On Weather by Jennifer Schlick

On Weather by Jennifer Schlick

As I type, the wind is chasing clouds across a pale blue sky and making the boughs of the Scotch Pine and serviceberry trees outside my window bounce and sway. Now, here’s something a bit weird: Until recently, I don’t know why, I didn’t think of weather when I...
Ash by Katie Finch

Ash by Katie Finch

Small things can have big impacts. Last weekend my extended family gathered on my parent’s eastern Pennsylvania property because of a beetle. They recently cut down over 30 trees in their yard. It seems like a radical and destructive move. As we spent the weekend...
How do we know what we know about Nature?

How do we know what we know about Nature?

Teaching in a school yard the other day, a third grade boy pointed at the ground and shouted “There’s a deer track!” Another girl thought it was a rabbit track. To prove their points, they simply talked louder. Obviously, if you can talk louder than the other person,...
Nests

Nests

There is both skill and art involved in taking natural materials and fashioning them into a useful object. Humans have done this in the past, harvesting plants and turning them in shelters, clothes, furniture and tools. I can’t help but wonder how they figured it out,...
Apples by Katie Finch

Apples by Katie Finch

The pictures of spring flowers in children’s books are bright pinks, purples and yellows. But look around at all the white flowers – in the fields, on the shrubs and in the trees. And as your eyes scan the landscape and are drawn to the tree in a coat of white,...