Potomac Valley Nature Writing Group

ARCTIC DREAMS DISCUSSION POSTPONED

2012-01-28T16:01:00.005-05:00

Our discussion of Arctic Dreams is postponed until the February 2012 meeting. Date, time place TBA This work has so much material that we need 3 months to do it justice! . Our January meeting was devoted to group business and selection of books for the coming season. See left for the winning works that we will be reading in 2012!

We Dream of the Arctic in December 2011

2011-12-11T08:57:00.005-05:00

As our globe warms, the Arctic as we once knew it is fast becoming a dream of time past. This month I'm thrilled to announce that we delve into Arctic Dreams as delivered by the prolific and much honored author Barry Lopez. Arctic Dreams won the 1986 National Book Award and is considered his masterpiece.

From the publisher: "Lopez offers a thorough examination of this obscure world-its terrain, its wildlife, its history of Eskimo natives and intrepid explorers who have arrived on their icy shores. But what turns this marvelous work of natural history into a breathtaking study of profound originality is his unique meditation on how the landscape can shape our imagination, desires, and dreams. Its prose as hauntingly pure as the land it describes, Arctic Dreams is nothing less than an indelible classic of modern literature."

Bill Moyer's Interview with Barry Lopez: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04302010/profile.html

Review excerpts : "Jubilant....Barry Lopez lavishes his discoveries into a portfolio of delights." The New York Times Book Review "Wonderfully informed and evocative....Keen observation given shape with language that is deft and vivid." Chicago Tribune "Rich, abundant, vigorously composed." The Boston Globe "[It is the earth's] synchronous wealth of life — of all life — that Barry Lopez is celebrating in his jubilant new book. Among contemporary nature writers Mr. Lopez is especially a rhapsodist, and what he has done in this passionate paean to the Arctic and its cycles of light and darkness, its species of ice, its creatures and waters, is to present a whole series of raptures and riffs on the subject of musk oxen, ivory gulls, white foxes, polar bears, icebergs and sea currents..." New York Times Book Review

Author website: http://www.barrylopez.com/blog.htm
Reviews:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/apr/02/featuresreviews.guardianreview35
http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9780375727481-6
NOAA Arctic site: http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/detect/
We meet in January to share our impressions. Stay tuned for time and place.

Member Review: Reason For Hope

2011-12-11T08:53:00.003-05:00

Member Joy Pardue contributed a report on our discussion in October 2011. Thank you Joy!:

PVNWG members thoroughly enjoyed Jane Goodall’s autobiographical Reason for Hope , our selection for the October, 2011 meeting. After a slow start the story quickly came to life when Ms Good all began portraying the chimpanzees of Gumbo. Here her writing became engaging, her mission more intriguing, and her multifaceted interests more evident.
Dr. Good all is no ordinary scientist. Indeed, she had little formal education when she began her groundbreaking research in Africa - Louis Leaky chose her, in part, for this very reason and this unconventional approach probably paid off better than he dreamed. Goodall’s efforts have not only advanced scientific knowledge, but have provided substantial benefits directly to chimpanzees and other animals worldwide.
During her 20 years at Gombe, Jane focused her keen powers of observation onto these chimps and discovered totally unexpected characteristics and behaviors. Her shocking account that these wild beings were making and properly using tools promptly elicited harsh criticism from fellow scientists who had been more formally trained. Furthermore, without ‘proper’ training – and, thus, not knowing better - Jane ‘named’ her subjects and ascribed to them ‘personalities’ and ‘emotions’. This brought additional censure but she was neither perturbed nor deterred. Jane knew what she had witnessed and stood resolute as critics tried to discredit her. Today, the validity of her reports endure.
Throughout her story, Jane weaves her musings, feelings, mystical experiences and questions about religion which includes some of her poetry along with a generous sprinkling of scripture. “Solitude” was one of the many gifts of those years in the forest and she treasured this as an “unparalleled period when aloneness was a way of life”. An entire chapter is devoted to this phase which lead to a deeper appreciation of the beauty and magic of nature. One comment, in particular, caught our attention: “In particular I became intensely aware of the being-ness of trees.”
Jane is one of those rare scientists who retains compassion for her subjects and looks beyond the project at hand. Seeing the threats the chimps were facing as their world changed, she eventually expanded her mission from researcher to spokesperson.
Despite being far from home for extended periods, Jane remained devoted to her family. All of us were surprised to learn that her Mother came to Africa to be with Jane during those early years at Gombe mainly because it wasn’t proper for a young woman to be alone in that era. This arrangement worked well for them and the surrounding community as Vanne took on responsibilities that were helpful to the locals. Other family members appear in the story at appropriate times and Jane highlights them with love and admiration.
Who could have imagined where Jubilee – a large stuffed chimpanzee – that her father gave her when she was one year old would ultimately lead her. Encouraged by her mother and grandmother, Jane dreamed big and became ‘one of the fortunate few’ who realized those dreams. That Jane, who will soon to be an octogenarian, continues working on behalf of Planet Earth and all inhabitants is heartening and uplifting. Members in attendance agreed with Cheryl’s suggestion that we ought to consider more autobiographies in the future.

