Get Outside:

“The Winters Will Drive You Crazy…”

KB — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:46:27 +0000

I have a new attitude, or perspective or perhaps even a new way of being in Winter. I put my big girl boots on and I get going. I’m not saying, “Woo Hoo! I love winter. Let’s have cold, frozen, frost and dark eternally. Yay – Ice.” But I am learning to embrace what I cannot control and make the most out of it.

I think I’ll start my new season of recreation (and blogging) with some beautiful words from Parker Palmer on the gifts of winter. These quotes were taken from his essay, “Winter” in the book, Let Your Life Speak. I pulled the most obvious quotes about literally getting through winter. The essay itself – the complete essay – is more powerful. Palmer uses much metaphor and analogy to draw connections between the physical cold and death of winter and life circumstance – while also illumine the gifts of the season. Parker Palmer is particularly adept at using metaphor and finding gifts in any situation. I think the words I selected will immediately appeal to outdoor enthusiasts and adventure seekers. On further inspection and perhaps even reading of the complete work, including the remaining essays, Spring, Summer and Autumn (starting w/ autumn) – I think the words speak to the soul seeker. The spiritual searcher.

Quotes from Winter:

“I am not sure that any sight or sound on earth is as exquisite as the hushed descent of a sky full of snow.”

“But for me, winter has an even greater gift to give. It comes when the sky is clear, the sun brilliant, the trees are bare, and first snow is yet to come. It is the gift of utter clarity. In winter, one can walk into woods that had been opaque with summer growth only a few months earlier and see the trees clearly, singly, and together, and see the ground they are rooted in.”

“In the Upper Midwest, newcomers often receive a classic piece of wintertime advice: ‘The winters will drive you crazy until you learn to get out into them.’ Here, people spend good money on warm clothing so they can get outdoors and avoid the “cabin fever” that comes from huddling fearfully by the fire during the long frozen months.”

”Until we enter boldly into the fears we most want to avoid, those fears will dominate our lives. But when we walk directly into them – protected by the warm garb of friendship or inner discipline or spiritual guidance – we can learn what they have to teach us. Then we discover once again that the cycle of the seasons is trustworthy and life-giving, even in the most dismaying season of all.”

I didn’t come by this way of being out of choice. Who would choose death at a time of great expectation and tremendous hope!? I came by it out of necessity. And honestly, I am grateful for this gift – the gift of winter in my life. Through my own winter - somehow – by some force much greater than myself I was able to not just get through – chapped and chaffed and desperate for summer. Somehow I was able to ”enter boldly” into the darkness and emerge toward the light with a new way of being. A new clarity. A gift. Of a new me.

It surprises me. It makes me laugh at myself. Just today as I sat in my car, completely in awe of the magnificence of fresh snowfall all around me I considered how I formerly lamented. Bemoaned. Dragged on and dredged through winter. Desperate for summer. I stuck my arm out the window and scraped ice chunks off my rearview mirror and thought, ”Gorgeous Snow Storm.” My hand was surrounded by the warmth of my new scraper glove – a Christmas gift from my husband.

Here are some other thoughts on winter: http://www.couragerenewal.org/blog/103-parker-entries/242-the-wild-winds-of-winter

First Trip to the Nature Center

KB — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:46:32 +0000

Today, we took Baby B on his first trip to the Metroparks nature center. What fun! He loved the the rocks and the big tree and after a little coaxing – the tunnel.

8 Principles of Gardening with Children

KB — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:01:31 +0000

While doing a little homework for our Yoga-Nature-Art Summer Camp at River’s Edge this summer I found my way to the blog of the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. I was very happy to find this series of posts by Josh Steffen on “Gardening with Your Children” http://www.cbgarden.org/blog/index.php/tag/youth-gardening/. Josh wrote this 8-post series based on educational principles that work in the Hershey Children’s Garden.

Enjoy!

Teaching Children to Love Nature

KB — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:31:22 +0000

I just saw this interview online at Journey Magazine: Interview with Matthew Craig. Visit The Journey website to hear audio from the interview and read other spiritual news.

