Happy Thanksgiving 2019 - Thankful for the Rain and Snow in Southern California Today!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

This Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2019 was a little different in the High Desert of Southern California where I live!  I woke up to a lawn and yard covered in that white stuff - SNOW!!!

Actually, I was thrilled!  

We need precipitation in Southern California - the forecast was for rain, but I had heard on the news Tuesday night that the snow level could drop to the 2000 foot level in Southern California -- and according to the NOAA, where I live in Quartz Hill is at the Elevation of 2513 ft.! ~~~ I figure that if we are getting this much snow, that the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernadino Mountains of Southern California will have 1-2 feet of snow -- and snowpack this winter --- and also that the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, which is a major indicator for the whole state of California will have some feet of snow -- and good snowpack for this winter, which makes me shout WooHoo!!!

It is about 8 PM -- and my yard is still white - covered with snow - and can't but wonder how long it will last.  The NOAA forecast for my location tonight is for a low of 32 - with Wind Chill Factor Factors at 20 - so I expect I will wake up to some snow Friday Morning with the Wind Chill Factor below freezing until 11AM or Noon - but with a high of 44, it may all be melted by Friday afternoon.

Decided I had to take some pictures of my yard - front and back - so, here they are!

This is my Back Yard today -- Behind my building where I live is a little Urban Forest that I love!

-- And I took a closeup of the tree in the right of the above photo to clearly show the snow on the branches:

My building (not the one showing in the photo - it is the building to the right) has an Apple Tree (where I picked Apples this late Summer/Fall) - and here it is covered with Snow!!!

And here is the Pine Tree right in front of my apartment - with snow on it:

And -- it snowed on my Rosemary Plant in my little container garden in my assigned Flower bed outside my apartment!!!  Got this photo, but it is a little blurry -- I did not want to go out waking in the snow, so I took the picture through my apartment window (the grid showing over the photo I think is the window glass registering on my photo).  I think the snow is very good for it, as it is an Evergreen Leaf Plant -- and it is a Mediterranean climate plant - and that climate has wet winters - so  this snow is good for the ecosystem I live in - including for the Biodiversity here!!!  (Forests here in California are in the California Floristic Province, a Biodiversity Hotspot !)

So, I am very Happy this Thanksgiving - I'm enjoying staying home and watching the snow - and snow fall outside my apartment!!!

I Agree - No Pebble Mine in Alaska! See A Video!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
--- For RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Etsy Shop -- or Privately


I have been reading about the proposed "Pebble Mine" in Alaska for years now.  Right away I was against it, but then I heard about it from Conservation Photographer, Robert Glenn Ketchum -- and have seen a number of his stunning photographs of the area in which they are proposing to put such a Mine.

See Robert Glenn Ketchum's Blog Series about Stopping the Pebble Mine here: http://rbtglennketchum.blogspot.com/search/label/BLOG%20%27No%20Pebble%20Mine%27

I have never made it to Alaska - though I thought about it years ago, but Robert Glenn Ketchum has spent time in Alaska - I first got his book about the Tongass National Forest and his activism there years ago - see his blog series on that here:  http://rbtglennketchum.blogspot.com/search/label/BLOG%20%27Tongass%20National%20Forest%27


Here is a Video from the NRDC - National Resource Defense Council - an effective environmental group I really got familiar with during the Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign (now Sierra Forest Legacy ) back in the late 1990's - early 2000's in California - as they were a major legal force in that campaign - including the Giant Sequoia National Monument Public Process, which I blogged about years ago .

But This is a Video about another major issue the NRDC is a major legal force on - the proposed "Pebble Mine" - and this Video deals with a major problem with the proposed "Pebble Mine" in Alaska - major Earthquake Problems, as the area in which they propose to put the mine has high seismic activity, which I read about somewhere years ago.  I, personally, totally agree with the NRDC and Robert Glenn Ketchum on stopping the "Pebble Mine" totally - as I think it would be total folly to create such a mine - for a whole lot of reasons at this point - and reading what the NRDC and Robert Glenn Ketchum have to say about it the best thing you can do (I am not going to try to re-say what they have said much better than I ever could). 

