I'm currently reading The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, by Terry Tempest William (one of my favorite writers). I read one chapter each night. One delicious story at a time. It is the kind of writing that invites memories to surface and emotions to swirl and challenges us to think more deeply about relationships and our place in the world.

There's another kind of labor we need to celebrate.... Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia, 2019. Photo by Deb Dorsett Hanson On this day in the United States - Labor Day - we celebrate the successes of the Labor Movement, those unions and individuals who gave us 8-hour days, 40-hour weeks, and weekends; who fought for workplace dignity, rights, safety, and a decent wage; those folks who built America up with their minds and bodies doing the work that has kept our nation alive and functioning for generations.

Playing with patterns in my sketchbook I needed a distraction from the stifling heat this afternoon, so I spent some time inside just sketching patterns from natural objects I had on hand. That is until the rumble of thunder lured me to the screen porch to dance a rain dance and pray in hopes that one of those noisy, heavy clouds would gift us with some raindrops....

Some videos to make you smile.... We have a wildlife trail camera set up in our woods. Sometimes I check it daily. Sometimes I take the SD card out of it and leave it to NOT take video or pictures for weeks at a time. Sometimes I leave the camera running for weeks without checking it at all. This has been one of those stretches.

The garden is always an inspiration. Most of think of green and maybe red and yellow and orange when we think of gardens, but every color seems to have its day throughout the year. This week the summer phlox is looking brilliantly pink and the spiderwort has revived its purple blooms since the rains came. I used both colors to play with some scraps of painted papers and fabric to create this small collaged card... Happy Saturday, y'all! Go do something creative.

As a follow-up to yesterday's post on Water Wisdom, here are a couple of songs honoring water to begin the week with... Enjoy. Water is Life by Prema Love Listen on YouTube or Spotify and Protect the Water by Murray Kyle Listen on YouTube or Spotify I love how he uses the sounds of water in the song intro...

Today, I sit in our fire circle - a circle where there has been no fire for months as we experience a severe drought. But I sit here anyway, facing west, looking at a simple altar we installed on the edge of the fire circle to honor Water. I'm waiting for inspiration, maybe, or a voice or a sign for what I need to say to the world today.

“The butterfly does not look back upon its caterpillar self, either fondly or wistfully; it simply flies on.” – Guillermo del Toro Great spangled fritillary A couple weeks ago I was sitting on the porch and noticed a large orange butterfly down in the garden. From my perch, it looked kind of like a fritillary but was way too big (three inches or more) to be the variegated fritillaries we usually see around our passion vines.

The milkweed patch attracts more than monarch butterflies. Each year it draws in dozens of species of insects, many of them black and orange, the colors of fire and charcoal. The colors that tell their predators to back off because I'm toxic and will make you sick. There's a special relationship between these insects and the milkweed. One that provides sustenance, but also defense in the form of cardiac glycosides in the milkweed's latex sap.

How about a little whimsy for today? A Lollipop landscape, inspired by Emma Petit... I'm participating in the annual #MakeCreateExpress tempter sessions from Art is Magic this week. It's one of my favorite parts of each summer because I get to play with art supplies and learn new techniques from dozens of artists around the world...a week of letting go and pure magic.

It's 101 degrees outside It feels like 120, according to the weather station in my backyard The sun bakes my skin, glares into my eyes A hot breeze blows - dry and feeble In the garden, leaves hang limp, empty, pale Curling at their edges trying to retain just one drop of moisture Blades of grass mimic wheat straw Poking up from the dusty, cracked ground…

I've been watching videos this week of John Muir Laws showing me how to draw birds. He's one of the founders of Wild Wonder and a master at nature journaling. The thing I'm loving about his teaching is the repetition of drawing lines to get you started on the position and shape and angle of the bird and its parts... Hopefully, be the end of next week I'll be comfortable doing quick field sketches of the birds in my yard... time will tell.

A few weeks ago we visited our friends Mike and Melissa in Montana. They live just outside Yellowstone National Park, so our days were filled with wildlife watching from dawn to dusk. One day as we were recalling our time filled with bison, wolves, grizzly bears, elk, pronghorn, and wildflowers, Mike said, "My boss once told me... we don't learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on our experience." Every day since that day, those words have meandered around my neural pathways sparking moments of reflection on my experience in Montana.

