Nature
The Light Dragon
The morning rays of sunlight lit the ground gently. The sound of the people’s shoes upon the earth was soft. Bird’s songs twinkled through the air like magic dust, lilting sounds, with open spaces in between, where the sound of the air quietly drifting could be felt. The world was awakening, and it was awakening with light and welcoming. The trees, tall, with their thick trunks, seemed to quietly sway their leaves, like friends smiling to each of them, peacefully. The ground before them was a rich, rich brown, and it felt like it cushioned each step.
Elliot StillerPublished 3 years ago in EarthThe Small Miracles of Life
My family’s cottage is a thriving home for wildlife, and I see so many beautiful and sacred creatures there that I would never have been able to see in the urban world. It's how I managed to take this photo, with my LGK61 phone and with no filters or modifications added. Truly, I believe it is a magical place, just a quiet and small cottage out in nature facing a mineral rich, dark blue lake with titanic trees and massive and silent granite rocks stretching like small mountains from the woods to the sandy shore. I have grown up there, as has my mother and my grandfather, and my great grandfather. In the summer, we swim all day and maybe go stretch out on the heated rocks to warm up, in fall we go on journeys through the molten gold forest and collect turkey feathers, in the winter we hide inside by the fire or go snowshoeing on the frozen lake, and in spring, we watch the wildlife thrive, because us as humans are a part of this beautiful and natural cycle. We are not separate from nature, and this place truly reminds me of that. Foxes that steal our shoes if we leave them out too long, chipmunks that would climb up our legs to reach a peanut, a herd of deer standing on the frozen lake and leaving trails of footprints in the snow, bald eagles soaring overhead in hope of catching a fish, rattlesnakes sunning on the immense granite rocks, minks dashing across the shoreline. If we’re really lucky, we may even see a mother bear with her cubs, or a herd of moose. But, no matter what the conditions are, we can always rely on the turtles who lay their eggs, hatch and break free of their eggshells, and swim in the bay every year. We have every year been able to watch our mother snapper or painted turtle climb cautiously out of the water and make her way to the perfect place to have her nest, and witness a mother turtle laying her eggs while we have a campfire not so far away and watch the moon peak out beyond the treetops. We protect and make sure the babies get safely to the water for the first time, because it only seems fair that we give something in return for this magical moment, so we take care of her eggs all winter by covering them up to hide them from hungry predators.
Olivia GyuranPublished 3 years ago in EarthA Small Act of Kindness
Midway through February 2021, and shortly after moving to Arkansas, my family witnessed a week of historic snowfall in our state. My three-year-old watched the snow coming down with his little nose pressed to the glass of our frozen windows, mouth open in awe as it piled up by a foot, and then another foot. My husband joyfully poured peppermint schnapps into his hot chocolate and kicked back, all work put on hold for the week as the entire city of Little Rock came to a standstill from the unprecedented winter storm. As for me, I spent most of the blizzard in the kitchen, savoring the warmth of the oven and stove as I prepared all of our family favorites, having stocked up the week beforehand when I saw the weather forecast.
L.A. HancockPublished 3 years ago in EarthA Rose by Any Other Name would Smell as Sweet
My mother had an amazing rose garden in England and I planted mine to celebrate her. I have roses of all kinds but I mostly concentrate on bush roses. I have peach, red, yellow, purple and white roses. I also have a remarkable orange and gold rose bush which is right outside my kitchen window, and which I keep an eye on in all seasons, including winter. Once Spring comes I fertilize the rose bushes and then I mulch them. I spray them with a light spray for bugs and fungi. I can’t use anything too poisonous because my husband’s bee-hive is quite close, and I don’t want to hurt the bees in any way.
Felicity HarleyPublished 3 years ago in EarthCutting A New Life
It had been a terrible few years filled with unspeakable troubles and events and I knew I was starting to sit down. You know, the kind of sit down you don't stand back up from. The kind of sit down where all your fight and motivation and dreams sit down too and all you're left with is the sitting and the doneness of life. I knew I could not sit down. Somewhere on a deep gut level I was still ready to stand up so I stood up. I walked out to the field behind the house and slowly, laboriously walked to the top of the hill. I stood at the top of the hill gasping for air, bent over from achy muscles that had sat for too long, and looked down. I saw a gently sloping hill of grass and remembered an old dream. When I looked at the hill through the vision of that old dream, I saw a lavender field.
Shauna HydePublished 3 years ago in EarthThe Perfect Palette
The wonder that is the Serengeti is something not easily described with words, or even through pictures. When I returned home and attempted to convey my experiences, the closest I came to explaining it was that it feels as if the beginning and the end of the world is there. Every colour, sound, and texture in existence seems to coalesce in that great expanse of land.
Gentle Giants
The wonder that is the Serengeti is something not easily described with words, or even through pictures. When I returned home and attempted to convey my experiences, the closest I came to explaining it was that it feels as if the beginning and the end of the world is there. Every colour, sound, and texture in existence seems to coalesce in that great expanse of land.
Caught in the Act!
I answered the phone on a sunny summer day. A perfect day, really - not too hot, not too chilly, low humidity...a great day to be out on the water. And it was a good thing too, because on the other end of the phone was my friend Vanita, inviting me to go out on her father's boat. I went to the store and picked up a rotisserie chicken, a beautiful wedge of Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda with Bacon, and some water crackers. We met briefly on the dock, got our lifejackets on and we were underway in the "Katrenita".
Lori BrooksPublished 3 years ago in EarthMajestic Trees
Silk Cotton Trees are Asian tropical trees, They have a straight tall trunk and their leaves are deciduous in winter. In the spring red flowers with five petals appear. The tree produces a capsule that when ripe has white fibres like cotton. These trees grow with huge twisting roots, made up of long, wavy, narrow planks. Their trunks have spikes to deter attacks by animals, Silk Cotton Trees are certainly an impressive sight to behold.
Rasma RaistersPublished 3 years ago in EarthCanadian Geese and their Goslings
In springtime, extended families of geese take over the Ottawa-Gatineau riverbanks, lakesides, and the bike paths that connect the two. They claim this territory in gangs, eating large amounts of grass and leaving wet, green turds wherever they go. Geese are typically vicious, and it is wise to keep your distance. If you are on a bike, best etiquette is to ring your bell and wait for them to clear off the path.
The Most Misunderstood
The wonder that is the Serengeti is something not easily described with words, or even through pictures. When I returned home and attempted to convey my experiences, the closest I came to explaining it was that it feels as if the beginning and the end of the world is there. Every colour, sound, and texture in existence seems to coalesce in that great expanse of land.
Can Shorter Showers Really Make a Difference? Sure!
Where it all begins is debatable Cooperstown, NY is known as the home of the baseball hall of fame. But what is little known and perhaps far more important is that the Cooperstown’s area is where you find the origins of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This massive water shed in centered around the Susquehanna River. The river is named after the Susquehannock or Susquehanna people. Susquehanna means people of the muddy river.
Carolyn F. ChrystPublished 3 years ago in Earth