“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain, Autobiography

You may have seen this quote before. I have. But every time I read it I am challenged to ‘sail away from safe harbor.’ Forget that this harbor is where we are most comfortable.
…

She woke up slowly, stretched and yawned and stretched again. The soft, warm, downy bedsack tempted her to go back too sleep. It was easy to
roll over and close her eyes again.

The house was dark, and oh …

Couldn’t resist. It’s Leap Day!

So, what does it all mean? Simply put, we are synchronizing the calendar year with the astronomical or seasonal year. …

Ooooh, I’m almost too late for this one! The Bradford Pears are blooming and so are the native crabapples. There is
color in the woods, and in our yards, and it’s not even MARCH!

I wanted to talk to you about Eastern Red Cedars! They are the ‘christmas’ trees that grow so easily throughout Oklahomak, adding spots (or blotches) of green to our otherwise brown winter
landscape. Snow drapes on their branches, and little birds flit in and …

“Being aware of the splendor of the seasons, of the natural world, makes us understand man’s critical need for wild places. Living with familiar
things and moving in the seasons can fulfill that profound need common to us all: a sense of place.” – Jo Northrop, Country Matters

I can sense it. Spring. I feel it in the rustling of the wind and the warmth of the sunrays. I smell it in the air, and see it in the blooms of …

I’ve always been lured to the mystery and romance of the Old South. Half of my brain accepts that the Old South is no longer there, but half of it is
consumed with the idea of ghostly plantations with stately buildings and beautiful gardens. In February 2011, I had the opportunity to visit the Old South and actually spent the night on two
former plantations. The experience was, in some ways, bittersweet for someone with the mind of a …

I have an alien penpal. I don’t know what that penpal looks like. I don’t even know if “it” is male or female. “It” has never seen Earth, doesn’t really know what our mountains are, or oceans, or grasslands. “It” has never been to Oklahoma. But I have learned that my alien penpal has five sense – can see, smell, touch, hear and taste. I have learned that our languages are the same – they actually speak English.

“For each home ground we need new maps, living maps, stories and poems, photographs and paintings, essays and songs. We need to know where we are, so that we may dwell in our place with a full heart.”
Scott Russell Sanders, “Buckeye”
“The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust, “Remembrance of Things Past”
I’m passionate about Sense of Place.

As a nature lover, I struggle with desert. Of all the types of ecosystems, I find the least beauty there. What is there to love about desert? So, I’ve put my own theory to the test. Can I “connect” with desert, when I find little of beauty or attraction there?

Nature prepares creatures for the cold weather. In my earlier post on Winter Survival, on January 18, I focused on survival facts, interesting behaviors and physical characteristics that keep animals alive in the coldest months.
We put on heavy clothes, snuggle into our houses, and consume warm/hot foods and drinks. Likewise, animals of all kinds do the best they can to survive. Here are more interesting survival tricks.