Tag: nature

A Year of Full Moons – July

The moon has reset and will soon start to wane. This is your monthly reminder that now is the time to release any bad habits or negative thoughts you might be holding onto. As our view of the moon shrinks, sliver by sliver, let it take that which you wish to release. Allow yourself the freedom to let go. It’s during this lunar phase that the growth of leaves on plants and trees starts to slow, because as the moonlight fades, the plants push their energy down to the their root systems. Focus on strengthening your own roots, the part of you from which everything else grows and flourishes.

The quote on the photo above is from one of my favorite books, The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. The story is enchanting and always inspires me to go out and chase the moon. I took the above photograph during our full July moon in Orlando, Florida, United States on July 2, 2012 at 9:12 p.m. EST, using my favorite point-and-shoot camera, a 2008 Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital Elph.

30×30 Challenge: Getting Outside, Week 2 Photo Collage

Not sure what I’m talking about? Catch up on the 30×30 Challenge here.

Another great week outside! This project is fun because it reminds me to look around and really enjoy everything that I’m seeing when I go for my mini-Nature Walks. I’ll continue to post this week’s 30×30 photos on Twitter and Facebook.

Where you able to get outside much in the last couple of days? Does it make you feel happier?

30×30 Challenge: Getting Outside, Week 1 Photo Collage

Not sure what I’m talking about? Catch up on the 30×30 Challenge here.

I’m happy to say that I was able to get outside for at least 30 minutes everyday last week. It was a drizzly and rainy week so there was an abundance of mushrooms! They only last a short while in the hot, sunny Florida climate so I tried to get pictures whenever I could. I’ll continue to post this week’s 30×30 photos on Twitter and Facebook.

Where you able to get outside much in the last couple of days? Does it make you feel happier?

Plant a Mint Bowl

On a recent trip to my local nursery I found these unique varieties of mint! I planted them in a terra cotta bowl and labeled them with copper plant markers, to keep track of the different varieties. As I was planting and rustling the leaves of the mint, it smelled wonderful in the air and my hands smelled so fresh.

The chocolate mint has a strong sent of mint with just a hint of chocolate and it is delicious sprinkled over some freshly chopped strawberries. The apple mint is a little more subtle and tastes delicious in a glass of ice water. Crush a few leaves between your fingers and drop them in the water, then swirl it around a bit. It makes a great summer afternoon treat. The sweet mint is wonderful dropped into a glass of strong black sun tea.

I just love the way it looks when different varieties of the same herb or flower are all planted together. Have you ever done that? What are your favorite plant mixes?

Gardening Journal: Killing Weed Seeds and Bugs in Compost

Ideally your compost pile will heat up enough during the decomposition process to kill most of the unwanted bugs and weed seeds that get into it. Sometimes this isn’t the case and you need a little extra help. You have a couple of options, some are more harsh than others and you want to balance your desire to kill the weed seeds and bad bugs with your desire to maintain the life of the beneficial organisms that are part of your compost.

Prevention
First and foremost of course, is trying to avoid weeds seeds and bugs making it through the decomposition process in the first place. One of the ways that you can ensure weed seeds are killed, is to put them in the hottest part of the compost pile, the center. If you’ve plucked some weeds from your garden that have gone to seed, make sure you bury them in the center of the pile and not along the outer edges where it doesn’t heat up as much.

Pasteurizing in the Oven or on the Stove
Sometimes weed seeds and bad bugs make it past the decomposition process, that’s when you can turn to pasteurization. This process is similar to sterilization and solar sanitization, but it is done at a lower temperature. The idea being that you heat the compost enough to kill the weed seeds and bad bugs, but not so much that you kill the beneficial organisms that you have worked so hard to cultivate. Work in small batches using fully decomposed compost and be forewarned, this process may make your house smell. Best to do it on a day when you can open the windows and let a breeze in!