A couple of years ago I was looking out my bedroom window and saw a strange bird on the ground in the back yard. I grabbed binoculars and identified it as a male blue grosbeak. Soon, the rusty-colored female landed near him and they searched for bugs among the grasses. They were beautiful! I never saw them again that summer. But last year, I heard them singing out in the meadow next to our house and got a fleeting glimpse of them once or twice later in the summer.

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." – Buddha Day lily Yarrow Rudbeckia Spiderwort Sunflower Zinnia Echinacea Monarda fistulosa Gaillardia Anise hyssop Mountain mint Zinnia Salvia Common milkweed Yarrow Butterflybush Shasta daisy Hosta Tomato Black eyed Susan It's hard to believe there are so many flowers blooming in our yard right now.

Previously bipartisan "Wildfire Prevention Act" ends up being a Republican "Trojan horse" to undo roadless protections in national forests

What a new proposed rule from OMB could mean, and how you can help

Recently I got to spend time with my son. It was just the two of us, for the first time in years, and we attended the Cape May Birding Festival in Cape May, NJ. We went on field trips and boat rides, wandered the woods and beaches looking for birds, and listened to experts share their knowledge about horseshoe crabs, monarch butterflies, and, of course, birds.

I've been paying more attention to the birds in our woods and gardens lately. As migration ramps up and summer birds are starting to arrive, it's a good time to be more observant. This week I have seen or heard summer tanagers, hooded warblers, Louisiana waterthrushes, ovenbirds, and red-eyed vireos as well as the usual year-round wonders. So, I know summer is right around the corner.

Sometimes I walk through my backyard gardens out of habit, A daily stroll just to check on things and note changes or needs. Other times the gardens summon me like a siren song, Calling, cajoling, compelling me to come, telling me to look closer. And when I answer that siren song, I am rewarded with the most Stunning beauty, colors, shapes, hidden treasures among the green.

Happy Earth Day, all. For the past few weeks life has been crazy busy - preparing for and commenting at a public hearing, preparing to host a 3-day reunion of my writing group, touching base with family and friends, volunteering, and keeping up with general life tasks. I've found it difficult to stay focused on any of that because all I've wanted to do is BE OUTDOORS, basking in the glorious spring sunshine, the fresh air, and the stunning beauty of growing things!

Wow, y'all! WordPress just told me I've been blogging here on this site for 17 years now! Part of me thinks, "Yeah, so what?", but part of me is kinda proud of this little achievement badge. Why? Because it means I've persisted. I've kept working at something - writing, thinking, sharing - in this one little corner of the Internet for 17 years running.

In times like these, when our country feels fragile, its leadership inept, unhinged, angry, incompetent, often downright mean and scary and disingenuous. When our climate is shifting, changing everything about how we live and how things work. When living beings and sacred places are suffering from war, starvation, genocide, injustice, greed, and from a profound disconnection from what's true and right and good...

Earth and moon as seen from Artemis II, NASA photo 2026. 252,756 miles. That's how far away from Earth the Artemis II astronauts were this week - the farthest distance any human has ever been from our home planet. Our son texted us photos from the mission. The one of the back side of the moon with a sliver of Earth in the distance is most stunning.

The smorgasbord is laid... columbine, coral honeysuckle, azaleas, sugar water feeders. We are ready and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the ruby-throated hummingbirds. We heard one buzz through a few days ago. The next day, Mr. EndlessSeeker had one nearly fly into his face. But we've yet to see them hovering amid the flowers sipping nectar, deciding to stay for the summer.

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, 2014. Photo by Deb Hanson Happy Monday, all. Following up on my last post celebrating water systems, here's a spoken word song by the Rheostatics with Chief Stacey LaForme called Water Wisdom. Enjoy...

Welcome to April! Our yard and woods and gardens are coming alive with color as the spring wildflowers burst forth. This is the month in which we celebrate Earth Day (April 22nd). Earth Day started back in 1970 and is said to represent the beginning of the environmental movement in the United States, though the movement really began long before that as people began to notice and report on serious changes in the environment (think Silent Spring or the Cuyahoga River on fire) that caused alarm among people who understood that humans depend on the environment for our own survival.

This past weekend I saw this bumper sticker on a car... It fit with the mood of the No Kings rallies scheduled for the weekend. And it made me think of protest songs. A few years ago, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Scott Cook perform in an intimate acoustic setting at The Plant in Pittsboro, NC. His songs aren't all protest songs, but they are so eloquent and relevant to the world we live in. So, today I want to share with you this song, which feels especially appropriate right now...