You also might want to follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Facebook Page, "No Pebble Mine":  https://www.facebook.com/pg/NoPebbleMine.photos/posts/

There is also a webpage on the NRDC website with all kinds of information on what has gone on with the battle to save Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine with its 50 Million+ wild fish in the runs there annually - world's greatest wild salmon fishery!!
Stop the Pebble Mine:  https://www.nrdc.org/stop-pebble-mine-save-bristol-bay

But right now, I recommend you watch this video for some accurate information about this major problem with the proposed "Pebble Mine" - get a good idea why it should not be done from this video - and If you feel like doing some Activism - there is a link at the end of the description of the video to a page at NRDC for sending a comment letter. -- I already sent a comment letter there myself.

I think the already existing, high successful Alaskan Salmon Fishery, which is where the "Pebble Mine" is proposed, is much more important than the proposed damaging open pit mine for more Gold and Copper, which I think we can live without.

Watch this Video!!!

Love Animals! See Wild Eagle Nest Live Cam from Big Bear in California

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

With my Love of Animals - Both Wildlife and Pets - if you have read anything I have written about that online, you will understand how much I LOVE this Live Cam of a Wild Bald Eagle Nest in Big Bear, California!!!

It is on You Tube:  https://youtu.be/5b2dUgK6VV4  

I have watched it several times since discovering it - with the Eagles doing different things.

You can check it at any time!

I live in the Antelope Valley - southwest of Big Bear and on the southern side / slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains - and a few times, when walking in the fields in Pearblossom - I was sure that I saw either an Eagle or Falcon or other such large bird way up in the sky - I figured that those large birds probably lived in caverns or trees in the Mountains.

But this is the first confirmation I got of Eagles living in and nesting in the Mountains of Southern California - Big Bear, California, where this Eagle Nest is - is in the San Bernadino Mountains - east of the San Gabriel Mountains, where I live.  I spent a week one December winter years and years ago in Big Bear - nice any time of year with a very nice drive up to there - but in mid-winter, like December, it is often covered in snow -- it was that week I was there.  

Apparently, if it is snowing, you can sometimes see it snowing on this Eagles Nest - since it is Live.

I tend to reflect the things I love in Life in my Arts and Crafts - here is a White Eagle I crocheted years ago in Filet Crochet (it sold, too)!

And here are a few more Filet Crochet pieces of Animals that I have made:

Thankful, But Terribly Worried this Thanksgiving - As Some Are "Blind To The Truth"

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

As this Thanksgiving was approaching - and the day finally came - I was thinking of all the things I am actually very grateful and Thankful for - But I can't help but also being Terribly Worried with some current events.

Big On Loving Nature - and Very Inspired By Nature - different things going on in Life tend to have a huge effect on me.

Going into all of them would take way too much more than one blog post - but, if you are curious you can check the "Nature" Label here on my blog for some that I have done blog posts on!

The most recent event affecting me has been the "Woolsey Fire", and the one thing I am so-o-o Thankful for today was to check that link - and find that it has finally been 100% contained.  The "Woolsey Fire" has been burning in my favorite area of the Santa Monica Mountains mostly - West of Kanan Dune Road to the Los Angeles County Line.  Boy, I have spent so many moments there since the 1980's that I cannot remember how many times - and my favorite hiking place in the Santa Monica Mountains, "Nicholas Flats" is in the "Woolsey Fire" area - and still Evacuated per today's Woolsey Fire Evacuation Map.  Also, still don't know the cause - the fire started over in Simi Valley and somehow ended up blowing all the way to the Santa Monica Mountains and some Coastal Areas.

So, Terribly Worried!!  Just Thankful that they got the "Woolsey Fire" contained - and I hope all the "hot spots" out.  With all the fires in California in forests I love - and having met Fire and Fuel Specialists and Firefighters when going to National Forest Meetings around California - I have learned much more than I ever would have thought I would about fire behavior and the forests of California.

But as a Nature Photography friend of mine said - the Santa Monica Mountains will recover - hopefully naturally regenerate where it burned - and after the Winter/Spring Rains, we may have a wildly beautiful show of wildflowers throughout the "Woolsey Fire" area!  (Got to look for something good in it all - NATURE REGENERATING!)

