Happy Easter

As a child I heard my mother singing songs she loved;

Que Sera Sera-What Will Be, Will Be sung by Doris Day,

When I Fall in Love sung by Nat King Cole,

And the old hymn In the Garden.

That last song is the one I'm thinking of today as I am walking 'in the garden.'

"I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses.

And the voice I hear falling on my ear the Son of God discloses."

Come celebrate new life and fresh starts with me as I stroll around my backyard.

Mark alerted me to the first California Poppy of the season. See the green buds that look like trumpets.

The white Azaleas are opening their faces to the sun each day.

I don't know what this wonderful bulb is, but it has delighted me every Spring since Karen and I planted a variety of bulbs in the shortened days of fall several years ago. The purple buds in the center will continue to burst into bright stars.

Go outside. Take your camera. Look through a fresh lens for signs of life.

Listen to the birds, the frogs, the wind, the rain.

"He speaks and the sound of his voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing.

And the melody that he gives to me within my heart is ringing."

Be Refreshed and Renewed

With Heart

Happy Easter, Mama

Swamper

 Swamper: Letters from a Louisiana Swamp Rabbit.

by Amy Griffin Ouchley

My copy arrived today!

I was eager to return from my daily nature walk

so I could go to Redwood Corner to read.

In this book, a swamp rabbit shares his life and his environment
with his human friends through twelve letters.

This beautifully written book meets the requirements of all ages of humans
who enjoy the wonders of nature.
It also meets standard requirements in life and environmental sciences
for 4th through 7th grades. It is reader friendly.

My literary sister-in-law Sheri, made sure to be present at Amy's first book signing

at Grandmother's Buttons in St. Francisville, LA.

You can see that my brother Bryan was very smug because he got his copy before I got mine.

Amy is a special person because she:

is a naturalist and environmental educator.

remains my dear childhood friend.

became a grandmother just a few days before I did.

and encourages me to follow my dreams and passions.

You can buy her book at Louisiana State University Press, www.lsupress.org,

and at Amazon Books, www.amazon.com/books.

Amy encourages Swamper's followers to research the rabbits in their own area of the world.
I'm sketching and learning about jackrabbits' habits here in Northern California.
What about you? Do some research. 

Sh! Reading 

With Heart

Happy St. Patrick's Day

The first green of Spring!

These three greens remind me of St. Patrick's 3-leaved shamrock he used 

to spread a Trinity of Good News.

Brought to you from

My California patio,

My little brother's Louisiana square foot farming,

And from adorable brothers in their Mississippi front yard.

How are you celebrating Spring's first green today?
Go outside and find some evidence of life. Grab a friend to share it with.

Going Green

With Heart

Dancing Leaf

My grandson found this leaf in the meadow in his big backyard. If you look closely, it twists a little, and it looks like a dancer turning. He even showed his Mama with his body.

She thought I'd be proud to know, and I am.

Over a year ago I showed him how to look at a tree or leaf and to mimic it with his body. I'm pleased that he picks up on his grandmother's nature play with him.

Smiling 

With Heart

Trout and Sneaky Pete, Post 13

Subject: Oh! No!

Margaret...just looked in the tank. Yep, we missed one.

We need to make a trip to the Reservoir. Call me.

Nancy

We carefully carried Sneaky Pete to swim with his 'class.'

He quickly swam up under a floating leaf to hide.

Swim free! 

Feed on small water insects and plant material.

Find shady places to hide.

School with fellow fry.

Hover over trout colored gravel.

Grow, fish. Grow! 

See! There he is opening his mouth as he darts around in his new habitat.

I hope this gift of art from my grandson is the only fish I'll see when I get home.

Finally, I hope,

With Heart

Trout Release, Post 12

 Release Day,  March 7, 2013

Partly Cloudy

Chilly 38 degrees

Warming to 55 degrees

Slight Breeze

1, 2, 3,

The task of dipping out all the fry and carefully placing them into the bucket for transport to Lafayette Reservoir begins early in the morning before the students arrive. We sweep over the gravel to make sure no fry are hiding.

We take a last look at our 23 tiny rainbow trout before we release them at water's edge.

Click on the bucket above or the cup below for a closer look.

We feel tender emotions with our partner as we carry our trout to the shallow water.

We hope they are safe there among the grasses.  

We send them off with a fish wish.

This one is a good wish for people as well as for trout.

This is my favorite picture of the day.
Voluntary note taking of the discussion with the biologist.

Goodbye to Lafayette Reservoir and a special day at water's edge.

Oops! To be continued
With Heart

Trout and Dr. Seuss, Post 11

My grandson has been telling me about Dr. Susan activities at his preschool all week.  

"Today we celebrated his birthday."

At home his mama read Wish for a Fish to his brother and him. 

A few years ago her daddy read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to her sister and her.

In honor of Dr. Seuss we counted trout in our tank today.

In Post 10 I signed off, Seeking More Fry. Now we've doubled our count to 21.

The fry swim so fast it takes a few tries to get an accurate number.

The fry are brown when they first swim up out of their hiding places. 

They're about 1 inch long. 

If you'd seen the newest to appear today you'd think it was happy to be free!

It darted fast to check out the surface of the water, then back to the gravel bed.

"They are swimming. Their fins I can see. When we look at them they start to scatter."

We noticed the fry later become silver and develop vertical marks on their sides called parr marks.

At this stage they are another quarter inch longer.

This student drew the silvery fry and showed the parr marks.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

With Heart