Open Thread – Earth Day
There’s a perspective you don’t see very often, with a Northern view on things. Happy Earth Day one and all. Lately it seems that the Earth needs all the good will it can get.
In this little corner of the planet, the wind is howling, and snowflakes are making a horizontal trajectory across my window. Just yesterday it felt like spring was in the air, but here in Alaska April is a month of trickery and delayed expectations.
Later today we’ll have a guest post for Earth Day from one of our favorite Voices from the Flats contributors, Rick Steiner, so be sure to check back.
Enjoy a few shots I took from the air this year and last, and feel free to link to your favorite environmental sites, or share what you’ll do today to help our beleaguered planet, or simply enjoy its wonders.
~Pt. Reyes, California
~Frozen river on the West side of Cook Inlet, Alaska
~Wetlands near Beluga, Alaska
~Tidewater glacier, Southeast Alaska
~Islands near Sitka, Alaska
~Mudflats in Anchorage, Alaska
~Oregon
~Nevada
~Mountain peaks near Prince William Sound
~Texas
~Canada
~Alaska glacier
Thank you for the amazing pictures of our little blue planet!
One small nit to pick; the seventh picture above, labelled “`Oregon”, looks a lot like Mt. St. Helens, with the crater visible on the near side. As iconic as the image is, the mountain is actually across the border in Washington, not Oregon. As an erstwhile Portlander, I felt I should give credit to our neighbor to the North.
🙂
..and Wisconsin continues to move forward….
http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20110421/SHE0101/104210416&located=rss
Awesome pix AKM! I think Merrycricket is right about the coffee table book, it would be outstanding. I would like to preorder also, too. Soooo I hope you get right on it..with all the oodles of sparetime you must have 😉
when you do get the time, it will be worth the wait.
Check out Bob Cesca today:
http://www.bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2011/04/ground_zero_for.html
mo, thank you for the link. I wish I could do more to help our country and my state. It seems like most in Michigan are afraid or don’t believe this is really happenning )o:
UH OH…Ronald Reagan might not have been a real Merikan cause he was only able to receive a certified “Certificate of Live Birth” just like Obama because that’s all they issue in Illinois…same thing goes for Nixon who was born (so he said) in California:
http://www.birth-certificates.net/illinois.htm
http://www.birth-certificates.net/california.htm
Bahahahaha and tea-hee-hee! Put that in yer tea and drink it! Arrgh, mateys!
Sorry, I was thinking of the floating pirate cult (o:
Thank you PennLawyer for the tribute to Bethany–what a lovely person–and what a loss for everyone–just looking at her beautiful, kind, loving face tells the story of what an exceptional person she had to be. The world needs more people like her–and without ever having heard of her before now–I too feel the loss, as many other strangers will. God bless that little girl.
In memory of Bethany Kay Bereman, February 18, 1961 – April 17, 2011.
She died of ovarian cancer on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Bethany came to Juneau in 1985 to work in a theatrical production, and staye to live a full and productive life in Alaska for 22 years, performing in many productions at PerseveranceTheatre, Juneau’s Douglas Little Theater, Juneau Lyric Opera & Theater in the Rough, teaching drama at Juneau Douglas High School. Depending on the season, she was a wilderness kayak guide and a pro ski-patroller at Eaglecrest
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/juneauempire/obituary.aspx?n=bethany-kay-bereman&pid=150429088
“In the late 1990’s Bethany decided to go back to school. Not one to do things halfway, she jumped in with both feet– taking on the role of drama teacher at Juneau Douglas High School while also completing a masters of arts degree in Theatre Production. Never failing to bring energy and laughter into all her classes, she educated, inspired, and befriended countless students. Her classroom became a haven for all comers-with open arms, she welcomed any student who was motivated to learn and collaborate. She also welcomed many other professional theatre artists at JDHS. Whether she was producing a play or teaching Acting, Improvisation, or Dance, Bethany’s theatre department was always alive with her infectious positivity and wicked sense of humor.
In 2006, John Hickey literally danced into her life. Within a year the two had gotten married, moved to Hawaii with John’s job, adopted Susu from China, and settled with delight into their new family. They were very thankful to have the years together that they did. Bethany is survived by her husband, Captain John Hickey & her four year old daughter Jade Lin “Susu” Bereman,
Bethany was a role model to her friends, family and students throughout her life as she worked with endless energy and enthusiasm to accomplish all of her dreams: to be a mother, a wife, a friend, an artist, a teacher, an adventurer, and a guide. As a mother she showed Susu all the joy and love that life can contain, as a wife she and John looked at the world through heart-spangled glasses, and as a friend she listened, laughed and cried with us when she was needed.”
