Gardens are coming into bloom

Butterflies love Liatris spicata, gayfeather, denizen of the prairies which blooms from top down . . . Also known as marsh blazing star, a member of the aster family.

The lake

We call L. Ontario 'the lake' because of its powerful pull and presence.

Spring!

Love the Wild Swan

"I hate my verses, every line, every word.

Oh pale and brittle pencils ever to try

One grass-blade's curve, or the throat of one bird

That clings to twig, ruffled against white sky.

Oh cracked and twilight mirrors ever to catch

One color, one glinting

Hash, of the splendor of things.

Unlucky hunter,

Oh bullets of wax,

The lion beauty, the wild-swan wings, the storm of the wings."

--This wild swan of a world is no hunter's game.

Better bullets than yours would miss the white breast

Better mirrors than yours would crack in the flame.

Does it matter whether you hate your . . . self?

At least Love your eyes that can see, your mind that can

Hear the music, the thunder of the wings.

Love the wild swan.

Robinson Jeffers January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962

Eco is from the Greek meaning 'house'

"Eco' ~ where does this prefix come from? Oh, from the Greek, οἶκος, meaning "house" where assemblages of plants and animals form a society of interdependent systems within a particular habitat . . . . or . . . . house. Yes. Music for the Earth House . . . . Metamorphosis from Philip Glass

passing through

You can feel the excitement of migrating birds now. Here are two Canadian Geese coming in at twilight across Braddock Bay, L. Ontario in early April. Hawks, raptors, songbirds, owls, ducks, swans . . . . April is their month. For more: Braddock Bay Raptor Research/Rochester, NY.

Conservation will fail unless it is better connected to people

"Conservation will fail unless it is better connected to people," says Rochester native Peter Kareiva, Chief Scientist and Director of Science at The Nature Conservancy. Eden Home agrees. He says "the obvious connection between conservation and people comes from the benefits nature provides people - everything from clean water and flood control, to fiber from forests, and fish from aquatic ecosystems. The scientific and practical challenge lies in developing credible tools that allow routine consideration of nature's assets [or ecosystem services] in a way that informs the choices we make everyday at the scale of local communities and regions, all the way up to nations and global agreements." Amazing! Research on this approach is being conducted as part of a collaboration between World Wildlife Fund, Stanford University and The Nature Conservancy in the form of the Natural Capital Project.