WriterByNature.com

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…)

April 3, 2008 7:35 am

If you’ve got a sapling in one hand and a digging tool in the other, here’s how, thanks to American Forests.

This is one of two organizations I’ve found that will also plant trees to celebrate a rite of passage or commemorate a loved one. That’s my idea of gift giving. Really, is there a better way to honor your mom, a bride and groom, or a graduate?

I’m not simply reliving Earth Day memories; my Dad will be 82-years-old on April 19. Trees seem a fitting tribute. American Forests provides a range of services and tree-planting support. The National Arbor Foundation also has a tree gift certificate.

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.

February 29, 2008 6:32 am

“Please sir, may I have more,” I tease as Carl pours each person on the tour a bit of maple sap.

The Hudson Highlands Nature Museum staff refer to themselves as edutainers. Carl, who led this maple syrup production tour from the tree to the table, has mastered the art of educating and entertaining while hiking.

We move and stop intermittently. It’s the way I like to hike when foraging or attracting wildlife. This museum really makes the natural world accessible to the general public.

This is the first winter of my life that there has been virtually no snow; the first significant accumulation had fallen just two days before this hike. But people who tap sugar maple trees in this area have already begun the process. In a normal winter, this would be the time to start.

It’s a short season - six weeks at most. Even with 21st Century technology, it’s a labor-intensive process. The result is worth the effort. If we happen to get a spring snow storm, I’ll be able to enjoy maple syrup on snow.

A few people my age, their children and grandchildren follow along, snapping icicles off branches, negotiating a snow-covered bridge and searching for dried sugar maple leaves. Carl delights in their discoveries. I marvel at how many details I didn’t know about this process. (more…)

December 20, 2007 7:16 am

Gift giving is really important for the giver and the receiver. Shopping can be overwhelming when there are a myriad of choices. Here are two really excellent ways to spend holiday dollars.

Kiva helps provide micro-loans to third-world businesses. What an excellent way to teach a young person about finance and charity. For the budding entrepreneur in your life, what a wonderful way to acquire business skills. Here is some recent media coverage that says it really well. I gave and received Kiva gift certificates this year.

Concerned about your carbon footprint? Consider a donation to the Climate Trust, which uses the money to fund tree planting or alternative energy projects world-wide. A year of carbon emissions for an average person can be offset by a $200 donation.

As the years go by, people who know and love me have given up on figuring out what I would like and resorted to gift cards. Using the power of my pocketbook to support programs I believe in is the best way to put those gifts to use.

December 14, 2007 7:01 am

I don’t spend time efficiently, according to the business models.

I spent weeks scrubbing the hulls of black walnuts, when I could have been marketing myself. I have never looked at the world through conventional eyes; I’m beginning to feel very blessed to have my skewed point of view. (more…)

December 3, 2007 6:45 am

Male bees don’t have stingers. That’s just one of the things wrong with this animated film.

I’m clueless at the decision-making that lead to this bizarre script. Are men in our culture so insecure that they have to depart from the way real bees live?

It wouldn’t be such a big deal, except bees are at risk. There are several theories as to why this is happening. The bottom line is that bees pollinate many of the plants that we depend on for food.

Despite Hollywood’s history of nature bloopers, nothing changes. (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…)