The Nature Walk Project – Month 9: June

Location: Orlando, Florida, United States from 10:30am-11:30am
Weather: Sunny, windy and very low humidity, 75°F – High: 86°F Low: 73°F

Catch up on The Nature Walk Project: Month 1: October, Month 2: November, Month 3: December, Month 4: January, Month 5: February, Month 6: March, Month 7: April, Month 8: May

It’s officially hurricane season in Florida and there is no shortage of wind or rain. During a typical Florida summer we get a rain shower every afternoon, for about 20 minutes and nearly at the same time everyday. As I walk around the lake today, the wind is strong and constant. A downpour last night left everything very damp with a wonderfully earthy aroma coming from every direction, as the sun heats up the damp ground. I can’t actually photograph the wind for you, just the objects that it blows around, like the pages of my notebook above. I took this short video with my camera to give you a sense of the breeze as it whips through the cypress trees that grow along the lake. About 6 seconds in you can see one of the many birds that lives here, flitting from one tree to the other. I hope you’re enjoying the weather and nature where you are! This is June.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvHeEN69kuM]

30 x 30 Challenge: Getting Outside

I recently read about the David Suzuki Foundation’s “30 x 30 Challenge” to encourage people to get outside. It’s an easy concept, go outside and spend time in nature for 30 minutes a day, for 30 days. I love the simplicity of this and thought I’d give it try! What better way to kick off the second half of 2012, than with a nature challenge?

Follow me on Twitter to get daily updates and photos from my 30 minutes in nature. I’ll also do a weekly roundup of my photos and post them to Facebook and right here on the blog. I’ll kick it off with June’s Nature Walk post later today!

For my Canadian readers, there is a contest associated with the 30 x 30 challenge where you can win prizes and fun stuff. It starts today, so sign up quick if you’d like to participate! I’m in the US, so I don’t get to participate in the official contest, but you can bet I’ll be outside anyway!

Lovely Rainy Days

I just love rainy days. The thunder rolling in the distance, the sound of rain drops hitting my back porch, the smell of rain wafting through my open backdoor every time the wind blows, it’s all so cozy to me.

It makes me want to curl up on the sofa and read. Or write. Any time it rains, I picture writers everywhere snuggling up their big, comfy chairs taping away on their laptops. I imagine this how stories are written, so that’s how I think they should be read…snuggled up in a blanket wearing warm socks and the sound of rain outside, reminding you that this time is best spent reading and not worrying about the chores of the day.

The past few days have brought lovely rainy days, some of which I was able to spend lounging about, reading and writing. Do you enjoy a good rainstorm? Does it make you want to sip tea and read?

[slideshow]

The Nature Walk Project – Month 8: May

Location: Orlando, Florida, United States from 10:30am-11:30am
Weather: Sunny and slightly overcast, 70°F – High: 76°F Low: 63°F

Catch up on The Nature Walk Project: Month 1: October, Month 2: November, Month 3: December, Month 4: January, Month 5: February, Month 6: March, Month 7: April

Spring continues to bloom around the lake. Every time I visit this bit of nature I see more and more signs of life. The birds are more active, the tall grasses that line the pathways are bursting out of the ground and have begun to drape over the walkway. The fresh, bright green growth on the cypress trees is already filling in and beginning to darken. For months now, I have visited this lake and marveled at the different types of animals that live in and around it. It turns out, that even after 8 months, there is still something new to discover. During my recent walk, I saw a family of otters making their way along the edge of the lake to the island in the middle and I was able to snap a couple of pictures as they bobbed in and out of the water. This family of otters and all of the other little bits of life and nature that I saw are in the slideshow below…this is May.

[slideshow]

The Nature Walk Project – Month 7: April

Location: Orlando, Florida, United States from 10:30am-11:30am Weather: Sunny and windy, 77°F – High: 86°F Low: 63°F
Catch up on The Nature Walk Project: Month 1: October, Month 2: November, Month 3: December, Month 4: January, Month 5: February, Month 6: March

It’s April and Spring is official, even though the weather in Florida has felt like spring since late February, but that’s why so many of us love it here. It was a warm winter so there wasn’t ever a time where the landscape looked completely baron, but what little did turn brown and die, is now coming back in pretty shades of light green.

The animals are busier than they have been. I saw the first bunny of the season and with Easter a week away, it seems like perfect timing. This little bird stopped to cool off along the edge of the lake, it was fun to watch him splash around.