And speaking of Music I am Thankful for -- having been reading articles - and news about things - what really kept coming to my mind was something Singer/Songwriter Dan Fogelberg wrote a song about years ago.  Like I have mentioned in earlier blog posts - I knew him and his songwriting from our College Days at the University of Illinois - and I followed a lot of the Music he put on albums - and one of his songs on his album "The Wild Places" was something I could so, so, so identify and agree with - to the point that I borrowed his song title for this blog post:  "Blind To The Truth".

I noticed it in College -- and I found it true all throughout his albums - Dan Fogelberg had a way of reaching people with his lyrics and music.

For me, his song "Blind To The Truth" really "hit the nail on the head"!!

I am going to finish the blog post by quoting the last verse and ending Chorus of the song, "Blind To The Truth" - but you can see the full lyrics at "The Wild Places" on Dan Fogelberg's official website.

I agree with him:  

"Now there's laws that we must live by and they're not the laws of man
Can't you see the shadow that moves across this land
The future is upon us and there's so much we must do
And you know I can't ignore it and my friend neither can you"

"Unless you're...
Blind to the truth, blind to the truth
And you can't see nothin'
You're so blind to the truth, blind to the truth
But the judgment day is coming"

FOLKS!  We Really Can't Ignore It - There is So Much We Must Do! 

More Clean Energy - Solar and Wind, Leave Tar Sands in The Ground and No Tar Sands Pipelines

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber

Anyone who has read much of what I have written publicly has come across my writings about my Love of Nature and my concern about this planet, Earth, which is the foundation of writing this blog post.

I am really, really, really concerned about the development of the Tar Sands Oil in Canada and I have been reading about it on and off for years ... and with recent events I went back to reading about it - including some Science articles, all of which I will link to at the end.

Personally, after reading multiple articles from the NRDC to Scientific American to the National  Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicines - and information concerning the Ogallala Acquifer - I am firmly and irrevocably opposed to such pipelines as the Keystone XL (Tar Sands) and the Dakota Access (Fracked Oil).

I am on the email list for 350.org - and I would like to  quote from an email I got from Duncan Meisel  at 350.org on Jan. 25th, 2017 (along with a lot of other people on their email list), because of the truths in it, which I think everyone should know!

Quote:

Here's what you need to know about Trump's actions on Tuesday:

• He did *not* approve Keystone XL or Dakota Access. He briefly succeeded in confusing a lot of people on this point (including me, I will admit).

• On Dakota Access, he told the Army Corps of Engineers that the pipeline is in our "national interest" and told them to "consider" revoking the environmental review placed on it by the Obama Administration.

• On Keystone XL, he invited TransCanada to re-apply and if they do, mandated a final decision on the pipeline within 60 days and waived input from environmental agencies.

• And when TransCanada does re-apply, they no longer have permits in Nebraska, and their permits in South Dakota are being challenged.

• Trump also placed conditions on approval of the pipelines -- like limiting oil exports, and determining where the steel comes from -- that the oil companies might not accept.

I also think people should speak up, which is why I am writing this blog post.

I also, based on years of experiences, am firmly aware that there will be differences between people.

I am actually opposed not only to the "Tar Sands Pipelines" - you see, based on the facts I have read about the Extraction of Tar Sands and the Risks of doing it including, it looks like to me, huge destruction to an Ecologically Significant Boreal Forest Ecosystem in Canada - as well as disruption of critical carbon reservoirs and release of all kinds of greenhouse emissions in developing oil from the tar sands -- I think, in terms of  both short term and long term evaluation, it would be much better to just leave the Tar Sands in the forest!!!  

( Reference:  Page 5 of  https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/tarsandssafetyrisks.pdf  )

And I read several different references concerning the Risks of Tar Sands Pipeline and their leaking, which is very likely apparently as every one built and put into service to this date seems to have leaks and accidents in excess of what the company running them estimates.

I am familiar with the Kalamazoo River area in Michigan where the 2010 Tar Sands Oil Spill occurred - and was horrified about it.

How many Tar Sands Oil Spills, which are poisonous, can we endure???

Also - both the Keystone XL Pipeline and Dakota Access Pipeline go through areas over the Ogallala Acquifer - a huge source of water for our USA High Plains - and even though there are differing opinions on how Oil Pipeline leaks might get into and pollute the Ogallala Acquifer and how much of it would be affected - I sincerely doubt we should take the risk.  Remember ---

"Once depleted, the aquifer will take over 6,000 years to replenish naturally through rainfall" --- Quote from:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer 

So -- lets encourage growth of Solar and Wind as Energy Sources.

