First violets



The violets are alive and well; they have finally bloomed.  Everything is late this year, but today it was 80 degrees.  I have several varieties at home, including my favorite pure white with dark purple centers. My grandpa planted them over 60 years ago and they spread and mingled with the wild purple examples.  A young man created a hybrid for me, and it too, went wild.  It was white, with purple sprinkles all over it. This example is really light blue, with a purple center. 

 

First violets

Scarecrow I made from a broken broom.

More Origial tips re Recycling, Making Compost, Literature on the Environment, History, Collecting Fossils, Respecting Wildlife, and much more

Here are more of our original tips. These were inspired by ideas from my own community.  I was a literature major, and these are authors that I love and have taught, especially in a team taught honors seminar, Environmental Law, Literature, and Science.

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15. Explore recycling possibilities and leaf disposal policies in your community. Read the newsletters in your utility bills for ideas. If there is a community forum or township meeting on Green issues, attend and get ideas, and contribute a few f your own if you can.

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16. Make your own compost; but, educate yourself. A compost heap is not a garbage dump. Be careful not to attract animals and vermin that might infest the neighborhood.

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 17. Read others on the environment: Loren Eisley, Annie Dillard, MFK Fisher, Sand County Almanac, John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Beatrix Potter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Old Grange and Farm wives magazines, William Wordsworth and all the Romantic Poets, The Bronte Sisters, especially Emily, on the beauty of the Moors and the landscape. Even vintage Gothic novels like the Castle of Otranto emphasize the importance of environment and landscape, as well as classic architecture on society.





 18. Visit historical landmarks and national parks. State parks are also valuable places to learn. If you live near the ocean, lakes, or rivers, learn the riparian lore of your community. If you really love to read and want a challenge, read Hugo Grotius, The Law of the Sea.

Yellowstone; The Morning Glory  Pool

19. Teach children to collect fossils, shells, rocks, minerals, and petrified wood. Take them to shows to show them how these natural resources helped shape life and the earth, and explain the role fossil fuels still play in the environment.

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, Shells and Fossils , 1839. Public domain. Public Domain

The Law of the Sea. Public Domain

20. Join the Scouts, boy or girl. Encourage children to get badges in various areas, including those involving nature and conservation.

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21. Teach about archaeology trough magazines like Archaeology, Civilization, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. Encourage kids to collect a library of these materials, and help them to organize it. They will be constantly reading and gain a respect for earth.

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22. Teach children to respect animals and wildlife. If they have a favorite stuffed animal, like an elephant, have them study elephants and thei9r evolution, their role in literature and culture, where they live. The more familiar we are with something like this, and the more we come to love it, the less likely we are to abuse it or ignore it. Do the same with human culture. Encourage children to learn bout people from around the world by having them read folk tales, literature, listening to music, participating in ethnic crafts, collecting ethnic artifacts. Folk Dolls and foreign dolls are a good way to introduce all children to different cultures. Those with their own collections should learn about them and then go on the road, offering to display and lecture on them.

Straw Folk Dolls. Tsagaris Collection

23. Volunteer when you can at community cleanups, book fairs, botanical centers, museums of all types, libraries, Earth Day celebrations. Teach children not to waste, but to share and to trade where possible. See the onsite community areas for barter.

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24. When re-gifting and homemade gifts are good. Teach the spirit of gift giving and holidays; commercialism has been an issue since the first Christmas. Read Christmas and holiday stories and lore to see how such greed and commercialism are combated through the last two millennia. Also, you can see how people celebrated in historical times of economic adversity like War, Depression, and famine. You might be surprised at how happy and meaningful some of these celebrations can be.
25. Weddings; tips for economical weddings. I Had a Civil ceremony and church wedding for under $2500.

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