Category Archives: nature

“no mow,” said the bee.

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bee kind

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“for this,
let gardens grow, where beelines end,
sighing in roses, saffron blooms, buddleia;
where bees pray on their knees, sing, praise
in pear trees, plum trees; bees
are the batteries of orchards, gardens, guard them.”
― Carol Ann Duffy, The Bees

hard wood.

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the class discovered this tree with magical writing all over it
and even though he’s only mastered the alphabet this year
‘a’ chose to read it out loud to everyone
in his own magical language
a master translator at work.
—
“he was made of hard wood.”
-hungarian proverb
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Arborglyphs, dendroglyphs, silvaglyphs or modified cultural trees
is the carving of shapes and symbols into the bark of living trees.

at last, may.

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yes it was yesterday, i think they may have over-celebrated and lost count. 

the fairy dance

the soft stars are shining,

the moon is alight;

the folk of the forest

are dancing tonight:

o swift and gay

is the song that they sing:

they float and sway

as they dance in a ring.

o seek not to find them,

the wee folk so fair;

they’re shy as the swallow

and swift as the air:

if you come, they are gone

like a snowflake in may:

like a breath, like a sigh,

they vanish away.

 

-katherine davis (1892-1980)

 

 

 

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image source: peter gray’s vintage art and postcards

crowds.

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” i love places where there are crowds of trees.”

-nitin namdeo

 

 

 

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scio woods county preserve, ann arbor, mi, usa

wonderful day.

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back at the lake for the first time this spring

 

 

 

 

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“this is a wonderful day, i have never seen this one before.”

-maya angelou

 

 

 

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irish hills, michigan, usa – spring 2022

on earth day, and every day.

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kinder in their natural habitat capturing the ever-elusive giant stick

 

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“live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink,

taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the Earth.”

-henry david thoreau

rocks.

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it took a while and a team of busy gatherers

but the kinder were happy to announce

they had collected and lined up

79 rocks

and that equals 1 museum. 

 

—

“as with other phases of nature, I have probably loved the rocks more than I have studied them.’

-john burroughs

crystals.

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crystals shine and drape

making chandeliers

out of the ordinary.

—

“it is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam.

this crisp winter air is full of it.”

— John Burroughs

memoir.

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the kinder wondered what happened to the big, old tree they used to play under

it was a good tree

we sat under it when it was hot in the sun and its shade kept us cool

we collected pretty leaves that floated down from it in the fall

it was on a hill and we ran by it in the winter when we were playing in the snow

pieces of it had been falling off for a very long time

we guess that maybe it was very old and very sick and it was getting too tired

 the kinder began to put its little pieces back on to decorate it

we hope that in the spring

a new sapling will come up near where the old tree used to stand so tall.

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“a tree’s wood is also its memoir.”     

-hope jahren

outside.

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 outside 

 

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“i cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”

-nathaniel hawthorne