Getting Ready for Upcoming Holidays - Thanksgiving - Chanukah - Christmas - New Years? See Artisan Handmade for Decor or Gifts or To Wear!

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

Over the Years I have become acquainted "online" with a number of people who do real Artisan Handmade - so, I am glad to present some of them on a Pinterest Board - with some of their Handmade suggested for the Fall / Winter Holidays in 2017.  There is:

• Jewelry
• Beads for Making Jewelry
• Scarves and Hats
• Decor
• Photography Fine Art
• Painting Fine Art
• Crochet and Knitting
• Party Supplies

-- All are created by the Indie Artisans selling them online!

You can go to the Pinterest Board in the widget above - and click through the Pins on it --

-- and here is a list of a few of these Artisan Friends Shops:

Adore By Nat

Blonde Peach Jewelry

Blue Morning Expressions

Butterfly In The Attic - Colleen Cornelius

Covergirl Beads

Crafting Memories

Kats All That

Linor Store Jewelry By Linda Blatchford

Marcia McKenzie Art

Pretty Gonzo

Resetar Glass Art

Sew Amazin

Shadow Dog Designs Jewelry

Solana Kai Designs

The Singing Beader

Umeboshi Jewelry Designs

--- And you can always find RSS Designs In Fiber Handmade Fiber Decor and Personal Accessories in these Shops:

Etsy

Bonanza 

On Fire For Handmade

I've made and bought Handmade most of my life - since I was a young girl.

Maybe you can find something just right for your Holiday celebrations from these Artisans!

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???

Tulips in Arts and Crafts on Artfire

Ruth Sandra Sperling 

RSS Designs In Fiber - My Handmade Designs on Bonanza - or on Etsy - or Privately

TULIPS have apparently been a rather popular subject in various Arts and Crafts for hundreds of years.  I am thinking mostly of Visual Arts, such as Painting, Drawing and Photography in the Fine Arts -- and Embroidery and Lace in the Fiber Arts (not including the Art of Poetry).

After some searching for particular Handmade creations of Tulips on Artfire, I came up with this Collection:

Tulips in Spring -- Hand-Crafted, an Artfire Collection curated by RSS Designs In Fiber 





This Collection contains a variety of Arts and Crafts items, all in Handmade and Fine Art on Artfire, that feature the TULIP !!

APPLIQUE
BEADWORK
CARD (PAPER)
CROCHET
GLASSWORK
LACE
LAMPWORK BEAD
PAINTING
PHOTOGRAPHY
QUILLING
QUILTING



This is a Closeup of one of the 8 Tulips:

 -- Which is in my 22 1/2 Inch Round Fine Thread Crocheted Lace Tulip Doily in this Collection, "Tulips in Spring - Hand-Crafted"

Crocheted Lace Pink Tulip Ring Doily

(Please Note:  I crocheted this finished product - the pattern is not of my creation.)

Check the Collection on Artfire to see these individual items with TULIPS in detail -- or check online to see what other Arts and Crafts items you can find with TULIPS!!

Writing Letters to Save the Tongass National [Rain] Forest -- Again!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - My Handmade Designs on ARTFIRE
 -- and in the SHOPPING MALL by PAYVMENT on FACEBOOK



It seems like it has been going on forever - the ecological riches of Alaska - those who want to "plunder" them for short-term economic gain -- and those who are forever fighting to Save them because of their Global Ecological significance!



Though I had heard about it before, it was when I acquired the book by Robert Glenn Ketchum, "THE TONGASS ALASKA'S VANISHING RAINFOREST" (copyright 1987) in 1988 that I saw the riches of that forest in his photographs and read about his on-the ground adventures there.  Though I have never been there, this book brought me closer to what is really there.

MY PHOTO OF MY COPY OF ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM'S BOOK ON THE TONGASS

Here are two Quotes From "The Refuge of the Rain Forest" in "THE TONGASS ALASKA'S VANISHING RAINFOREST" by Robert Glenn Ketchum with Carey D. Ketchum:

"As we flew over the monumental landscape in a tiny bush plane, the greenness of the world below commanded all out attention.  Green of a richness unlike any shade of this color you have ever known.  Green of more varieties and nuances than you can imagine.  Green in every crack in every wall. Green covering the floors of the valley.  Green
even in the milky waters flowing out of the glaciers.  And everywhere that it is green, life abounds."

