labor intensive.

I must be getting better at using key words. This recipe is taken from a source entitled As Easy As Pie, by Susan G. Purdy. (more…)

November 26, 2007 7:14 am

I heard a report that Texas is the largest producer of carbon emissions in the US. If Texas were a country, it would be 7th largest greenhouse gas producer in the world.

My respect for Texas-based nature writer Wendee Holtcamp reaches new depths. Wendee is a scientist who writes with passion, like Rachel Carson. Texas is about being larger than life, including driving the largest vehicles possible.

I’m truly impressed that Wendee thrives in an environment that is officially deaf to what naturalists hold dear. (more…)

November 25, 2007 3:38 am

Those delectable early spring edibles are back.

When there’s a frost, it means that wild green leaves have lost their protective bitterness. The cooler weather also means a second season for many wild greens.

I have mixed feelings about this. Fresh veggies are always delightful. But as the climate changes, we lose native foods as well.

Without a snow-covered winter, we are going to lose out on maple syrup and morels. Trees need a period of dormancy in order for sap to rise vigorously.

I’m watching the roller-coaster weather pattern. We get a bit of frost or even a dusting of snow, then the weather warms up by 20 degrees. I’ll have to adapt to whatever unfolds. So spending time with the plants and animals I love has to happen now, while they are still around.

November 23, 2007 6:09 am

I love the colors, but really I feel like I’ve stepped into a strange world. This is the first time in my 55 years on the planet that colored leaves have been around on Thanksgiving.

This extended leaf season is both soothing and disturbing. It’s hard not to be in awe of the expanse of color. But I wonder if the trees are as confused as I am. (more…)

November 21, 2007 5:45 am

If you look carefully at the center of the video you can see the squirrel who climbed a honey locust tree to enjoy a black walnut. It took just under four minutes to clean the hull, penetrate the shell and enjoy the walnut. I wish I could work that fast.

The original footage is gorgeous, but to upload this image, I had to compress my avi file. Ah, technology.

November 19, 2007 6:51 am

I thought a quick trip to the store on Sunday would avoid the holiday crunch as we approach Thursday. I was wrong.

As I negotiated my way past the laden shopping carts, floor displays and product samples to purchase non-food items, I stopped next to a woman reading the contents label on a package of stuffing mix.

We looked at each other and giggled. How hard is it to soak stale bread? We both agreed, but she tossed the $2.50 package into her cart, believing she was saving time.

I maneuvered my mostly empty cart past the day-old bread shelf. For 99-cents you could get a sliced Italian bread and for 75-cents you could get six thinly sliced bagels. Really, how hard is it to soak day-old bread? (more…)

November 16, 2007 5:57 pm

Besides the very clever play on words of her name, writer Janet Riehl’s site, Riehl Life, is filled with art and music rich in cultural heritage. I’m crazy about her 92-year-old dad, who is still making music.

Janet and I participated in a recent blog chain. I had no clue how to make the best use of a blog chain or guest blogging, so I turned to my marketing maven, Angela Parker of Wicked WordCraft, who answered my questions.

Janet has posted my article Exploring Inwood Hill Park - An Old Growth Forest in New York City. So, please visit Riehl Life for a rich helping of Janet’s Village Wisdom for the 21st Century.

7:22 am

Years ago I lived at warp speed. I was in the middle of New York City, there were opportunities all around. It made sense.

But since I could walk, I’ve always sought the wild places. I’m not surprised to find myself in a position to choose what work I accept and how I spend my time.

In today’s value system, anyone looking at me would wonder if I have both oars in the water. I choose to use something until I no longer works. I don’t need a newer car, a newer computer or a newer pair of shoes.

Yes, I’m a fashion victim, but I’m a stress-free fashion victim. Those cares went away with anorexia.

When I was a homeowner, I devoted valuable marketing time to securing 4.5 acres of tax delinquent property into a town park. I met resistance, mostly from the drug dealers who thought all open space, including my woods, were for their use.

I put up with getting shot at, having the police tell me that swastikas painted on rocks was not a crime, and town board members tell me the land was the county’s responsibility.

In the end, God sent an angel in the form of a neighbor with connections to the community. We got the town and the county to work out a deal to turn the spot into a town park and even a bit of money from a county legislator. I carried petitions for the town board representatives who supported me. I even registered five neighbors to vote.

But, I could have been spending that time building my business and making money. I just didn’t. Somehow I always end up with what I need. I am deeply grateful.

Sometimes it would be nice to measure my successes by the size of my client list or my billing hours. But then I ride by that town park and think about how there are no drug dealers. A bit of grass is growing and no garbage has been dumped. That’s major.

It may qualify for a DEC tree planting. That would be exciting.

I can’t exactly explain why the park is a measure of success in my mind. Maybe because I’m such a poor business woman.

November 15, 2007 5:33 am

I can’t claim credit for this poem; I heard it from an entertaining nature educator - an “edutainer.” It’s an effective tool for engaging school-age children in studying tracks.

It begins with an “s” and it ends with a “t”.
It comes out of you and it comes out of me.
I know what you’re thinking. You could call it that.
But, let’s be scientific and call it “scat.”

Thanks, Carl.

Now, what can you tell about the coyote scat and the deer track from the above photo?