Lets leave the Tar Sands in Canada in the ground and stop destruction to Canada's Boreal Forest -- and no more Tar Sands Pipelines - especially like the Keystone XL - or Fracked Oil Pipelines like the Dakota Access - running through the Heartland of the USA.

References:

NoKXL NoDAPL Pipeline Pledge - Join the Pledge of Resistance:

http://act.350.org/sign/nokxl-nodapl-pipeline-pledge

Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks:
https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/tarsandssafetyrisks.pdf

NRDC Report:  Keystone XL Pipeline more of an economic liability than benefit:

https://www.nrdc.org/experts/danielle-droitsch/report-keystone-xl-tar-sands-pipeline-more-economic-liability-benefit

Scientific American - How Much Will Tar Sands Oil Add To Global Warming:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tar-sands-and-keystone-xl-pipeline-impact-on-global-warming/

Scientific American - The Ogallala Acquifer: Saving a Vital U.S. Water Source:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ogallala-aquifer/

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicines Project Pipeline Transportation of Diluted Bitumen:

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49461

Wikipedia - The Ogallala Acquifer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer

Feeding the Little Birds - Spring 2016

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Bonanza Booth or my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

I've had this Bird Feeder for years - the one pictured above.  That picture was one taken at the place I lived at 2001-2012 in the Antelope Valley of Southern California, but I still have it where I live now in another place - also with Trees and Birds.

Something funny happened yesterday and today, so I thought I would share it.

I periodically fill the Bird Feeder with Wild Bird Seed - it takes a varying amount of time for the birds to find it - and eat it.  In the picture about there are 5 birds around it - if you notice, it is a Smaller Bird Feeder and they are all Small Birds - which is part of my point today!

Yesterday I filled the Bird Feeder up to the top - sometime mid-morning.  A few hours later I checked and low-and-behold, I could see some of the birds had gotten to it because a noticeable amount of the bird seed was gone!

Then this afternoon, I took another look - boy - the Bird Feeder looked totally empty!!  So, this evening, I filled it again!!

*************************************

You see, where I live now - there are a lot of Trees and Bushes over about 65 acres and around low, mostly ranch-style buildings.

And - there are Lots and Lots of Birds -- All Sizes and Lots of different Kinds it seems to me.  But one thing that is very noticeable - is that there are Lots and Lots of Ravens - since moving here, I have said some times that "the Ravens Rule the Skies here"!!

Someone I know who runs an environmental group and who I have mentioned on my blog before, John Buckley of Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center wrote an interesting article on their website:

http://www.cserc.org/news/like-humans-ravens-can-cause-major-impacts-ecosystem/

I was surprised to see his article - but I understand his points in it - I find the Ravens here where I live to be very bold - they sometimes whoosh by me very close to my head as I walk through the trees - and they are exceedingly vocal at times!!  I actually like the Ravens, but John Buckley's article drew my attention to the problem between them and the Smaller Birds, which I also like very much - so-o-o-o ---

---- I realized that my relatively Smaller Bird Feeder was a way I could contribute to the survival of the Smaller Birds - my Bird Feeder is way too small for Ravens - and they do not come to feed on it, but Yesterday and Today - I saw and heard a whole bunch of  the Smaller Birds around here - around my little Bird Feeder!!

I have never seen the Ravens around here attacking a Smaller Bird's nest like John Buckley describes in his article - nor eating other smaller animals either -- I just usually see them flying around - or sitting around in trees or on the ground - or even walking around in the grass (what there is of it these days LOL) - very often pecking at something on the ground.  

Most of the Ravens around here seem very fat and satisfied.  I do not feed the Ravens at all - I don't know where they grab their food -, except for the seeds and whatever they find on the ground -- they don't particularly hang around the closed garbage cans on our 65 acres - but I am sure they are getting food somewhere .... but I am now on a Mission to make it easier for the Smaller Birds where I live to get food - my Bird Feeder!!

I have always loved watching birds - ever since I was a little girl, though I am not a real "Bird Watcher" with binoculars and all - I just like to watch them when I am around ... just the other day I noticed a lot of cheeping coming from this Big Bush at the corner of the building I live in -- this bush  is really big and thick - and I strongly suspect that there is a bird's nest in there - it is a rather thick bush, but not the kind Ravens sit on - and thick enough, I think, that the Ravens may not be able to get at that nest - at least I hope they won't!