"Old-growth temperate rainforest once dominated the West Coast from Northern California to Kodiak Island in Alaska.  Remnants of old growth, such as the Hohn Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, are scattered along the Pacific Coast.  But, beautiful as they are, they are only remnants.  The Tongass is a world
unto itself, and for centuries it has remained virtually undisturbed.  Now a forest that has achieved full maturity, it has reached a steady state, encompassing trees of all ages, dominated by old monarchs of large size.  Beneath their canopy, younger trees grow toward the light, ready to replace any of the giants that might succumb to wind, rot, insects, or disease.  In the understory, herbs, shrubs, and vines grow in profusion.  Old trees that die and fall open windows to the sky that are filled by the most vigorous younger trees.  Lichens and moss grow everywhere on the forest floor as well as in the canopy.  The decaying trunks of trees that have fallen become "nurse" logs, simultaneously decomposing into soil and serving as seedbeds for new growth.  Biologists refer to this as a forest of uneven age, and consider it to be the most productive and diverse."

I don't know how to communicate to the readers the vast Ecological Value of this National [Rain] Forest - except by sharing with you photos and what others have written and said about it.

 -- Here is a video from Audobon Alaska -- it says and shows the key points on protecting this Global Treasure!!                                                               

In a recent response to the recent attempts of a corporation, Sealaska Corporation, to acquire 65,000 acres of the Tongass National Forest for them to commercially log - including clear-cutting Old Growth trees - for their corporate short-term gain - apparently with no consideration for the Ecological Values of this land or with any 
attempt at conserving these Globally significant values - 300 scientists (listed in the document) wrote this "An Open Letter from Over 300 Scientists on Protecting the Tongass National Forest", which is embedded at the end of this post!



For me it is all pretty much covered in this statement in this Letter, which has a number of Footnotes referencing research and statements from prominent scientists in Forestry Resources and Research:

"When rainforests are logged, much of their stored carbon is released as a greenhouse gas pollutant during site preparation, manufacture, and transport of wood products, which in the case of the Tongass, involves long distances to the Pacific Rim. These losses are not made up by storing carbon temporarily in wood products or by  planting trees, as the on-site reduction in carbon storage from logging takes at least 200 years to return to about the same amount of stored carbon in the uncut old-growth forest."

The reference (5) for this statement in the letter is:
5Harmon ME, Ferrell WK, Franklin JF. 1990. Effects on carbon storage of conversion of old-growth forests to young forests. Science 247:699–702. -- 



 -- including a Forestry Scientist who I have known of for years - and who I have heard speak -- and even emailed with some:  Dr. Jerry F. Franklin -- so I personally feel I can trust this data!!



200 years at least to attempt to restore the same amount of stored carbon that would be released if this Old Growth in the Tongass National Forest is logged???? 


-- And I am afraid that I am not sure of any guarantees of that restoration happening it in that time - with current conditions and Climate Change, we may never be able to have this same Old Growth that they want to remove - again!!  I heard this being discussed by scientists at a Science Workshop in 1999 put on by the Sierra Nevada Framework of the US Forest Service.



We don't have the 200 years on Earth, anyway, I am afraid -- We simply cannot afford to allow such logging in the Tongass National Forest.


How much more do you want to read to be convinced??



I am writing my Senators and the President in this case -- it is said that even if they already agree with you, they need to receive comments to support and back their positions on these things -- so write I will!!




Do you want to?? -- You can!! -- Comments on public lands are allowed - and even welcomed by some - in the United States of America!!


