Posted: September 29, 2021
With fall colors beautifying the landscape, some people drive through mountains, where spectacular bursts of color cloak many trees. For people who can’t or don’t want to travel, there are easier ways to see the changing colors. Yesterday, I took a walk along the riverine corridor through part of Farmington, New Mexico, where I live.
Posted: September 14, 2021
Do you have trees in your yard? Are there trees in your neighborhood? If you don’t have trees nearby, perhaps there are trees around your school. If you can find a nearby tree where it is safe for you to spend some time, take a notebook and a pen or pencil with you. Sit under
Posted: September 2, 2021
A unique and delightful quilting store draws customers from far and near at 201 S. Church in Aztec, New Mexico. Called Quilt It! Ya Ya, it contains just about anything a quilter’s heart could desire. To me, what is also fascinating about the store is the maple tree that stands in front of it. That
Posted: August 19, 2021
Just as mothers help to make a family strong and connected, mother trees in forests do the same thing for other trees and vegetation. Ecologist Suzanne Simard recently wrote a book about that called Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. She works at the University of British Columbia. Her book has
Continue Reading “Mother Trees Keep Forests Healthy”
Category: Blog
Tags: carbon, climates, connection, film rights, Finding the Mother Tree, forests, heal, mother trees, nurture, resilient, share, shelter, survive, Suzanne Simard, water
Posted: August 3, 2021
There is an interesting farming experiment going on in England. It wants to find out how planting trees on farms will benefit the soil and livestock. Andy Gray, who owns Elston Farm in Devon, is part of that experiment, which involves seven farms in southwest England. Devon is located 196 miles south-southwest of London. Gray
Continue Reading “Does Combining Trees with Farmland Improve Crops?”
Category: Blog
Tags: agroforestry, biodiversity, carbon, cattle, deer, drought, England, experiment, farming, flooding, Guardian Weekly, robots, Rothamsted Research, silvopasture, Soil Association, tractors
Posted: July 15, 2021
I learned a new word when I read some articles in the Treehugger newsletter. It is a wonderful newsletter that helps you find all kinds of information about more natural and earth friendly ways of doing things. Find out more about it at https://www.treehugger.com/ The word I learned is coppice. It is pronounced cop (as
Continue Reading “Coppice – A New Word to Me”
Category: Blog
Tags: coppice, crafts, family project, fence posts, grow, harmony, natural, permaculture farming, sprouts, Treehugger, woodlands
Posted: July 2, 2021
When I wrote my recent children’s fiction picture book, If I Were a Tree, What Would I Be?, I drew on experiences I’d had over several years with many different trees. The book tells about two children who love trees. They can hear them with their hearts. They make friends with a cottonwood. The tree
Continue Reading “If I Were a Tree, What Would I Be?”
Category: Blog
Tags: bend, changes, children, communicating, connect, cooperation, difficulties, fiction, flow, friends, hearts, hope, moving, picture book, trees
Posted: June 16, 2021
A tall juniper tree in my front yard lends its shade to the hollyhock plant that grows near it. The shade keeps the hollyhock from getting too much sun. Plants, like people, enjoy the sun. But many plants also sometimes need shade so they don’t get too hot. We’re that way too. It’s fun to
Posted: June 1, 2021
This week, my dog, Peanut, found great pleasure in chasing a toad. The traumatized toad tried to hide in a large mum beside the house. Peanut circled the mum, making sounds between a bark and an excited whimper. Unfortunately, the mum took a beating. The toad found other shelter in a coiled up hose. Peanut
Posted: May 5, 2021
Have you ever noticed how many different colors there are in your own front and back yards? There are lots of them! Sometimes the colors are different shades of pink or blue or purple. We don’t have names for all the different shades of yellow, red, or green. If somebody tried to make up names