Every so often I Crochet something with a Bird in it - in fact, one of my current "works-in-progress" is a rather large Filet Crochet picture of "Birds Nesting" (little ones by the way)!!  Here are some photos of completed Handmade projects of mine with Birds:

Bird of Peace

Proud Rooster by Ruth Sandra Sperling - RSS Designs In Fiber

Red Cardinal On A Branch

Lovebird In A Heart

Filet Crochet of an Eagle - Sold mid-2000's

On Earth Day 2016 I Planted A California Friendly Garden Juniper Shrub - and Yes Every Day is Earth Day!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Bonanza Booth or my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

Every Day is always, always Earth Day for me - but this year April 22nd I thought would be a good time in the spring to start working on my little container garden outside my apartment.

So I decided to add a new plant this year - and with the problems with the California Drought and the water restrictions - I wanted to get something that qualifies for a "California Friendly Garden" - and specifically has Low Water needs -- and I found it in a local Garden Nursery!! 

It is an "Old Gold Juniper" - it was right for me because I wanted something for a container garden - it is a shrub, so it can go in a large container in my apartment flower bed (versus a tree which might grow too tall) - and it is an Evergreen, which I love!!  On the plant tag, it says you can "Water once per week (in lieu of rain)" - which is perfect for our current water restrictions - and also for water conservation even when we do get out of the drought and water restrictions (if ever??)  I read about it several places online - apparently these shrubs have been known to live for 30 years - and they need little maintenance or pruning - my kind of long-term container garden plant!!

Here is my new, "Baby Old Gold Juniper" all planted!!

I'm Happy!!

And - my little apartment flower bed is doing quite well this Spring with the "El Nino" rains we got this Winter and Spring (more than I had ever seen since moving to the western side of the Antelope Valley) - we have Rose Bushes that must have been here for quite some years - last year they hardly bloomed at all - but this year with all the rain, they are blooming up a storm - ended up with some Rose Blooms leaning over into my 4 Year Old Rosemary plant (which winters very well here) - here are 2 photos:

1. Taken Early April 2016 - a Rose Bloom with 2 Buds leaning into the Rosemary Plant:

2. Taken today - with all 3 Roses in Full Bloom leaning into the Rosemary Plant

My Rosemary Plant is not just decorative - it is one of my herb plants that I harvest from on a regular basis for my salads - or other dishes I cook - as Rosemary is one of my absolute favorite spice herbs!!!  I have had one for years and years and years!!

And Rosemary is listed by Bewaterwise.com (Metropolitan Water District of Southern California)  at:

http://bewaterwise.com/pdf/50_Faves.pdf

in:

"Below is a list of the tried and true Favorite 50. They are every-bit-as-beautiful, not-nearly-as-thirsty options for a California Friendly® landscape."

And, Oh!  The Juniper I got is also listed on their website for a California Friendly Garden!!

http://www.bewaterwise.com/Gardensoft/plant_description.aspx?PlantID=6135

- which is not surprising as at that link for the Juniper, it says:  "Water: Low"

So, in my little environment around my apartment in the Antelope Valley - High Desert of Southern California, I think I did something rather good for this Earth Day - adding a beautiful plant that will live a long time - with low water needs for our California climate!!

My World Wide Knit In Public Day 2015 - Out in Nature in the Antelope Valley of California

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber
 - Get My Handmade in my Bonanza Booth or my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

Today, June 13, 2015 is "World Wide Knit in Public Day 2015" From what I understand, it is about celebrating All Fiber Arts in Public - which include my Crochet!

Above is a photo of my Tunisian Crochet project I was working on in Public today where I live - though I did not find a local event with other Fiber Arts friends, I like going outside - and I was on a street bench, sitting there crocheting away Publicly!!

Of course, I do this in different places all year long - but I wanted to make a point of it today - two of my activities that I enjoy the most in my life now is my Fiber Arts - and Nature - and today I combined both of them.

Below are some Photos I took today, as I was outside in the Western Antelope Valley of Southern California - crocheting and enjoying the views and Nature around me!