For further Scientific and Agricultural reading -- you might want to check these papers online:

1. HOW MUCH WILL FEEDING MORE AND WEALTHIER PEOPLE ENCROACH ON FORESTS by Paul E. Waggoner and Jessie H. Ausubel
2. LIGHTENING THE TREAD OF POPULATION ON THE LAND by Paul E. Waggoner, Jessie H. Ausubel and Iddo K. Werrick
3. Higher density means world forests are capturing more carbon
4. Searching for Leverage to Conserve Forests:The Industrial Ecology of Wood Products in the United States

An Open Letter from Over 300 Scientists on Protecting the Tongass National Forest

Celebrating Earth and Its Nature: Picnic For The Planet 2012

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - My Handmade Designs on ARTFIRE and in the SHOPPING MALL by PAYVMENT on FACEBOOK

PICNIC FOR THE PLANET??

Now what does that mean??

The Nature Conservancy has an Earth Day Campaign this year (2012):  "Picnic For the Planet 2012" -- encouraging everyone to enjoy Nature by having a Picnic this Earth Day.

But "Picnic For The Planet" means, as I understand it -- a lot more than having a Picnic out in Nature on Earth Day.

From one of their emails about "Picnic for the Planet 2012", I got this link:

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/habitats/riverslakes/explore/balancing-between-food-water-and-nature.xml?e.nature 

The Key Phrase here is:

"Balancing Between Food Water and Nature".

I thought it was kind of funny -- and kind of great -- that it was about a place I have occasionally frequented, traveled through and written comment letters about:  Keeping the Santa Clara River of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties in Southern CA a Free-Flowing River.

Actually, where I live now - in the Eastern Antelope Valley of Southern California - I live a little bit east of the eastern end of the Santa Clara River Watershed - as pictured in this photo, which I found on Wikipedia:

SANTA CLARA RIVER WATERSHED, SOUTHERN CA

I live some miles east of Palmdale in the Map.

But long before I lived in the Antelope Valley, I use to roam the more rural areas of Southern California for several reasons:

1. To do my Landscape Photography

2. Find remote, rural, open spaces with a variety of Nature for Walking and the Joy of it!

3. Buy Local Fresh Healthy Produce

--- and the Santa Clara River Watershed is one of the places I use to go to.

I do believe there were times when I would travel practically the whole length of it from Canyon Country into Ventura County, stopping at Produce Stands along the way or stopping along the way for a Walk (like at Lake Piru) -- sometimes ending up at one of my most favorite places in all of Southern California, just south of the Santa Clara river Watershed in the Western Santa Monica Mountains:  Nicholas Flat above Leo Carillo State Beach (there are no signs to Nicholas Flat - you have to get directions and just be good at going down Santa Monica Mountain Roads).

One of my days out in Nature - seeing and feeling some Wide Open Spaces!!

For me it is really true:  Every Day is Earth Day!!

Read about the Local Farmers in the Santa Clara River Valley Watershed at the above Nature Conservancy link.  You can really buy their Produce in the Watershed -- and have a great trip doing it!!

But there are some things, for me, that mean more than that as part of "Picnic For The Planet " in any year -- I started this blog article with a picture of my very own Rosemary Plant sitting outside my Front Door.  I went out this afternoon to cut off some Rosemary Leaves to put in my Salad I was making - oh, also got some Fresh Oregano and Fresh Basil from my very own plants -- part of "Picnic For The Planet" for me means growing my own fresh herbs to cook with.  The Rosemary Plant I have had for years -- the Oregano Plant is a couple of years old.  Fresh Basil plants I buy every year -- and I bought my first one this year on April 8th!!

My Earth Day Picnic this year:  I think I will take a walk through some local wild fields over to a local park and under some Cherry trees, have my own Picnic all right -- including some dishes made with Fresh Herbs I've grown myself!!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

G2 Gallery of Venice, CA - Conservation Photography Gallery

G2 GALLERY

Venice, California

It was through Robert Glenn Ketchum's Blog that I first heard about the G2 Gallery - he had a post about his Exhibit there in 2010 focusing on the Conservation Issue "No Pebble Mine" in Bristol Bay, Alaska, as in the video below!

I loved the whole Gallery - but especially Robert Glenn Ketchum's exhibit and I spent most of my time looking over his Images and reading about his conservation work on Stopping the development of the Pebble Mine in Alaska!


