“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label earth day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label earth day. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Singing Frogs

Last post I spoke of dancing bunnies and this week it's all about singing frogs.  I am fascinated by nature and have always had a curiosity about the creatures I encounter in the garden. Maybe this comes from growing up as the only girl on a somewhat secluded farm. My playground was 600 acres of woodland, prairie, deep sand filled ravines and a creek that ran through the middle of the property. There wasn't much else to do other than read and explore!




The illustration above is from my collection, the illustrator is Adrana Saviozzi from the book Somebody Saw, 1962.

I still remember those days as a child, when younger, accompanied by my two older brothers, but then later on when I was older, exploring on my own. It was all so magical.  I guess I've really never experienced it in any other way since.  I often wonder if my time entertaining myself when younger created the introvert I am today, or was I just comfortable being on my own because I was an introvert? I guess, I'll never really know the answer to that question!

Anyway... back to the frogs... You may remember that last year I was very upset because there were no frogs around our lake. I wrote about it here.  In past years we would see the small tree frogs around the garden and hear them at night singing. It was a crazy cacophony of sound that I loved to listen to at night while drifting off to sleep. Some people don't care for the sound, but those are the loud bull frogs that most people complain about, our tree frogs have a most amazing lyrical, musical sound.

Of course I couldn't write about frogs without thinking of some books I have that are delightfully illustrated with frogs dancing, prancing, singing etc.


This poem is in the vintage set of Best in Children's Books by Doubleday. 1960 Volume 30 - A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go (illustrated by Adrienne Adams) - available in my shop here. The following two images are from the same book. Illustrations are by Adrienne Adams.



I was so happy the other night when I heard the frogs start to sing. The first night I heard just one and now several days later I'm hearing maybe four or five different frog voices. Not nearly as many as there used to be, but I'm hoping that if it's a good year, there will be a bunch of tadpoles in our lake that will grow up to be wonderful singing frogs!

So you may be wondering, how do frogs survive the winter? Well first of all I did some reading and found out that they are called ectotherms. The body temperature of ectotherms follows their environment, for example if it is cold outside, their body temperature falls. They must bask in the sun to get warm and cool off in the shade, or under the water. Amphibians, reptiles and insects are ectotherms. 

To live through the winter Spring Peepers, Green/Gray frogs and others bury themselves in the mud (about an inch deep) around a wetland, such as a lake or stream. They have special components in their body that actually act as antifreeze. Their body converts glycogen into glucose, which keeps the frog alive while it's frozen solid. When the ground becomes warm again in spring, the frogs thaw-out and remain active until winter comes around again! That's why at first I heard just one frog and then as the days went by more and more, because the frogs were just 'waking' up from their hibernation.




So I can happily say that Spring is truly here! I hope our little frogs make a comeback and return to become a thriving community again. It's a very nice turn of events and so fitting as it is Earth Day this Friday on April 22nd. It's nice to see that with all the obstacles they face, our little frogs are a win for nature.





So, I've got to run, much like the frog above... and I'll be running 'round to your blogs soon, Heigh Ho!