Looking West over the buildings where I live:

Looking North from 65th Street West - I do believe the mountains in the background are:

- The Darker ones at the bottom that stand out more are the Eastern End of the Tehachapi Mountains.

- The Vague ones behind and sticking out a little above them, I do believe is the Sequoia National Forest - the most Southern tip of the Sierra Nevada!  Yes, on a Clear day you can vaguely see the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance from where I live!

The Eastern Sky of the Antelope Valley - what I kept looking up at as I crocheted!

Lovely Day - and I love doing my Crochet - outside in Nature!!

With My Lifelong Love of Nature - Every Day Is Earth Day

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Bonanza Booth or my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

My "Avatar" or Identifying Icon - A Crochet Tapestry of Nature on Earth!

So-o-o .............. It's Earth Day!!

Well, I'll tell you - it sure is glad to see that there is Worldwide acknowledgement of the need for support of an "environmental movement" on our planet!

But for me - well!  It is ALWAYS ON MY MIND!!

Yes - we need to take care of our environment - to learn to take it into consideration in all our daily activities - at Home, at Work, at Play.

I LOVE the Nature on this planet - from Pets and Plants at Home - to Trees everywhere - to Mountains, Valleys, Seas, Lakes, Rivers, Fields ..... !

One of the reasons I chose the place I live right now is that I can walk outside and Be In Nature - all I have to do is walk out, walk off the porch and starting walking around under Trees and by Bushes, watch the Birds (lots of Ravens live here) - not as great as being in Wilderness - but good enough for "instant Nature"!

I try to live "Green" - Green Commute, Green Economy, Conservation of Water, Energy - Recycling, Re-using - it is a way of LIFE for me!

And I show it in my Arts and Crafts - Photography, Crochet Tapestry, Filet Crochet, Knitting Intarsia -- and here are a few examples of how I Celebrate Nature on Earth!!!

From Giant Sequoias in the Sierra Nevada .......

....To the Bird Feeder with Birds in a Tree outside an apartment I lived in .....

...... to a Scene on a back road in the Santa Monica Mountains ......

.... to fields I walked through in the Antelope Valley!!

..... to making a "Tree Tapestry" Pillow - every stitch my own .....

.... to crocheting in Fine Threads the type of Mountain Cabin scene I love ......

.... to figuring out how to crochet a Bouquet in a Vase, so it looked like the Cabbage Roses I saw on a Walk!!

To a little thing like this Key Chain with Irish Crochet Roses and Leaves!

Well, I have the Nature on Earth Every Day in my life, because I want to - and I share it with others!  Do You???

My Top 10 Parks - The Ones That Really Made A Difference In My Life - Part One

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade on Artfire and Privately

My Crocheted Tree Tapestry - Inspired By All The Hours and Days I've Spent With Trees

Spending time with Social Media - all kinds of comments pass before my eyes when I am on the computer, but when I saw The Wilderness Society tweet --

'If you put together a "top ten national parks list", what would make the cut?'

-- it caught my eye, because going to Parks and Forests all my life has had such an affect on my life that I cannot really measure it - it helped make me who I am.

So, I thought about it - and I decided to come up with my Top 10, but they cannot all be "National Parks" - because some of the most influential parks for me personally weren't those!

It all really started the summer when I was either 5 or 6 years old and our Summer Day Camp in Chicago, IL went for a hike in a local Forest Preserve of Cook County.  I have never forgotten it because for some reason it made a huge impression on me and I have Loved Forests ever since that time!! ---- I can still remember being this small, little girl with all these other kids and the Camp Counselor who was leading us down this trail - showing us different plants - including the lesson I have never forgotten about: Poison Ivy and how to recognize it to avoid it (and I have never in my life missed recognizing Poison Ivy so I didn't get the rash LOL)!

But my Top 10 reflect certain times in my life.  I am going to list them chronologically for me - as my life went along. This blog post will cover the first 3 of the 10 in the years before I went to the Western United States.

1. Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

Ontonagon, Upper Peninsula of Michigan

I was a teenager and my family would go there for summer vacations - it was where on a family hike I had the experience of seeing Bear Cubs wild in the Forest - and then there was one August we could see the Northern Lights one night on a Lake Superior Beach somewhere around Ontonagon and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (southern part of the Keweenaw Peninsula of the Upper Peninsula of the State of Michigan). -- More unforgettable moments!