-- More Recently, as in earlier this month (April 13, 2011), I went to The G2 Gallery again - to see several exhibits and I had a wonderful time again - and decided to tell the world!!

Robert Glenn Ketchum on that date (through April 24, 2011) was the Nature LA Photographer at The G2 Gallery -- and one of his Embroideries was on exhibit and I got to see it live (not just a photograph on a computer screen)!! Exquisite is the only word I can use to describe it!! -- And after admiring it from several angles, all I could think was how much detailed work went into the hand-stitching and how admirable the embroiderers' work is!

But there were 2 more Exhibits at The G2 Gallery at the time that I got totally excited about! Both Exhibits were amazing and inspiring to me.

-- The first one I spent time on was Essence of Life: Fresh Water - sponsored by Conservation International and their "sister" organization, International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP). See the video below from CEMEX, the publisher of Conservation International books, on the book that Exhibit is based on!




You need to go see this exhibit to see the amazing photographs if you can - it is through May 8, 2011.


-- The second exhibit I was so amazed with was that of photographer J. J. Heureux's, Faces From the Southern Ocean (also through May 8, 2011). Her photographs of the Wildlife in the Antarctica are astouding in how they show the life there -- you really need to see the full exhibit including the slideshow, but below are a couple of videos of J.J. Heureux's photography in the Antarctica!


A Bleak Future For Penguins ... video 1 ---





Antarctic Spring - Iris Bay to Gold Harbor South Georgia Island ---





The G2 Gallery has new exhibits all the time -- and a Gallery Store full of Eco-Friendly and Artistic items! If you are in Southern California or passing through at some time, you may want to make a special trip to Venice, CA to see this Gallery -- they have a number of Events at different times in addition to the Exhibits!


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

ART (All Kinds) and What It Communicates

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


ART - well, when you get into the subject of ART, you get into an area that is actually very personal and very subjective.

I have been exposed to various forms and types of ART all my life - I believe since I was a baby.

I had relatives -- and friends of relatives -- who did various types of Arts and Crafts -- and, yes, some of it was "in capital letters", though some of it was just for fun.

• Music
• Drawing
• Painting
• Sewing
• Needlecrafts (Crochet, Knitting, Needlepoint)
• Mosaics
• Writing

Also, when I was very young, I was exposed to some of those who are considered "Great Artists" -- mostly Musicians and Painters -- through musical recordings and classical music radio stations -- and I don't remember the first time I was taken to the Art Institute of Chicago, but I believe I was very young.

I was quite young - still a child, not yet in my teens - when I "fell in love" with the paintings of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists I saw at the Art Institute of Chicago, such as Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat, Renoir -- these works so full of light and color, which I just adored!! To be seen there, for example: Monet's various landscapes; Van Gogh's vibrant - and what I would call dramatic - colors and images; Seurat's grand landscape by the water with dots of colors which together form almost an enchanting composition (to me) - I would stand entranced for a while; Renoir's delightful compositions - both of people and landscapes!

-- And then the works of later painters that I grew to love, such as Marc Chagall and Georgia O'Keeffe!

-- And the various sculptures and pottery and glass works!

-- And the music, as a child and in my early teens -- from Beethoven, Bach, Handel -- to the folk artists, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Buffy Sainte-Marie -- to the Musicals, such as "The Music Man", "Fiddler on the Roof" - I loved the singing of Theodore Bikel!

As I ventured out on my own -- my love of the Impressionistic painters and a few other painters (especially Georgia O'Keeffe) only grew. My love of music also grew and expanded -- and the musicians that I met -- and some I got to know -- added so much to my life!

As I got into studying Photography (I got my first camera at the age of 6, but never really studied it until my 30's), my admiration for (Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Freeman Patterson, David Muench) and interaction with various Photographers (Craig Fucile, Jan Pietrzak, Steve Cohen - and other environmental photographers) in various genres added so much to my life.

What it all comes down to -- there is something in what the works of these Artists commuicate that reaches me and adds such a feeling of joy to one's life!!

I think all Artists have some kind of message -- though that message may be interpreted differently by each person experiencing the art -- for me, it is that experience which adds so much to my life - and I can truthfully only speak of my own experience.