We Grok Goodall

2011-12-11T07:22:00.005-05:00

The Oxford English Dictionary defines grok as "to understand intuitively or by empathy; to establish rapport with" and "to empathise or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment." (Author Robert A. Heinlein coined the term in his best-selling 1961 book Stranger in a Strange Land. )

In A Reason for Hope Jane Goodall describes her early enchantment with nature and the interwining of science and spirit that has driven her life work. Seeking a disciple with an unprejudiced eye, Louis Leakey chose Jane because of her lack of credentials, driving curiosity, and chutzpah that had brought her from England to Africa hoping to "work with animals." Jane's approach to the task he set for her was an anomaly in the world of ethology fieldwork at that time. Instead of assigning numbers to her chimpanzee subjects she gave them names that suited their personalities and behaviors. She used her (dare I say womanly?) powers of empathy as a tool to unravel the mysteries of primate social psychology. In retrospect, her approach seems supremely logical--the relational world of human primates is remarkably similar to that of our chimp cousins (our DNA varies only a few percentage points). But at the time of her first foray into research, Goodall was a quiet maverick, considered a laughable amateur by the scientific hierarchy. As her book makes clear, Jane "groks" nature in all its forms, including the experience of being human. Retired from field work, she now tirelessly campaigns for mistreated chimpanzees worldwide who suffer as discarded or neglected zoo and research animals. Her Roots and Shoots program promotes appreciation for nature among children. Everywhere she goes, audiences are electrified by her insight, kindness, and sense of humor.
Jane's intimate connection with nature and concern for our singular planet resonated in different ways with our members, but certainly produced a harmonious chord. Jane's Reason for Hope is the evidence she sees that our "better angels" exist within and will eventually lead us to live in harmony with creation. If Jane Goodall is any indication of human potential, there is indeed Reason for Hope. May we all be inspired by her example.

Barbara Hurd NOVEMBER 2011 AUTHOR

2011-10-17T07:04:00.004-04:00

In November 2011 author Barbara Hurd leads our group on a virtual tour of Entering the Stone, her collection of essays on caves and confronting the unknown. Here is the authors official website: http://barbarahurd.com/

The Diane Rehm Show on Entering the Stone:
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/03/08/18.php

“In this profound and beautifully written exploration of caves and caving, Barbara Hurd describes not only her initiation into the stony earth but also the full range of human depths. Geology and spiritual discovery in this book are one, the evolution of Hurd’s knowledge of stalactites and sightless cave fish inseparable from her encounter with fear and mystery, invisibility and intimacy, Eros and grief, life and death. Entering the Stone is a masterpiece of the interior world.”--Jane Hirshfield

We meet to discuss our experience of Hurd's work on December 3. If you wish to join us, please email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for directions.

Jane Goodall REASON FOR HOPE October 2011

2011-10-09T07:51:00.006-04:00

We meet on October 30, 2011 at a member's home to discuss Jane Goodall's work Reason for Hope. To me she is one of the few persons living who match (or even exceed) John Muir's legacy as a sort of environmental saint. Some years ago, I was honored to hear Dr. Goodall lecture at the National Geographic Society and thrilled to meet her at the book signing afterward. She exudes a timeless inner peace and wisdom, along with a mischievious sense of humor.

At the book signing, just as my companion and I were about to step up to the table after a long wait in line, a woman bustled up with a suited man in tow. She rudely pushed in front of us to introduce the man to Dr. Goodall. It was evident that she believed this gentleman was so important that her behavior was excusable. Jane graciously shook his hand and they just as quickly went away. She then turned to us and met my eyes.

Her eyes were twinkling and she had that slight smile one sees so often in her photographs. In that instant, she said volumes. Having spent decades studying aggression and hierarchy among the chimpanzees, she was quite obviously amused at this display of familiar primate behavior. So I smiled back in acknowledgment of what we had just observed among our own species and we proceeded with having our copy of her book inscribed.

I look forward to our discussion. New participants may attend as a current member's guest or email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for more information.

