A New England State of Mind

In the random flotsam and jetsam of donations that pass through my library, there is an occasional gem. This week's gem was the July/August issue of Yankee Magazine, which I have not see in oodles of time and sports a new, breezy format. The editor, in his "Letter to Our Readers" column quotes Henry Beston, the author of The Outermost House. I reprint it here:

The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of the outer ocean on a beach.

I think that about says it all. What nature-writing have you read, if at all? I confess that I have not read much, but if Gift from the Sea counts, I certainly recommend it. Any suggestions for starters?

With the number of Kids and Nature posts, and the yet to be read "Last Child in the Woods" I hereby declare the upcoming month of August Month of the Outdoor Child in the Wannie-Greenie household. This is going to be pretty freakin' tricky considering that the month of August in my neck of the woods is about as hazy, hot, and humid as you can get...but soon September will be right around the corner and you know what that means...shudder. Fortunately, my kids love the outdoors, but I would like to read some new and clever ideas. Today we spent the morning at a park nestled in the woods, shaded and cool. It was a short walk from one of our areas fabulous nature centers, so we stopped there briefly but decided the small turtle pond was more interesting. Living up to its name, the turtle pond revealed a turtle taking a dip, covered in some clover-leafed-looking algae (can anyone tell me what type of algae it was? Perhaps it wasn't algae after all? It looked like little clovers floating on the surface of the water). Sprout, Pip and I watched the turtle emerge from the pond and amble off back into the woods. Turtles are surprisingly fast, wouldn't you know. I'm sure two loud toddlers hand nothing to do with that.

Won't you stop by EnviroMom's site and leave your suggestions for their new Outdoor Child segment of their website?