On a bright, warm, sunny day this week, two bronzed metallic wood boring beetles showed up on the deck stairs. They hung around long enough to let me sketch one ... Then I saw a click beetle. Early emergers as the temps rose above normal again. Another unexpected sighting was a patch of rogue Fivespot flowers on the lawn. Probably escapees from a pollinator seed mix I planted a couple of years ago.

Green frog hanging out by the pond The warm weather and longer days, along with the regrowth of plants are making a lot of spring critters show up on the homestead right now. This green frog has started basking in the sun each day by our little pond in the back yard. I've seen a number of butterflies migrating north during the past few weeks - first the sulfurs, then the swallowtails started flying through.

Spring is here, y'all. Mr. EndlessSeeker and I have been rediscovering the gardens after their long winter's nap. As we've trimmed old stems, raked leaf litter, added compost, and mulched during the past week or so, we've been checking for opening buds, signs of leaves and flowers. The violets are in full bloom, as are all the wild weeds like hairy bittercress and chickweed, that we leave for the early pollinators, but many natives are just beginning to show their colors.

Happy Music Monday, y'all! How about a song from the ever-positive Jason Mraz about peace and love and living in the moment.... Make it a great day, friends. Living in the moment. Jason Mraz

The love month... There's Valentine's Day and President's Day and snowstorms followed by springlike weather. There's gray skies and sunshine, poems about love, and chocolates to go around. There's early voting amid political restlessness. Sweet, caring neighbors coming together to fight a proposed development amid rampant development. There's Olympic wins and heartbreaks, miracles and majesty. There are woman warriors everywhere working to protect the vulnerable amid threats and actions from those who think power is more important than peace in people's lives.

Among users initially on a chronological feed, 7 weeks of exposure to X’s algorithmic feed in 2023 shifted political attitudes and account-following behaviour in a more conservative direction compared...

What I'm listening to right now... Franko Heke's What would love do?

February is when I get impatient. Winter is still here, but I'm ready for spring. I want to dig my hands in the dirt, plants seeds, watch buds unfold into a bright green portrait of life. But the dirt is still frozen. The seeds are still folded up in packets. Swollen tree buds are still closed tightly around tender new leaves, protecting them from the cold.

Heart of the forest Just a little playful page exploring my love for plants... What are you creating this week?

Love is the first snowflake kissing a naked tree limb, the soft cooing of mourning doves leaning against each other on a branch, a gentle touch of water flowing downstream in summer,sunshine peaking over the eastern horizon each morning, reminding us we have another day to live, to give, to be.Love isbeing there when someone needs you,

Well, it’s February folks, and that means it’s time to explore LOVE. Not romantic love and the capitalist-driven celebration of Valentine’s Day, filled with chocolates, hearts, and flowers, but love for one another as living beings on Earth. Love for self. Love for other people. Love for other-than-human lives. Love for water and soil, sky and stars, and all that makes up this universe we call home.

Scraps of cloth, ripped, painted printed with leaves, sticks, and fingers thread sewn with abandon, stitching togetherWhat was never meant to be one thing but becomes one, a whole, something never seen before something new, something textured, something beautifulMade of colors, shapes, textures cloth, shells, papers, paints inks, stamps, needles and threadBound together with a set of hands…

A winter storm came, and I walked in the woods. The creek was frozen. Water stopped in its tracks, frozen in time. Ice had grabbed a hold, impeding the water's forward progression downstream to bigger creeks, rivers, and the ocean. Impeding its path to freedom. In Minneapolis, another kind of ICE stopped the forward progress of a life, two lives, grabbing a hold of citizens, immigrants, protestors, helpers.

I'm playing this song on repeat today... Of course, it takes more than imagining a world where people live in peace. But it's a start, an intention worth pursuing. "Flowers appeared where Alex fell. Candles flickered against the cold. People stood quietly because sometimes words fail and presence is all that is left." - Robert Arnold ( on Substack)

A winter storm is coming. They are forecasting a big ice storm here - a storm that may cause more power outages and damage than any winter storm we've seen in decades - with record-setting cold for days to follow. So, Mr. EndlessSeeker and I have been preparing - insulating outdoor faucets, prepping the cars, getting gas and groceries, putting rock salt on the steps.

It snowed a little here yesterday, and I was so grateful for it. Snow is rare for us these days, but when I watch it floating down from the sky, my whole being settles into quiet centered-ness. The atmosphere is hushed and reverent. The flakes begin to stick and cover grasses, mulch, railings, turning everything brighter, including my mood. It's a welcome respite from the darkness that feels so present in the world today.