SUMMER READ: Mountains of the Heart

2011-05-26T09:54:00.003-04:00

Scott Weidensaul's Mountains of the Heart is our SUMMER READ selection. We will inaugurate our 2011-2012 season on September 25 with an appreciation of this book and it's subject, the natural history and ecology of the Appalachian Mountains. (Time and place to be announced.) To link to the Pulitizer Prize nominated author's gorgeous website click here. Click on the book cover at left for a summary of the book.

SUMMER WORLD SUMMER CHALLENGE

2011-05-26T09:11:00.006-04:00

Our picnic to cap off the 2010-2011 season fell on a beautiful spring evening. Our potluck repast sweetened our savoring of Bernd Heinrich's Summer World, followed by a preview of La Casita, the new nature center, and a walk in the wood to admire a variety of fecund ferns.

Summing up Summer World is difficult to do. So much fascination is packed into each page. Some of us liked this book better than the author's Winter World. It was easier for us to relate to his description of summer phenomena which are comparable to our mid-atlantic region versus his exploration of what happens in the long, frigid winter in the north country of Maine. However, Heinrich never fails to inspire with his laser-like focus on details and his ability to construct brilliant experiments to answer his never-ceasing questions about "What would happen if?" and "Why?" Nothing in nature is outside of his scope: the immersion of spring leaves and buds, insect and mammal behaviors, and so on. He is exemplary in his intimacy with the natural world-- it is a daily immersion by which he measures his existence.

Also inspirational is his skill in documenting his experiences and thought processes in words and drawings that allow us to learn along with him. When we read Heinrich we are learning how to observe, how to think about what we observe and how we might create the same types of experiences for ourselves. And how we might document them in a similar fashion to share with others! In fact, I would like to challenge our PVNWG members (or anyone reading Heinrich and this blog) to come up with a personal Heinrich-like study or experiment this summer, and write/draw to document your process and results. And of course email your work to pvnaturewriters@gmail.com and I will post it on our REFLECTIONS page! The goal is to try out the observation and documenting process, so if you are at all intimidated or need a boost of encouragement, remind yourself to keep it simple.

We reconvene book discussion meetings in September 2011--to pay homage to our summer read: Scott Weidensaul's Mountains of the Heart.

Heinrich's SUMMER WORLD Seasons May 2011

2011-04-20T10:54:00.006-04:00

Our May 2011 selection is SUMMER WORLD by Bernd Heinrich. Heinrich is the first author to be honored for a second time by PVNWG. We read his WINTER WORLD previously. See here.
To read the introduction to Summer World and listen to a radio interview with the author, click here. Our 2010-2011 seasons ends with our Summer World discussion on May 22 while we enjoy a celebratory picnic at Maryland's Greenbrier State Park.

APRIL 17 Meeting Re DISCOVERING MOTHS

2011-04-20T10:45:00.005-04:00

Four busy members folded their wings for a few hours to rate John Himmelman's guide to Discovering Moths. Host joy served us sparkling cranberry juice whilst our imaginations circled round these fascinating night-time 'jewels.'

Moth enthusiast Cheryl brought a collection of moth specimens and Vicki the "fishdoc" shared a Sphinx moth cocoon she found while clearing her garden for spring. Check out one of Cheryl's blog posts on moths here. Member comments:

Diane Sylvester: Himmelman sounds like a fun guy and I'd love to attend one of his moth trail events. While much of the book has been easy reading, I would like to have seen drawings or photos of the moths on the pages where he was discussing them to make them more intimate. I found the drawings a little dark to discern much detail(or is it my eyes?) but there needed to be more of them. I have a end wall of my house that attracts many moths and I have photographed many of them. Using this book, I have identified some moths in my photographs. I have the W.J. Holland book Himmelman references and I also find it extremely difficult to use since the moths I see are in their natural poses, not the specimen poses I find in that book. Based on Himmelman's recommendation, I will probably try to locate Charles Covell's book A Field Guide to the Moths of Eastern North America. Moths are a very complicated subject and as he said, it doesn't get the press that butterflies do.