So, now I am involved online with some Artisans who do Handmade on Etsy -- from the Thread Artists to Painters, Photographers, people who work in Wood, Clay, Glass, Needlecrafts, Fibers .... as usual, there are always different viewpoints and different things that different people like, but I have found so many that I personally admire on Etsy!!

There is something in what these Artists communicate in their Art that brings joy into my life -- and I thank all of them for it!!

I was a Winner of A GIVEAWAY!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers






Thank You to Kenna Foster of Beholden To Nature and Fine Art, Nature Conservation Photography by Kenna
-- for holding her "Vow NOT To Recycle" Giveaway -- for 2 reasons!!

First of all, I so totally support REUSING and using REUSABLE CONTAINERS over using plastic bottles that have to be recycled (or heaven-help-me -- thrown away into our overfilled Landfills!!!).

It has been some time now since I signed onto the "Break the Bottled Water Habit" Campaign --- and I am really doing it!! I have 2 stainless steel bottles that I use both around the house - and when I go out - for water and other beverages; I also have a PUR water filter on my kitchen faucet rather than buy bottled water.

I just don't buy bottled water any more unless I am backed into a corner and I think that happened once in the past year. Otherwise, I just carry my trusty stainless steel bottle with the screw-on top (which has the added bonus of not leaking) everywhere I go and I love it -- water, tea, coffee -- it serves me so very well and I don't have those disposable/recyclable bottles to worry about any more.

I also managed to find a somewhat insulated travel cup with a stainless steel inner cup that I take with me when I stay out overnigt because I can use it at the coffee bar at the hotels or restaurants I go to usually. Don't have to take their disposable cups and the drinks stay hotter in it, too!!

And, Second, by gosh -- I was one of the Winners of Kenna's Giveaway and I am getting the photo pictured at the top here!! It links to Kenna's listing in her Etsy shop!! (photo used by permission)

Maybe using the RESUSABLE CONTAINERS and not even having to recycle, let alone throw away, will help preserve the beautiful nature spot in the photo -- Havasu Falls in Arizona!!

REUSE! -- REUSE! -- REUSE! -- REUSE! -- REUSE! -- REUSE! -- REUSE! -- REUSE!

GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT - Ongoing Public Process

Ruth Sandra Sperling


There is currently a public comment period right now for the public to comment on the DRAFT ALTERNATIVES for the Management Plan for the Giant Sequoia National Monument.

This Ongoing Public Process is based on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) , which though documented at the link provided, is explained in more common language at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Environmental_Policy_Act .

Here is the web page covering the current development of the Giant Sequoia National Monument (GSNM) Management Plan: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/gsnm_planning.html

You can read the proposed DRAFT ALTERNATIVES online in the Monument Public Commenting Portal. The documents are downloadable in pdf form there.

You can make (write) comments on them and mail them to:

Sequoia National Forest
Giant Sequoia National Monument
1839 South Newcomb Street
Porterville, CA 93257-9353

- or fax them to the Forest Supervisor's office at (559) 781-4744.

Calling up and leaving comments is a little difficult, but the phone number for their main office in Portervill, CA is (559) 784-1500.

This is just a small part of an Ongoing Public Process for managing one of the most ecologically significant ecosystems in the Continental United States - the Giant Sequoia ecosystem, which is a globally significant biodiversity hotspot within a globally significant biodiversity hotspot (the Sierra Nevada) within a larger globally significant biodiversity hotspot (the California Floristic Province) - check out Conservation International on the importance and locations of biodiversity hotspots!

Our National Forests and all public lands are for public use -- so us public can voice our opinions about how they are run. Some things are just Congressional and then you voice your opinions to Senators and Congressmen or Congresswomen, but this is about writing mangement plans for our public forests -- and public can also read public documents and voice their opinions about the management of the public lands!!

After the GSNM DRAFT ALTERNATIVES, the next step is the GSNM Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Watch for upcoming news -- sign up on the Monument Public Commenting Portal!!