A celebration of Bethany’s life will be held in Juneau in May. In lieu of flowers, contributions to a memorial garden can be made by calling Bainbridge Gardens at 206.842.5888, or donations can be made to Hospice of Kitsap County at 570 Lebo Blvd, Bremerton, WA 98310.
Videographer (KTOO) Skip Gray has put together a lovely album of photos of this woman whose life I find an inspiring – most are set against magnificent Alaskan backgrounds. I think these photos are an inspiration to each of us to live one’s life fully, joyously, and with kindness to all with whom we come in contact.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1582715902906.64649.1685971543
Rest in Peace, Bethany.
What a lovely tribute to a beautiful soul. I pray for comfort for the family and those who knew Bethany.
PennLawyer, I am so sorry….XXXXOOOO
Oh what a beautiful soul! thank you for sharing this tribute and photos of a woman who truly made this earth a better place with her time here.
Great pictures! They speak volumes…
Here’s one of my favorite conservation quotes – “It is not enough to understand the natural world; the point is to defend and preserve it.” – Edward Abbey
Thanks for the great photos! Happy Earth Day to you and your beautiful state. I’m so glad to be able associate it with sane, compassionate people and not just Sister Sarah.
Happy Earth Day, mudcreatures! If you’re in NYC today or tomorrow, please come to the fifth floor at Bloomingdale’s SoHo, 504 Broadway (Spring and Broome) and check out the wonderful eco-friendly clothes and accessories by ten great designers in The GreenShows pop-up shop. Tomorrow is the last day, but the Broadway windows will be ours till Tuesday.
So many people are going green in their housing, transportation, and food, while completely ignoring their second skins: clothing and skin care are exceptionally important to living an eco life! Conventional cotton uses 25% of all the pesticides and 10% of all the fertilizer used on the planet, and we can’t even eat it! One sixth of all the people on the planet work in the apparel industry in one capacity or another.
Happy Earth Day, and please visit http://www.thegreenshows.com if you can’t come to SoHo (or even if you can). Health and peace, and a blessed Good Friday to the Christians among us.
I had a lovely visit, thank you & yours<3
Happy ‘Earth Day’, everyone! I can always count on getting different, and beautiful, visual perspectives of the earth at the Mudflats. Thanks, AKM. Unlike Leenie, I only toyed with the idea of doing some yard work this week, so I was quite content with the instability of the weather ;), as in, “Ah, it’s too cold and the weather is too unpredictable to rake and reseed the lawn and flower beds. I’ll do it when we get two or three really warm days in a row.” I confess that I’m not a gardener at all. Merrycricket would not want to be my neighbour. On the other hand, I would gladly offer her the extra space to let her creativity soar, to her heart’s content! 🙂
Happy Earth Day to all the creatures great and small; all creatures bright and beautiful.
may the Mother care for and love all of her children equally.♥
(thanks to James Herriot for the books)
‘cept for the Teabags of course.
No, no, Bubbles! Let’s include even those guys today. Maybe a little love might crack open the shell on one or two of them. [ 😉 We have to have dreams you know, my dear Bubbles.]
Wisconsin recount:
“Compounding questions over the narrow margin was the revelation during vote counting that Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus had failed to report 14,315 votes. When they were counted, that pushed the election in Prosser’s favor. Ms. Nickolaus’s explanation that “human error” caused the mistaken delay in reporting the votes received the support of the Government Accountability Board. She remains under scrutiny by liberal groups, however, because of a resume that shows she once worked for as a data analyst and computer specialist for the state’s Republican caucus for 13 years, a time window that included Prosser’s brief tenure as Assembly speaker in 1995 and 1996.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0421/Will-Wisconsin-recount-affect-collective-bargaining-bill
I’m gonna make a wild guess and suggest the Government Accountability Board is 100% neutral and has no vested interest in seeing the guv’s agenda proceed.
Ohhhhhh, what gorgeous photographs! You most definitely have an artist’s eye.
