It is my belief that we do not have a fundamental right to pilfer and plunder our natural world, and that what we do have is a fundamental responsibility to do what we can to protect our planet's waters, soils, air, and the diverse wildlife that we share these resources with. The former does not ensure economic prosperity for all; the latter does. When one learns that certain actions have consequences--say, that morning coffee ritual from a business that heavily uses styrofoam cups, a product that simply and effectively trashes the earth--is there not only one ethical and moral thing to do? To start buying coffee from a business that does more for the environment? Change is necessary if we care about all the generations behind us--human and wildlife alike. But change is a complicated thing.

Therein lies the conundrum.

My pledge: to embrace change, and to find solutions to the conundrum.


Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Life is Good

Red-bellied woodpeckers are courting, chickadees are building their nest, orioles and yellow-rumped warblers are in the canopy, and hummers are at the feeders.  And our peas have sprouted.  Life is good!

Snags are good.  This tree is used in spring and summer by red-bellied woodies for nesting, and in winter by bluebirds

Chickadee nest building began Sunday, May 1, 2011


unrefined wool from Riverslea Farm makes for perfect nesting material for all kinds of songbirds


Oak-hickory-birch canopy...buds are just popping (May 3, 2011) and attractive to orioles, warblers, grosbeaks....


orioles love grape jelly and oranges


Our hummer's favorite feeder.  Make your own solution: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water.  Dissolve over low heat, COOL before adding to feeder, change every third/fourth day depending on temperature/sun exposure.  Clean feeders are essential to the health of hummers!


'Super sugar' snap pea sprouts.  Can't wait for these babies to start climbing!