HISTORY:

On April 15, 2000, history was made when President Bill Clinton did the Presidential Proclamation establishing the Giant Sequoia National Monument, which you can read yourself at the link!!

But since that date, there has been a series of management and legal activities resulting in the current ongoing public process to get a Management Plan written and implemented that will accomplish the goals of the original Presidential Proclamation!

Yes - it has been going on over 9 years!!

But, if you have ever been to the Sequoia National Forest and what is now the Giant Sequoia National Monument -- and realize the extent of the logging (including removal of actual Giant Sequoias over a hundred years ago) -- and the ramifications of the years of logging there, you would understand, like I do -- that writing an implementable Management Plan that will accomplish the goals of the Presidential Proclamation, as quoted from the Presidential Proclamation itself (page 3 of the proclamation or page 24097 of the Federal Register) below, is no easy accomplishment!

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States
of America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Act of
June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431), do proclaim that there are
hereby set apart and reserved as the Giant Sequoia National Monument,
for the purpose of protecting the objects identified in the above preceding
paragraphs, all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the
United States within the boundaries of the area described on the map
entitled ‘‘Proposed Giant Sequoia National Monument’’ attached to and forming
a part of this proclamation."

I went to meetings in various places around southern California for the discussion and public forum for establishing the Giant Sequoia National Monument.

It was in 2001 that I started going to public meetings, including meetings of the Scientific Advisory Board established per the Presidential Proclamation (see page 4 of the proclamation or page 24098 of the Federal Register), to find out what was going on regarding the management of the new Giant Sequoia National Monument.

I learned a tremendous amount listening to U S Forest Service staff and various agency and private scientists discuss the Giant Sequoia ecosystem and its current conditions and how to restore it to what is considered the desirable condition.

I also chose the scientists that I feel are the best to recommend the scientific methods to be used and how to develop the science for this particular ecosystem: Dr. David Graber of the National Park Service and Dr. Nathan Stephenson of the USGS -- and the SNEP authors and other scientists who agree with them.

If you are unfamiliar with what is going on, you might want to read the documents on the following list, which is linked:

-- GSNM DOCUMENTS AT http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/gsnm_planning.html
-- Summary of the Interpretations of the Monument Proclamation prepared by Carie Fox as of May 2009 http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/gsnm/carie_summary_interp_Proc.pdf
-- Sequoia National Forest Interpretation of the Proclamation dated May 22, 2009 http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/gsnm/sqf_interp_Proc.pdf
-- Strategic Framework of June 2009 at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/gsnm/061009_Strategic_Framework.pdf
-- 2008 Symposium Speaker's Presentations at http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/southernsierrascience/speakers/
-- Science Advisories of the GSNM Scientific Advisory Board (2003) at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/gsnm/advisories.html


Also, as regards the Scientific Advisory Board and the current process developing the Management Plan for the Giant Sequoia National Monument, and having attended the majority of the public meetings where they discussed what the Management Plan should be, I have the following comment to make public:

I have read in the Interpretations of the GSNM Presidential Proclamation about
the different views regarding the Scientific Advisory Board with the remanding
(invalidating) of the original Management Plan/Record of Decision from Art
Gaffrey.

As that (original) Management Plan was totally remanded and a
judge ordered them to re-write it, I agree with View 1 stated in Carrie Fox's
Interpretation of the Proclamation:

"View 1: Since the management plan associated with the last Scientific Advisory Board was invalidated, this will be the “initial management plan” and therefore another Scientific Advisory Board is required—one that is empanelled in the same time period in which the plan is being formulated and that will have the opportunity to comment on the draft plan. In apparent support of this, the Proclamation states that the Scientific Advisory Board is to provide scientific advice during the development of the initial management plan. [Lines 147-154]"

- from pages 12 and 13
of http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/gsnm/carie_summary_interp_Proc.pdf

That is all I have to say at this moment - except:

If you are so inclined -- I wish you Good Reading!!