2. Allerton Natural Area of Allerton Park & Retreat Center

I was in College at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign when I went to some kind of orientation at "Allerton" where I was immediately impressed with the place - but it was some distance from the campus in the twin cities of Urbana-Champaign and it was some months before I got to go there a second time and just wander.  -----------------Over the years from early 1971 until I moved away (to the St. Louis, MO area), I found ways to go there and explore all areas of what to me was at that time in my life a wonderous place to go walking as shown on this Map  - over on the more "Formal Side" as I think of it, you see Works of Art literally out in the forest:  Beautiful Sculptures such as The Centaur and The Sun Singer - then Adam, The Three Graces and The Girl are more right in the Formal Gardens - and then there is the Avenue of the Chinese Musicians playing all kinds of instruments, which I just loved; and the Walk to the "House of the Golden Buddhas" then over to the Fu Dog Garden - and then down a path to the Goldfish Pond (sort of in the woods) - you just have to go there to know how it is with the Artwork and the woods!!  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------But it was the other side of the Sangamon River - what I call the wild side - that I loved the "Green World" of that Illinois Plains Forest - I would spend hours walking around country roads to get over in there and walk around the paths!  I was very lucky to have a friend who bought a 40 acre farm bordering Allerton's "wild side" - for years I would be visiting there and accessing the paths of Allerton's forest from that farm!  This was my first experiences of hiking in real forest for more than just a short vacation and over and over down the same paths - sometimes alone - seeing all kinds of plants and wildlife: Raccoons and Snakes and Flowers such as "Jacks-in-the-Pulpit" - and, of course, the birds!  Such fun it was for me - and in many ways enlightening.  It was years later I learned that only a small portion of that "Wild Green World" was native, virgin forest - the other hundreds of acres of it were forest naturally regenerated through the work of Biologists from the University of Illinois Biology Dept.!

3. Shawnee National Forest

Southern Illinois

Going to the Shawnee National Forest was my second series of more adult experiences out in wild forest - hiking down paths in real forest.  This was done on weekends when I could go with a friend when I was living and working in St. Louis, MO.  Across the Mississippi River from St. Louis on the southern tip of Illinois, it was a lot of fun to go over there - especially when one of the ways going across the river, we took a ferry across the Mississippi!  Driving down country roads was a favorite pass-time of me and a friend - we did some in Missouri, but it was the hiking in the Shawnee National Forest that was the "wildest" and I appreciated the most - and I remember driving down a road and stopping because of a Turtle sunbathing in the middle of the road!!  Yes - we stopped for Wildlife!!

Well - this is it for now - To Be Continued .... the Top 10 Parks of my Life!

Presenting Handmade Celebrating Wildlife

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - My Handmade Designs on ARTFIRE

Handmade Celebrating Wildlife

  Curated By: RSSDesignsInF...

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Paintings

I have always loved WILDLIFE - ever since I was a little girl!

From the Birds and Squirrels I saw walking to and from School daily - to seeing some in the Zoo - to seeing some on hikes - and later, when an older child, seeing them when we vacationed in Forests!

I've gone hiking in Forests in various different parts of the USA - been feet away from Deer, Foxes, Raccoons, Skunks, Cottontail Rabbits, Kangaroo Rats (in the Carrizo Plain - they look like very big hopping Rabbits) - across a Valley from a Bear family in the Forest on the North Peninsula of Michigan - and many kinds of Birds - including the Ravens that rule the sky where I live now in the Antelope Valley and sometimes swoosh by not too far from me as I walk through the Gardens here!

They make me Smile!  They are an inescapable part of our lives - the "web of life" on Earth - and they add something special to the experience of Life!

Above is a Collection I made of Handmade items I found on Artfire - all of them somehow depict some Wildlife!

They would make wonderful Gifts I think - either for the person who is already a Wildlife-lover - or some are even educational.

These are the Artisans represented in this Collection:

Azure Dandelion
Quilling by Sandra White
RSS Designs In Fiber
Crafts of the Past
Blue Morning Expressions
Designs In Stained Glass
luvncrafts
Umeboshi
Shadow Dog Designs
Walk In The Woods LLC
Sew Amazin
Quilt Tops