The last time I saw this amazing bird was 10 years ago. I was actually turning around in a trail head parking lot late yesterday, when this woodcock crossed my path. It flew off before I could get my camera into moving picture mode.
Tags: Hiking
This evening at 8:00 PM your local time, turn off your lights for an hour.
This is an event, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, which grew out of a civil action in Sydney Australia last year. I find a great spiritual comfort in taking one small action to focus on the natural world.
It’s supposed to be a beautiful night, so I plan to take a look at the constellations. Don’t know any? Try this skywatching game. If you want to take skywatching a bit further, I am delighted with Richard Bell’s The Night Sky on Paper.
The days are getting longer and I could choose to fuss about our nutty economy or bizarre leadership choices. But given all I’ve learned this year about earth mentoring, foraging, mycology and given that there are still song birds, trees, and the promise of mushrooms, I plan to focus on the natural world, while I still can make that choice.
Tags: Climate Change, Political, Tracks
The white-throated sparrow sings at 6:42 AM EST. I heard it for the first time two days ago. I couldn’t believe my ears. It’s warm enough this morning to leave the window open. I believe the sparrow is in my rhododendron. If I move, it will spook him. Cardinal just called. It’s 40-degrees F and cloudy, with rain on the way.
I can hear the mourning dove and see the silhouettes of the breakfast crowd land on pine branches. I usually write with pen and notebook standing at the window.
Here’s what else I see: (more…)
On tightly wound coils. The fierce, gale-force winds have been blowing for over 24 hours. Snow flurries swirled and collided just before dusk, then the sun appeared briefly before setting. The full moon makes it harder to see some of the other stars.
I’ve been reading and listening to news reports. I have to stop doing that. I need to get outdoors and hike, but monsoon rains and the dangers of high winds have been enough to keep me working on my homework for Mushroom U. Sorting out boletes is no small task. The good news is that there are no deadly boletes, although sorting out the bitter lookalikes from the choice edibles takes “dirt time,” and a workable key to sort out details.
The more I want to improve my nature skills, the more carefully and slowly I need to move in nature and in research. So, what do I do for exercise? These past few months, swimming and aquatic exercise. But the gym is far, which tugs at my carbon footprint issues and my budget.
I am blessed. My needs are met. My biggest concern is avoiding nature deficit disorder. It all seems so tangential, until you realize that trees are critical to our ability to breathe clean air. Trees also keep soil from eroding and prevent flooding.
Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, writes that deprivation from nature causes “increased feelings of stress, trouble paying attention, feelings of not being rooted in the world.”
I am blessed, I know where I can get a good 5-mile hike protected from the prevailing winds. That’s exactly the right way to celebrate this first full day of spring.
Tags: Hiking, Political, Survival
As a writer, reading enlightens me in a way that watching images cannot. Words have power. Pete Seeger sings the Hudson River clean. I’m hopeful that Barack Obama’s words will get us closer to a UNITED States of America?
This is the best piece of writing I have read in a very long time. Take the time to read each of his words, even if you watched the delivery on screen. It’s worth reading more than once. (more…)
This is another indoor nature activity.
A good time to do this is late winter, before the trees wake up.
Tags: Flowers, Gardens, Survival
Plants will grow in many different containers, given the right conditions. An advantage to using containers is that you can move them to maximize growing conditions.
Try adapting unusual containers such as milk cartons, baskets, canisters or plastic containers. Be sure to poke holes in the bottom of the container. Line the bottom with 2 to 3 inches of small gravel, then fill the container with topsoil.
Here are some things you can plant in spring and summer: (more…)
Tags: Gardens, Nature Curriculum
Thanks for this addition to my vocabulary goes to Ursula Hoffman, a dedicated student of the world of fungi and a skilled webmaster.
Mycophile - a devotee of mushrooms.
The implied meaning of this word suggests that the seeker is engaged in the hobby of pursing edible mushrooms. But that definition does not fit Ursula or any other dedicated COMA member.
Mushroom University exists because individuals with scientific minds have spent decades organizing and documenting their observations, check and cross-checking their information, and now even applying DNA analysis to the mushroom identification. The idea of this daunting endeavor makes my head spin.
I’m the lucky beneficiary, because I have the latest published information and people willing to share their hard-earned knowledge.
Tags: Foraging, Writing Life
