WriterByNature.com

May 1, 2008 8:14 am

I’m walking more. Yesterday I visited a bicycle shop. The only way to send a message to the oil companies is to vote with our pocketbooks.

This madness of suspending the gasoline tax for a few weeks has only strengthened my resolve to find another way to reach my destination. I am blessed, because I also have access to public transportation.

But the most empowering thing that has happened to me recently is the discovery that I can actually walk to my favorite hiking trail. The trail head is closer than the hikers’ parking lot.

I cringe when I think of how long I have been driving to a place within walking distance.

I might never have made that discovery if gasoline prices had not risen beyond my willingness to pay.

April 22, 2008 6:00 am

The price of gasoline is beyond excessive. So, I have a new personal rule: if it’s within four miles, I walk. I have discovered a hiking trail less than a mile from my home. I can walk to the post office, two food stores, three bus stops and a train stop in less than a half hour.

I even passed two car rental agencies in my trek on foot. The bus and train can get me to other hiking trails, a major city and even an airport, should I need it. If I can carry a backpack with camping gear, I can carry groceries in the same pack. (more…)

March 19, 2008 6:43 am

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…)

September 29, 2007 6:23 pm

I just played the consumer consequences game. Thanks to my friend Abby for sending me the link.

My score was 1.9 I’m pretty good, but as frugally as I live, it would still take two planets to support my lifestyle. (more…)

September 11, 2007 6:06 pm

In the past two weeks, my ceiling collapsed and my refrigerator died, taking all my frozen wild edibles with it. I feel blessed. I’m alive. And these problems have solutions.

Having lived in NYC for 20 years and worked in the twin towers, it’s hard not to think about what happened on this day six years ago.

On September 11, 2001, I owned a home outside of NYC and had been running my Virtual Assistant business for a little over one year.

In the ensuing six years I don’t feel spiritually, emotionally or financially better off. We have lost many of our civil rights and we have made life so much worse for people in other parts of the world.

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August 29, 2007 5:52 pm

As we remember the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina on residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, I’m cleaning up from the results of a flood in my apartment.

From the moment I noticed the stain on the ceiling, to the 10 minutes it took the landlord to shut of the water to the building while I covered everything with tarps, enough water broke through the Sheetrock to damage the carpeting beyond repair. (more…)

August 13, 2007 3:53 am

Organizer Nicole Carman is a genius. This event brought 182 participants to Mt. Pisgah State Park to participate in events ranging from kayaking and horseback riding to firearms, ATV safety, and wild game cooking.

If you can do it in the outdoors, there was someone to teach you how in a mini-workshop. I learned about WITO from my friend, Bird Lady, who attended as a participant this year, rather than a presenter. (more…)

August 5, 2007 8:29 am

I came home from yesterday’s COMA walk loaded down with new mushrooms to sample.

I actually learned about milky cap (lactarius) mushrooms. I spent the rest of the day photographing them, looking them up in my reference sources and doing what I could to imprint this new knowledge.

I just sautéed the lactarius (hygrophoroides, I think) and it is delicious.

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July 18, 2007 4:27 am

The workshops I attended at this event gave me an opportunity to meet and learn from dedicated naturalists.

Beyond the workshops, there were hands-on opportunities to learn trail-building skills, hikes, excursions to area events, vendors, book signings, and the most patient and helpful support staff anywhere.

I got pointers on nature photography, hanging my hammock, carrying less weight in my pack and fitting my hiking boots. I got a taste of fly fishing, archaeology, and political advocacy.

I really enjoyed spending a few days surrounded by like-minded people wearing cargo pants and hiking boots. The fact that people are willing to travel from Ohio, Indiana, Florida and every state on the AT, gives me hope that we can keep the planet from becoming entirely paved over.

It takes a great deal of cooperation - and just the right combination of vision and attention to detail - to host an event like this. The New York New Jersey Trail Conference, Ramapo College and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy are amazing. (more…)

June 26, 2007 11:46 pm

What doesn’t belong on this sign?

If you said the apostrophe, you’re right.

I’m not being critical or judgmental. People who have trouble with grammar and spelling are among my clients. It’s my job to find and correct these mistakes before they go public.

I wish these sign makers were my clients. (more…)