In Lima, Peru—where spaying and neutering is practically unheard of—street dogs are a real problem. While some dogs in Lima are beloved pets, most are unloved and must fend for themselves on the streets. This is my small tribute to the dogs of Lima, from the pampered to the neglected and everywhere in-between.
As we welcome the new decade I hope for sustainability for the Earth and happiness for its people.
Bon Bini: “Welcome” in Papiamento, the language of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.
Today marks my one-year anniversary (and 52nd post) of blogging about nature. Thanks for being a reader!
Sentinel Butte, North Dakota, June 11, 2009
The wind shakes the leaves of the cottonwood tree like a million tambourines
The waves slap the shore like brassy symbols
The woodpecker taps out the beat like a snare drum
And the songbird carries the melody
Having just returned from a 4500-mile roadtrip, I’d like to recommend the following essential gear.
What I love about this vacuum-sealed mug:
It’s a little pricey, but worth it for sitting in the car for hours at a time. Available through Thermos and several online vendors in smoke, espresso, and stainless colors.
What I love about this microfiber towel:
At $26.50 it’s a little pricey, but worth it for traveling and camping. Available at REI in orange and green.
Yesterday, President Obama announced a call to service:
… I ask every American to make an enduring commitment to serving your community and your country in whatever way you can … Together, we will measure our progress not just in number of hours served or volunteers mobilized—but in the impact our efforts have on the life of this nation … We need your service, right now, at this moment in history. I’m not going to tell you what your role should be; that’s for you to discover. But I’m asking you to stand up and play your part. I’m asking you to help change history’s course.
Today, on Earth Day, as a Minnesota Master Naturalist, I pledge to volunteer at least 40 hours per year for environmental causes. My charity dollars and my free time are spent enjoying and protecting nature.
What’s your pledge?
Twitter is a mini-blog in which posts are limited to 140 characters. Now you can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/ecostrides. My most recent tweets are also embedded in the sidebar of this blog. My plan for Twitter is to write about enjoying and protecting nature, just as I do here.
Wow, a whole month has passed by since my last post. So much for my goal of blogging every day. It’s snowing like crazy today and I’m glad. It will give me at least one more chance to get out and cross-country ski or snowshoe. This winter I’ve only been cross-country skiing once and snowshoeing three times. I don’t want winter to be over yet because I don’t feel like I’ve taken advantage of it. It has been a cold one and maybe that’s why I haven’t been out much. I’m not exactly a die-hard. Then, we had an early thaw and there was no snow left to enjoy. So, with this new snowfall, I’m looking forward to an active weekend outdoors.
What I have been doing lately is planning a roadtrip for this summer. H and I will be taking the camper from Minnesota to Oregon (and back). The lucky dog gets to come along too! He loves the camper. Sometimes we’ll be sitting outside in a campground on a lovely day and Manchas will cry to go inside the camper. Makes me wonder.
I’m very excited for the trip! We will have the opportunity to visit two of my cousins. It will be great to catch up with them. Apart from the family reunions, some specific places that we’ll be camping are (click to see photo):
This will be a nature-based vacation since we’ll have the camper and the dog with us. I doubt we’ll be found in any museums along the way. But that is the way I like it. I’d rather soak in the scenery than a painting.
I’m creating a playlist of songs about nature for my iPod. I would think that nature would be a big inspiration for songwriters, but I can’t find many lyrics referencing nature. Any suggestions? Here’s what I have so far…