Also, in 1999, when I first became aware of the planning going on for the National Forests of the Sierra Nevada, I spent some time in the then Sequioa National Forest, most of which became the Giant Sequoia National Monument. Being a landscape photographer, I took photographs of certain areas. Some of them I mounted. Below is a presentation I prepared. Both were taken in the Southern portion of the Giant Sequoia National Monument - off Western Divide Highway. The photograph on the left was taken in Long Meadow Grove on Western Divide Highway. The photograph on the right was taken on what I call the "Road to Windy Gap" - west of Western Divide Highway and around Nobe Young Meadow - an area that was definitely logged in the past.

One thing I would like to say about the differences between the Grove and the logged area, which is important to me: in the Giant Sequoia Grove there were birds singing and squirrels and chipmunks running around; in the logged area, it was totally quiet - no birds, no animals running around - which brings to mind Aldo Starker Leopold's comment about replanted clearcut areas or plantations: "...where a bluejay would have to pack a lunch to get across" (1978b, p.9). I love the birds and other wildlife in a forest and it "hurts" to see such logged areas!

Draw your own conclusions!!

STILL SNOW IN THE ANTELOPE VALLEY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items
RSS Designs Wearable - Internet Shop of Wearable Items
RSS Crochet Thread Plus - Internet Shop of Crochet Thread

I woke up this morning to find the ground still covered with beautiful white snow!!

I checked out in my front yard a couple of times today and took a few pictures.

Someone told me that this was a first for them and they moved here 20 years ago!!

Our driveway and yard was still covered with snow, though this afternoon it looked like the sidewalk was starting to peek out!!

Bush in my front yard - about 10 AM this morning:

The remaining photos were taken somewhere around 1 PM today.

Bird Feeder hanging on the tree:

My rose bush was still in bloom when the snow fell - ROSES IN SNOW!!:

Bush in my front yard - some snow has melted off in the sunny day:

Bright blue sky through snow covered branches - but some snow has melted!!

Enjoying this unusual seasonal experience!!

Ruth

MY SMALL TOWN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HAS SNOW - AND IT IS STICKING!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items
RSS Designs Wearable - Internet Shop of Wearable Items
RSS Crochet Thread Plus - Internet Shop of Crochet Thread

My little town of a few thousand in the southeast portion of the Antelope Valley of Southern California, which is a High Desert, rarely gets snow - especially snow that "sticks". A few times over the 6 1/2 years since I moved here I have woken up to snow, but usually it is melted by around noon.

Not today!!

We have beautiful, beautiful snow -- and it is still snowing!!

I went out today to get something important, despite the snowing, and managed to get a ride home early. I wore boots, which was good, because my sidewalk and lawn in my yard had an accumulation of snow when I got home around noon and I actually made footprints in the snow!!

This is a first for me since I've lived in the Antelope Valley. The van I was in is properly equipped for driving safely in the snow at the time we were driving.

But the Antelope Valley is not really set up for this kind of weather and the public transportation system was in the process of shutting down until the weather "lets up" and it is safe for them to operate. We saw snow plows some on the streets and at a nearby gas station on the way home.

I come from the midwest - Chicago area to be exact - and I know how to deal with this weather.

Dressing properly was a good thing today!!

Actually, I am loving it, though I couldn't do some shopping I had planned. We need the precipitation in this part of the country to keep off a drought.

I have a bucket out there catching snow - when it melts, I am going to use the water/melted snow for watering plants instead of having it run down the sidewalk and driveway to who-knows-where.

I managed to get a few pictures so far.

My yard at 7 AM this morning.

My yard at around 1 PM today (deeper snow - it is piling up)!

A group of Old Growth trees in the back around 1 PM today.

Looking at the sky through one of the trees in my front yard around 1 PM.

This kind of weather is unusual in the valley of the High Desert here - and it is worth enjoying the benefits of different seasons.

YES, the snow is "sticking"!!!

I keep wondering how long it will last!!

Ruth

WINTER DESERT SKY IN THE ANTELOPE VALLEY

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items
RSS Designs Wearable - Internet Shop of Wearable Items
RSS Crochet Thread Plus - Internet Shop of Crochet Thread

When I moved to the Antelope Valley -- the High Desert north of Los Angeles - it was for a number of reasons, but there were some real bonuses.

