WriterByNature.com

March 29, 2008 9:31 am

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.

January 22, 2008 5:56 am

In addition to waxing and waning in a pattern, the moon rises and sets in a pattern.  Here is how the moon moves in relation to the sun. (more…)

December 21, 2007 6:08 am

The shortest day of the year is not only the darkest, but often the coldest day. Here are some ways to celebrate the fact that after December 22, 2007 at 6:08 AM GMT, the days will start getting longer: (more…)

September 28, 2007 8:12 pm

It’s been hot and sunny for a couple of weeks. A significant weather front passed by, but my area got virtually nothing in the way of rain.

What we did get, was a brief thunderstorm around 5:15 EDT. I haven’t seen a rainbow in almost three years. Actually there are two rainbows.

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September 26, 2007 9:55 pm

It’s a warm, clear night and this month’s full moon, the full harvest moon, dominates the sky. I see no stars.

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February 23, 2007 3:49 am

Practice getting lost. Seriously.

Once you’re lost, it’s not the time to learn a new skill.

Here are a few techniques that will help you cope if you are ever really lost on land, even if you don’t have a compass. (more…)

January 1, 2007 4:26 pm

This is the largest of the annual meteor showers, even bigger than the Perseids.

With an average of 100 meteors descending each hour, this is a spectacular winter light show. (more…)

August 10, 2006 4:57 am

This annual summer event will peak on August 12 this year.

While viewing is best after midnight and far from city lights, the proliferation of meteors (an average of 65 shooting stars per hour) in the northeast sky promises some exciting viewing.

Many scientists believe that over one hundred million meteors enter earth’s atmosphere each day. This is the largest meteor shower, second only to the Quadrantids in January. Most of these meteors vaporize in the upper atmosphere. On a rare occasion, a chunk finds its way to earth.

Watching this display of lights provides another opportunity for nature observation.

July 23, 2006 4:03 am

Watching a thunderstorm form and unfold is dramatic. I am grateful to be spared the devastation that continues to impact people on the east side of the Hudson River.

Billowing cumulonimbus clouds crowd the sky like quilted fabric in every shade of gray. (more…)

June 24, 2006 1:54 am

It’s so oppressively hot, even the insects are not moving. If you’re lucky enough to be near water, then you might get a breeze.

Weather like this is conducive to a thunderstorm, so if you have to get to shelter, how much time will you have? (more…)