I had HOPED to celebrate Earth Day this week by doing some yard work, including planting the new shrub seedlings I picked up last Friday. We have a wonderful program through the Monroe County Water and Soil Conversation District that provides shrub and tree seedling at an extremely reduced price. I’ve purchased lots shrubs over the past few years and I’m actually starting to get some privacy in my backyard as the plants grow (woo hoo!). The trees and shrubs come in packs of 10 or 100 plants and they also offer assortment packs which include several different kinds of plants in one package. The ten-packs are always less than $20 so, for someone landscaping on a miniscule budget, it’s a perfect source for cheap plant material. The 18 inch red osier dogwoods I bought two years ago are already about 5 feet tall and the birds happily scarf up the berries long before the heavy winter snow arrives. The red stems look just beautiful against the snow, and they’re helping to absorb a lot of the water in my yard that would otherwise end up in the storm drains. Win, win, win for everyone!
I bought some more red osiers and a wildlife shrub pack this year and was hoping to get some of them in the ground this week while I was on spring break. Your comment about April in Alaska being “a month of trickery and delayed expectations” certainly rings true about Rochester as well. We’ve had snow flying several days this week and we’ve had high wind warnings most days, with gusts strong enough to send garbage pails tumbling down the street. Temps have been in the 30s and 40s and the sun has only made an appearance for a few hours here and there. So much for ‘spring’ break! Of course, NEXT week is supposed to be in the 50s and 60s!
Happy Earth Day all!
[leenie17 — a slight correction, my sweet… May I remind you, darlin’, mudpups never ‘do’ “cheap”… inexpensive, yes; cheap, no. Never “cheap”. We go for the biggest bang for our buck, and we can tell the difference between quality and trash when we see it! We’re most talented, that way. We’re all eminently wise and discriminating…and we thoughtfully, intelligently, spend our money accordingly. So…]
“…it’s a perfect source for inexpensive plant material.” There, fixed it for you. ;-). beth. —
mudpups never ‘do’ “cheap”… inexpensive, yes; cheap, no.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
yeah we ain’t cheap. we frugal. LOL
Ahem. Allow me to draw upon my Scottish cultural values. We are not “cheap.” We are “thrifty.”
My sincere and humble apologies to all offended mudpups.
You are all correct and I acknowledge the need for thrift so that the funds saved through our careful consideration of costs may then be used to help sleepy puppies and fuzzy bunnies and small freckled children and bumbly manatees and the butterflies of the rainforest.
Please forgive me for my thoughtless use of the word ‘cheap’ which should ONLY be used in connection with the appearance and behavior of a certain red-Naughty-Monkey-pump-giant-Star-of-David-tribble-like-Bumpit-wearing ignoramus.
I promise I will never do it again. Ever.
LOL! fanned and faved. (((((Leenie)))))
🙂
Jeanne, I would love to own a coffee table book of your photos. (hint, hint)
ks- your first paragraph reminds me of and describes my “ex” as in fickle with mood swings.
We’re experiencing heavy rain and hail this morning, but it is supposed to be a nice Spring afternoon. In Kansas, most people seem to think of Nature as the weather; a fickle, but fascinating creature whose moods can change several times a week. Last month, we had a week with days that gave us temps in the low 80’s followed within a day or two with snow.
Your photographs remind us of the diversity of our planet, and how lucky we are to in a century where most of us have the option to travel and experience it. It wasn’t all that long ago, that traveling even within the state was a major trip. I can only hope that will all these opportunities to see our world, that we come to understand our responsibility to save it.
Happy Earth Day! May She live long and prosper. May we grow up as a species and ensure that She does.
What a treat. I loved the pics.
It is unseasonally warm this side of the pond but the weather is supposed to get cooler after today – I’ll enjoy it while I can.
Ooooh! Thank you for the beautiful pictures (o:
We have sleet this A.M. and rain throughout the day. Mother Nature is watering my yard for Earth Day so – not much I can do out there!
Such wonderful and peaceful photos for Earth Day. Thank you for the reminder that we live on a beautiful planet and we need to take better care of it. ♥
Stunningly beautiful! Jeanne, you have such an eye for finding and capturing the most amazing vistas to share with us. These are award-winning and I hope you plan to enter at least some of them into competition. My great aunt was an award-winning photographer (both US and Canada) and I know a winner (or two or three or more) when I see them!
Happy Earth Day to you also!