I was going to have Mari write a "Earth" poem like the one she wrote HERE, or get Lila to draw a beautiful picture celebrating Earth Day—maybe post a few tips on how we could be better about reducing, reusing and recycling, like those I found HERE. I even considered posting Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, Mercy Me," the ultimate Earth Day anthem. Each of these things was meant to remind my MyBrownBaby friends to protect our planet at all costs. After all, we have but one Earth; who are we to do anything but revere all that the Lord has made?
And then I started flipping through my iPhotos and came across some breathtaking pictures—each one of them taken over the past year as our family made a much more conscious effort to enjoy nature and the great outdoors. I'm more of a keep-it-in-the-house kind of girl, but I have to admit that I really enjoyed breathing in the fresh air and admiring the wonders of nature. Here, our year-long celebration of the Earth, in pictures. My hope is that you'll be inspired by our journey, and perhaps create some beautiful outdoor memories of your own.
Snow Balls, February 2010
Lila and her best friend, Maggie, got a kick out of seeing who could make the biggest snow ball!
The Secret Life of Bees, April 2009
When our cousin found a wall-wide beehive nestled in the porch wall of his house, we got a lesson on bees that we wouldn't soon forget. Mari waited patiently while the beekeepers got the job done.
Spring Flowers, April 2009
Who can resist spending quality time out on the front lawn when Spring is in bloom? We sure can't!
Mother's Day, 2009
Sometimes it's the simple things, like watching your children run and play and giggle in the park, that make Mother's Day the most special.
Carnival B-Day Party, June 2009
What do you know about egg races, hoola hoop contests, and water balloon tosses? I can tell you they're GREAT summer party games, especially if you're partying outdoors. This is Lila, dead serious about winning a pack of gummy bears for keeping her hoola hoop going the longest.
Camping Trip, June 2009
A whole weekend outdoors. With bugs. And weird night noises. And campfires with s'mores and lots of great grilling. Not sure I want to do this again—but I will have stories for the grandkids!
Hilton Head, July 2009
Our family vacation in one of the most beautiful towns we've ever visited—full of great history and natural beauty.
Kentucky Wind Mills, August 2009
I shot this picture of the incredible flat lands of Kentucky while riding with The Blogrollers back from BlogHer 2009. Man was that ride fun—matched only by the scenery of our beautiful country whizzing by.
Black Butterfly, August 2009
Black butterfly/Sail across the waters/Tell your sons and daughters/What the struggle brings. (Man, I love that song—that Niecy Williams sure can belt it out, can't she? This butterfly, which we found in our driveway, was a source of endless fascination for the kids.
Gone Fishing, September 2009
The kids had a blast getting fishing lessons from their Uncle Marvin, but it was my mom-in-law, Helen, who schooled everybody when she caught three fish!
Our Garden, September 2009
Every year the girls and I plant and maintain a container garden out on our back deck; the rosemary, thyme, sage, peppermint, flat-leaf parsley, cilantro and basil give our food the best zing, and the colorful flowers keep butterflies and hummingbirds aflutter just outside our kitchen picture window. We tend our garden with love.
Soccer Game, November 2009
The girls stayed active out on the soccer field—the perfect way to get in some exercise and enjoy the outdoors.
Martin Luther King Day, January 2010
This is my beautiful nephew Miles, who volunteered at this year's MLK Day celebration in Atlanta, at the MLK Center, a national historic park site.
The Great Snowstorm, February 2010
We actually got enough snow to make two snowmen. This one, with carrots for eyes and a nose and a random Gap hat (because our snowmen are supa fly!) was pulled together by Mari.
ENJOY THIS DAY, AND EVERYDAY, CELEBRATING THE WONDERS OF OUR PLANET—AND HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Posts
Agrarian Age
ReplyDeleteIn Spring we speak of seeds
bundled possibilities
foreseeing market days hale and fair
succulent fruit, trilling herbs,
vitalizing veggies
and all the spicey chatter of conviviality
First there was the seed
plowed under to taste Earth,
swell with water,
burst into fecund brew building
cells of chlorophyll to catch the fire,
symbiotically breathe, exchanging
death for life
Sacred seed
clothed in mystic ceremonies
deeply deified in chthonic memory
We carry the seed of our fathers,
the tears of our mothers,
the hopes and fears of our priests and lords,
over rocky terrain, in hidden caves through
ice and flood and slavering predation,
never doubting nobility of destiny
On appointed days, carefully watching solar/lunar
alignments,
our assigned labor commences. Busy as any
bird or bee, we commit seed to chosen ground
with all the love we can command
Then, off to bacchanalia, reveling in a grand scheme
promising sustenance, renewed strength, plans,
romances, unnumbered chances for pride
and glory
Thus goes the story we retell in lullaby,
in schoolyard intimacies and scholarly lies,
puffing up our little share of knowledge, magical
protection from overwhelming vastness
of mystery, shades of colors without name
Unclear on the protocol of shame, unwilling to admit
to ignorance that might unsettle carefully laid
hierarchies, unloose gates inviting chaos or worse,
we gather of our fruit for sacrifice to gods of greed and vice,
gleefully watch the rending of they who are not me
"I, too wise for such ill use, repeatedly proven
in my abuse of these ill-named foes I refuse to admit
as kin -- sinners, Lord. Surely I'll not be taken in,
not take them in. Not share the bounty of your seed,
given to the chosen."
Even in these days of polluted soil, of toil
demoted to laughable commodity,
idly watching waste stream into muddy rivers,
enjoying occasional feasts of vicarious blood,
throwing the unsanctified into the raging flood,
desperately trying to stem an unquenchable tide,
while hiding any glimpse of remorse lest shadow
presage disaster
Eating both fruit and seed, rather than part with
familiar fantasy
April 2010
Laurie Corzett
http://emergingvisions.blogspot.com
I.WANT.YOUR.CAMERA. You've told me seven or eight times now, but what make is it? I'm buying a GOOD camera pretty soon so I can have banging pictures of my kids. My current camera (bought off Overstock.com) is a piece of crap. :( Help, Denene! And if there's any class or book you used to help you get so good, please let me know!
ReplyDeleteAn absolute joy to read; I felt like I had those experiences with you, the pictures are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely breath-taking!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the pictures and the sweet shared memories! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteFantastic photos. :)
ReplyDelete