Where I reside, in the southeast corner of the Antelope Valley in the low foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, there are those mountains to the south and the Antelope Valley desert - the eastern edge of the great Mojave - to the south and east.

Last Friday, I was up early to go out and as I stepped out after the sun had risen, I was struck by the tones of the winter desert sky. Such muted tones, but beautiful.

Wanted to share it with you all.

The trees - the natural, native Old Growth in the back of the property where I live!!

Ruth

Some things to find on THE NATURE CONSERVANCY website

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items
RSS Designs Wearable - Internet Shop of Wearable Items
RSS Crochet Thread Plus - Internet Shop of Crochet Thread

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY website is just huge and has some really wonderful things on it for the dedicated nature lover/environmentalist: http://www.nature.org/.

One of the things they offer are some beautiful nature photographs to Decorate Your Desktop!!

My desktop wallpaper is a photo from them of the Parker Ranch -- an area not so far from where I live that has a lot of significant habitat and is a wildlife corridor at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada. It has such a beautiful sky - I love seeing it on my desktop all the time!!

They have certain photos that they feature every month and here is the November 2008 one:

You can go to the link for Decorate Your Desktop above to choose your own nature photo for your desktop!!

And -- you can send free email cards with all kinds of nature photos in them from their website:

http://support.nature.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ecard_landing&autologin=true!!

I love what The Nature Conservancy does in nature and I love what they do to make sure people know about it on their website!!

Ruth

Hello!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
DESIGNS IN FIBER

Hello - First I would like to introduce myself.

I am a 56 year old woman – born and raised in the Chicago, IL area. After some college at the University of Illinois, and then moving on into the working world including living and working in St. Louis, Mo for about 8 years - I moved out to the West - Southern California, where I have lived ever since.

Now I live in the foothills of the high desert of the Antelope Valley - north of Los Angeles. When I walk out my door, when I look south, I see the towering San Gabriel Mountains – when I look north I see the desert of the Antelope Valley. Depending on where I am and how high up I am, to the north I can see the Tehachapi Mountains and beyond that the Southern Sierra Nevada.

I feel that I am lucky to be living in this small town away from the hubbub of the larger metropolitan areas where I grew up and worked until about 7 years ago when I moved here.

My days are relatively quiet - I keep busy for sure - there still never seems to be enough time in a day - the Internet is like a window to many things going on the world. I prefer it to TV or Cable. I go into town when I feel like it and traipse around my small town - sometimes alone and sometimes with my dog and friend, Misty, who visits with the other dogs all over town - and chases birds, wild jack rabbits and mice in the still empty fields around town.

To those of you with more exciting things to do in your lives, this may seem kind of humdrum, but I never seem to have enough time to do what I enjoy and spend a lot of my time on off the Internet - my Designs In Fiber.

In 2003, I discovered the joy of crocheting with crochet thread and the designs that unfold as you crochet them.

I had been crocheting since my teens - but mostly with yarn.

Someone asked me if I did doilies - and I said I would try. Once I tried, I jumped in - I have been crocheting with thread ever since, though every once in a while I still crochet with yarn also.

I have been learning all kinds of new types of crocheting ever since - and on my blog here I will be discussing different types of crochet with different types of materials - and other fiber arts which I actually do.

I have several other favorite subjects which I will be going into at different times:

• –Our environment: biodiversity including biodiversity hotspots, forests - mostly public lands - and the philosophy of my favorite writers on the environment including Aldo Leopold and his Land Ethic and his son, Starker Leopold.
• –Photography - a hobby of mine since I was 6 years old
• –Diet, nutrition and exercise that helps me now and has for years
• –Pets!!
• –Other cultures and other parts of the planet

I will be building the different sections of my blog as I go along - I hope you gain something from looking through what I post - and if you have something to say, I only ask that even if you are outspoken, that you be considerate and tolerant. I don’t expect everyone in this world to agree - but I do believe in being honest, tolerant of others opinions and ways of life - and considerate. Sometimes people have to agree to disagree.

In this very active world that is getting more and more crowded every day - I still hope for peace and understanding between people - and one way to reach that is through communication.