The book of nature is like a page

written over or printed upon

with different-sized characters and in many different languages,

interlined and cross-lined,

and with a great variety

of marginal notes and references.

There is coarse print and fine print;

there are obscure signs and hieroglyphics.

We all read the large type more or less appreciatively,

but only the students and lovers of nature

read the fine lines and footnotes.

It is a book which he reads best who goes most slowly

or even tarries long by the way…

For my part,

my delight is to linger long over each page

of this marvelous record,

and to dwell fondly upon its most obscure text.

-John Burroughs

Spring.

Totally worth the wait.

Who would have thought it possible

that a tiny little flower

could preoccupy a person so completely

that there simply wasn’t room for any other thought?

-Sophie Scholl

Cassidy has a favorite book by Margaret Wise Brown called The Color Kittens that is one of those rare children’s books, that are a joy to read aloud.

Brush and Hush are two kittens with green eyes, who mix and splash their buckets and buckets of paints to make all the colors of the world. They fall asleep and dream a fantastical dream….

And suddenly Brush woke up and Hush woke up. It was morning. They crawled out of bed into a big bright world. The sky was wild with sunshine.

The kittens were wild with purring and pouncing-

They got so pouncy they knocked over the buckets and all the colors ran out together.

There were all the colors in the world and the color kittens had made them.

That’s how I feel, like today there is color where no color existed before.

I feel wild with sunshine. The air is delicious.

I follow bees from flower to flower and drink in the color and the buzz.

I cannot speak; I purr.

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life.

-John Burroughs

Oh, so ready for spring. Checking daily on the progress of the green sprouting from the earth, that will soon be purple crocuses and yellow daffodils!

To that end, I’m all signed up with Project BudBurst and the National Phenology Network, citizen science projects where participants report the life cycle phenophases such as “leafing and flowering of plants, maturation of agricultural crops, emergence of insects, and migration of birds”. By collecting this data, scientists can better see environmental trends and the effects of climate change.

I just like having a scientific reason validating my need to be patrolling the grounds looking for signs of life…

We moved into this house three, nearly four, years ago, and we still haven’t painted all the rooms that want painting. This is due to the fact that we refuse to paint rooms white- too boring- but are too indecisive to choose color palettes for the main living spaces.

Check this out- color palettes based on NASA photos of heavenly bodies.

Is that awesome or is that awesome? I’m thinking the dining room is destined to become the Jupiter room and the kitchen will be the Saturn room. (via PSFK.)

The EWG has updated the Dirty Dozen of produce; the likeliest contenders to be harboring pesticides, making them the best choices for buying organic. New to the list: kale, lettuce, and carrots. Happily, these are the items I’m most likely to find selling for about the same price as conventional…

It’s been brought to my attention that West Philadelphia has a tool library, which got me really excited and I was reading to Jeffrey about. Until I hit the bit about their having a “few hundred tools”, from “complex power tools to hammers, handheld tools and gardening supplies.”

At which point Jeff rightfully stated that he probably owns more tools than they do. Maybe we should start our own Southern Chester County tool cooperative?

Speaking of cooperatives, Stephanie sent me a link to this story about the “economics of self-help”. (Thanks Stephanie!) As she puts it, “people in the Great Depression got together to form co-ops to work and get food through the tough times. Definitely showcases “that American resilience” that people around the blogosphere sometimes talks about.”

From the article:

It all worked on a time-credit system. Each hour worked earned a hundred points; there was no hierarchy of skills, and all work paid the same. Members could use credits to buy food and other items at the commissary, medical and dental services, haircuts, andmore. A council of some 45 coordinators met regularly to solve problems and discuss opportunities.

One coordinator might report that a saw needed a new motor. Another knew of a motor but the owner wanted a piano in return. A third member knew of a piano that was available. And on and on. It was an amalgam of enterprise and cooperation—the flexibility and hustle of the market, but without the encoded greed of the corporation or the stifling bureaucracy of the state. The economics texts don’t really have a name for it. The members called it a “reciprocal economy.”

….It embodied the trusty American virtues of initiative, responsibility, and self-help, but in a way that was grounded in community and genuine economy.

Initiative, responsibility, and self-help. Not waiting for the President to fix the economy. Not pointing fingers and assigning blame. These people worked it out for themselves. Why don’t they teach you about these things in school?

The other night the boys and I were discussing the concept of heaven, and Maverick asked why they didn’t just wait until someone was almost dead, and then bring them back to life with the paddles, and ask them if they saw heaven. Which then evolved into a conversation about near-death experiences, and the white light at the end of the tunnel, and all that, and whether the brain universally triggers these elements when deprived of oxygen, and whether if the brain causes these feelings of well-being and belonging, does that necessarily mean it’s not heaven? Can heaven be a state of mind? And so on.

The following day I came across an article claiming that scientists discovered the brain’s “God spot”, and show that faith helps human survival. Basically, the same area of the brain was fired up when participants of varying faiths were asked to ponder religious and moral issues. Some scientists suggest that this implies that religion is evolutionary, Darwin at his finest; those with religious conviction were able to withstand hardships that those with no such beliefs could not.

My father would say that this part of the brain acts as the signature of a Creator- he was fond of the watchmaker analogy. Throw all the parts of a watch into a box, wait a few eons, and see what evolves.

I say, fascinating. Seriously. No matter what your beliefs may be. I’m not looking to spark a theological debate, I’m just saying: the human brain, what a wondrous thing.

21 Sickening Statistics: The Only Motivation You’ll Ever Need.

A little list to remind us, as Dr. Seuss did, “Have I ever told you how lucky you are?”

Lastly:

Move over Snuggie, it’s something weirder….

It’s a sleeping bag! It’s a jumpsuit! It’s the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man! It’s.. a..

….it’s a Lippi Selk bag.

I don’t know. Brilliant? Ridiculous? Warm, that’s for sure.

That’s it for now! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!