Hope you are enjoying some warmer Spring weather wherever you are!
~~~ Diane ~~~



Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Earth Day 2015

Hello Mother Earth...


alicepopkorn


Two things always impress 
me when I go to the wilderness:
  
One is how I always discover something new there; 
the other is how glad I am there is still some wilderness to go to.

Time was in America when people went to an untouched spot in a forest or beside a river, or into a desert or up a mountainside or onto a wide, grass-covered prairie, and took along what they poetically called "a dream," which was the hope of building a home there, or a city, or a society.  
Too often that dream came true.....

Rachel Peden 
from 
Speak to the Earth






Thank you Mother Earth for all that you give.
~~ Diane ~~


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Love Your Mother Earth

Mother Earth News has been a long time favorite of mine.  I encourage you to visit their link and browse through some of the amazing articles. I am getting no compensation for this, I just love their magazine!

"Let’s walk together on the path to sustainable living, sharing good news with everyone we meet along the way: Help us recruit members to the wiser-living community" — and celebrate Earth Day at Mother Earth News!




One of the teams I am a member of on Etsy is the Recycleparty Team.  I chose a few favorites to display in my latest treasury.  Check out some of their fabulous vintage and handmade items!  Every little bit we do can help Mother Earth!  Enjoy!








Sunday, April 21, 2013

Ten Ways To Help Save Mother Earth

 It's Mother Earth Day on April 22nd. Below I have listed ten easy things to do to help save her.


  1. Use less water by fixing your leaky toilet and dripping faucets. Turn off the water when you brush your teeth. Stop using bottled water and use water from the tap (almost all US water is safe to drink). Use a filter for your water if you must (I use a Brita).
  2. Stop driving everywhere! Use public transportation when you can, or ride your bike. Try walking instead, it's also good for you. If you live in the suburbs where that isn't feasible, then at least combine your trips to save gas. If you use a list and plan your trips you will also save time and money.
  3. Recycle everything you can and be thoughtful about what you buy. Some things are easier to recycle than others.  Stop buying the stuff that ends up in the landfill because it is hard to recycle.  Things like juice boxes and milk cartons come to mind. Read this and this.
  4. Compost your kitchen waste. Read how here.
  5. Change your light bulbs to the new LED lights.
  6. Turn off the lights when you leave the room.  Unplug any unnecessary chargers or appliances.
  7. Make sure your home is energy efficient, when replacing appliances make sure they are Energy Star rated and approved.  Get a programmable thermostat for your house and stop wasting money overheating or cooling your home when you are away.  
  8. Have a home energy audit done, costs average around $500 for a professional inspection. Or check out this site instead and do your own.
  9. Maintain you car, simply keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure will increase the fuel economy of your vehicle. 
  10. Buy locally made food and products.  It helps your local economy and cuts down on transportation costs and pollution.


Friday, April 20, 2012

More Trees Please

Earth Day is this Sunday, April 22nd. Today I am focusing on trees.  I have always been fond of trees. I spent many hours playing among the trees in our windbreak next to the house.  Our land had been in the family for over a hundred years and my great grandfather planted many trees and an orchard on our farm. After leaving home to go to college and then find a job, I realized how lucky I had been to have this experience as a child. Sadly, no one in my family wanted to manage a farm and the land has been sold and most of the trees have been cleared for farming.

I grew up on the Great Plains where areas of trees can be few and far between.  There are trees in windbreaks and a few in clumps around farmsteads but there are miles of land with no trees at all.  If you have ever driven across the Dakotas, Nebraska or Kansas you know what I mean.  That is somewhat the nature of the area; flashback two hundred years and think vast acres of tall grass and buffalo.  Now and then a fire started by lightening would burn out all the poor trees that happened to sprout there.  The grasslands persist to this day in some areas.  Much has been converted into farmland and grows wheat, corn and soybeans.  The photo below is probably a harvested cornfield. Even though I still feel that the plains states are lacking in trees, it was much more barren some 150 years ago. This all changed when J. Sterling Morton moved to Nebraska.


 


In 1854 J. Sterling Morton, a journalist from Michigan, brought his family to the Nebraska Territory and became editor of Nebraska's first newspaper.  He and his wife were both nature lovers, and their new homestead was quickly planted with trees, shrubs and flowers.  Through his newspaper, Morton spread his enthusiasm for planting trees.  Many other pioneers missed the trees of their homelands and embraced his ideas for agricultural plantings of windbreaks and shade trees.  The pioneers also grew trees for fuel and building materials.

Morton proposed a tree-planting holiday to be called "Arbor Day" to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture.   The first "Arbor Day" took place on April 10, 1872 and over one million trees were planted in Nebraska!  Originally April 22nd (Morton's birthday and now Earth Day) became the official date for Arbor day. Now it is typically celebrated on the last Friday of April. As Arbor Day spread around the world, it is celebrated on different days to coincide with the optimum planting time for trees in that area.

Morton's home still exists and is now the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Arboretum and is located in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The surrounding area also includes Arbor Day Farm, Lied Lodge and much more.


 









More Trees Please

My husband and I have lived in several different parts of the country and over time decided that one thing we wanted was a home with trees. Not little stick trees that you see in all the new housing developments, but big mature trees. Years ago we built a house on a lot that had large mature trees. I was a plant novice at that time and did not realize until a few years later when they didn't leaf out in spring that they were American Elm trees. I cried the day they came and cut them down.

Now many years later I have a home with beautiful mature trees. We made sure none were elm trees this time. We have enjoyed them and nurtured them and admired their strength and beauty. Our trees  have brought us joy because of the all the wildlife they bring almost within our reach. A friend once said our house was like living in a tree house, because when you look out you are up high where the squirrels and birds live! We have sugar maple, ash, silver and Amur maple, spruce, pine, birch, mountain ash, mulberry, oak and willow on our property. They are not completely leafed out yet but here are a few pictures of some of our mighty trees.






Looking up the trunk of a large silver maple tree under the squirrel house.

Under the canopy of white birch, maple and ash trees.


When you celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day, I hope you remember this prayer for the trees.



The Forest's Prayer

"I am the heat of your hearth on the cold winter nights,
the friendly shade screening you from the summer sun,
and my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your
thirst as you journey on. 

I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table,
the bed on which you lie, and the timber that builds your boat.

I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your homestead,
the wood of your cradle, the shell of your coffin.

I am the bread of kindness and the floor of beauty. 
You who pass by, listen to my prayer:  do me no harm."

Traditional Portuguese Prayer




Natasha in Oz
Earth Day Spirit at the Heart of a Wizardess