“Green” Shopping

KB — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:03:27 +0000

Some places to purchase “Green” products:

Good Earth – Natural Food Company http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/nsearch?unique=23d07&catalog=good-earth
Seventh Generation http://seventhgeneration.com/our_products/

Recycled Paper Products

KB — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:46:05 +0000

Here’s what NRDC says about buying paper products http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/gtissue.asp

Help Clean Our Favorite Lake!

KB — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:39:16 +0000

Go to this website http://www.epa.state.oh.us/oleo/cw/calendar.html and find a location near – or perhaps not so near to your home. Take the fam on an adventure to somewhere new! Get Outside and help clean the shoreline of our most beautiful and exquisite Lake Erie. We are so blessed to live on this magnificant body of FRESH WATER – let’s get out there and help improve the quality of life for everyone, right in our own backyards!

Dinner Interrupted

KB — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:07:57 +0000

I hope my friend here wasn’t too disgruntled with me for interrupting her tasty meal. I spotted this beautiful Redtail Hawk (pretty sure she’s a redtail) dining on the side of Mills Road at about 6pm yesterday evening.

I love her fluffy white pants!

She tolerated a few minutes of camera flashing and Kirtan chanting coming from the car stereo, before taking her meal to a more private dining location in a tree across the road.

What a site! I never thought I’d be so into the birds. There’s something about me and the hawks these days. I see one pretty regularly, sitting on a lamp post near the freeway exit I take to work in the school district. I always take an extra deep breath upon spotting my morning friend.

I almost crashed my car earlier this summer eying a young Bald Eagle up by Sandusky Bay. She flew across the road pretty low, and then landed on a big power tower right about when I was supposed to be carefully navigating a big, curvy entrance ramp. Good thing it was early morning and the highway wasn’t busy – I was driving about 5mph on the ramp.

Dinner with the Kids

KB — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 20:54:36 +0000

Last evening, as Norb, Doug and I chatted around a backyard fire, I started noticed a little, raspy, screechy bird noise. It sounded sort of like my wren when she’s irritated with me or the cats. I didn’t see the wren and she usually comes right down when she’s yelling at me.

I followed the noise with my eyes toward the shed. It didn’t take long before I noticed a unique brown lump in the trees above the shed. The lump looked birdish, kind of square – I wasn’t exactly sure, but I suspected it to be an owl. We don’t have owls very often, but this little, brown lump had the right shape for an owl. I had my cheap binoculars since we were earlier observing the hummers in the monarda, but I was pretty sure I could make out the shape of a baby owl. When I saw here eyes I was sure!

As soon as Doug was up snapping photos with the digital camera, moma owl made a fly-by to show that here baby wasn’t alone. Another young owl swooped in to rest on our neighbor’s roof. Shortly, the first owl was on the ground, a screeching ensued as she pounced on a mole. When her sibling came in to try and steal the catch, owl number 1 spread her young wings to protect her prey from her grubbing sibling. Mom flew by again, annoyed by the camera flash and then they were all off. Owl number 1 with her fresh booty.

We could hear them for several minutes in the woods, seeming to bicker or perhaps to gloat over this tasty, fresh meal.

Drop that Weed Killer, Put Down the Fertilizer and Read These!

KB — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 21:29:51 +0000

Suburban Bliss

The books listed on this page are meant to inspire and encourage the suburban family to adventure beyond their perfectly manicured patio and get deep … into the yard that is.

Carson, Laurie. (1995). Green thumbs: A kid’s activity guide to indoor and outdoor gardening. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBN: 1-55652-238-X
Ford, Miela. (1999). My day in the garden. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 0-688-15541-3.
Frazier, Craig. (2005). Stanley mows the lawn. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN: 0-8118-4846-9.
Hewitt: Sally. (2000). Your backyard with easy step-by-step projects for the young scientist. Brookfield: Copper Beach Books. ISBN: 0-7613-1157-2.
Maas, Robert. (1998). Garden. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN: 0-8050-5477-4.
Rosen, Michael. (1998). Down to earth: Garden secrets! Garden stories! Garden projects you can do! New york: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN: 0-15-2-1341-5.
Ryrie, Charlie. (2001) Garden folklore that works. New York: Reader’s Digest Association. ISBN: 0-7261-0299-3.
Schultz, Warren. (2001). The Organic suburbanite: An environmentally friendly way to live the American Dream. Emmaus: Rodale. ISBN: 0-87596-860-0.

Now get out there and get growing!