40 Earth Days

I actually do remember the very first Earth Day, April 22nd, 1970.    I was teaching at a small elementary school and my dear, dear friend (who passed away in 1989 from breast cancer) was the catalyst for a big celebration at our school.   We planted a tree and did a lot of ecology-related projects with our students.   We drew pictures of ways we could help the earth.   We sang songs about the earth and read poems exalting our planet.   It was such a hopeful joyous day.   I wish we had come farther in taking care of our environment since 1970.

I try every year to add one more thing to the list of ways to live "green" and purchased the book  Do One Green Thing by Mindy Pennybacker  It is a wonderful book chock full of practices that are better for your health, better for the planet, and better for social justice.   This year's "one more thing" will be to strive to eat more locally grown organic produce and to support local sustainable farming.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Easter!

May your Easter be full of promise and lots of chocolate bunnies.

Guess Who Came To Dinner

And this is no April Fool's joke!!    Yesterday evening DH and I were sitting in the living room when all of a sudden, he jumped up and ran for the binoculars.   "There's a great horned owl sitting in the tree out there!" he exclaimed.   Hmmm...I was skeptical.   Even though we do hear hooting from the woods that lie behind our house, I always assumed they were smallish guys.   But, no.   I immediately shagged this photo off the internet from a nature site so we could verify his coloring and habitat range.   Sure enough, he is our neighbor!   Isn't he gorgeous?   Soon three crows flew onto nearby branches.   We really didn't want to see a war between these feathered friends and luckily, they just engaged in a staredown for about 20 minutes.  Of course, I then began to worry about what he would choose for his prey.   The fish in our pond?   The frisky rabbits that are hopping down the bunny trail?   My croakity frog buddy?   I think I am better off not knowing.    After all, an owl has to eat too.   And Rocky and Natasha were reminded, once again, that they are forever house cats!