APRIL IS AFLUTTER WITH DISCOVERING MOTHS

2011-03-31T16:05:00.011-04:00

OUR AUTHOR FOR APRIL 2011 is John Himmelman and we are reading his Discovering Moths: Nightime Jewels in Your Own Backyard. From the back cover: Moths offer an incredible variety of color, form, behavior, and ecological significance, but since most of them are active at night, we are often simply unaware of them. John Himmelman opens our eyes, showing how moth watching can offer as much beauty and fascination as birding.In lively, accessible prose, he explains the intricacy of moths' life cycle, their importance in nature, and how just a tiny handful of the many moth species are truly pests to humans. He tells how to attract moths with lights and bait, when and where to observe them, and how best to photograph these tiny subjects. Entertaining personal anecdotes and short profiles of some of the country's foremost "mothers" add human interest. Illustrated with the author's own superb pen-and-ink illustrations and spectacular close-up photographs of moths found in the eastern U.S., this book will be of interest not only to nature enthusiasts, but also to parents, birders, butterfly aficionados, and anyone interested in the outdoors. John Himmelman is the author of numerous books and articles on nature subjects. A cofounder of the Connecticut Butterfly Association, he has lectured and led field trips throughout the US. "My interest in moths probably evolved along with my tendency to stay up at night," he says. "The fact that I could find hundreds of different kinds in my own yard, and that I find their form, function, and beauty a marvel, helped make them an obsession."
Click on his photo to peruse his website and read his self-penned biography. On his website there are links to his photos of moths and amphibians, and information about his other books.

MEMBER REVIEW: ENCOUNTERS WITH THE ARCHDRUID

2011-03-31T16:02:00.008-04:00

Our group discussed John McPhee's Encounters with the Archdruid on March 27, 2011. Here is a report by member Joy Pardue:

Having never delved deeply into the realm of ancient religions, I had only a vague notion of the definition of ‘archdruid’. Druids are defined as those who “worship the forces of nature by means of meditation, prayer and celebration of the Earth.…” Thus, John McPhee bestows the title of “Archdruid” onto David Brower while one of his adversaries lumps David (and all conservationists) with druids and dismisses them as people who “worshiped trees and sacrificed people”.

In this absorbing book, McPhee orchestrates meetings between David Brower and three impressive, driven professionals whose ambitions – as far as David Brower is concerned – are anathema to the well being of the planet and its inhabitants. These encounters are set in some of the most scenic regions of our country. “The Mountain” refers to the Cascade Mountains where McPhee arranges a trek which includes Brower, geologist Charles Park and two medical students. Brower and Parks debate the economic advantages versus the natural and esthetic losses of copper mining is this pristine setting. “The Island” hosts a meeting between Brower and real estate developer Charles Fraser who was proudly transforming picturesque Cumberland Island into an extravagant resort. “The River” section covers a rafting trip down the Colorado River and a visit to Glen Canyon Dam. Floyd Dominy, US Commissioner of Reclamation, who built this and many other dams, is an outspoken critic of conservationists and as determined to have it his way as David Brower is.

A passage in this chapter illustrates McPhee’s ability to record opposing views clearly and concisely – with a touch of humor. He quotes Dominy as saying “Reclamation is the father of putting water to work for man – irrigation, hydropower, flood control, recreation. Let’ s use our environment. Nature changes the environment every day of our lives – why shouldn’t we change it. Diametrically opposed, conservationists think “there is something special about dams, something – as conservation problems go – that is disproportionately and metaphysically sinister. The outermost circle of the Devil’s world seems to be a moat filled mainly with DDT…and so on past phalanxed bulldozers and bicuspid chain saws into the absolute epicenter of Hell on earth, where stands a dam.”

In each setting, McPhee faithfully records the dialogue, discourse and the many disagreements between Brower and his foil. In the telling, Brower comes to life as a naturalist practically on par with John Muir, an intrepid mountaineer, a passionate defender of the planet and the seriously successful executive director of the Sierra Club where he was revered as a “poet, naturalist and politician” amongst the rank and file. (or “ the membership”).

For twenty years, Brower served the Sierra Club “brilliantly…magnificently”, growing it from a “small, local organization…into a major national and international force in the conservation movement.” In time, as Brower became more powerful and his methods became more controversial, he alienated and infuriated many members of the Board of Directors – enough to have him ousted. Even Ansel Adams’ vote was “Anti-Brower”. Lending truth to the member’s observation: “There is no love-hate like the love-hate that exists among mountaineers.”

Our PVNWG members rated this book highly and agreed that McPhee maintained a fairly neutral stance in depicting these strong, single-minded characters. He records their interactions with neither commentary nor criticism It isn’t easy to determine where his sympathies lie as he records these communications and relationships without commentary or judgment. Perhaps McPhee’s primary goal is to be well informed and to inform others. What a creative way to learn: bring together the archdruid and his archenemies (so to speak) and take notes as they debate the subject. On site of the area in dispute!

In the process we learn something about geology, the extraction industry and the laws – or lack thereof – pertaining to these corporations. We are privy to behind-the-scenes people and politics that make or break dreams and schemes. We’re among the very few who are privy to the inner workings of a dam. And we enjoy the vicarious pleasure of rafting through the Grand Canyon. All of which give us glimpses of the world David Brower saw, loved and appreciated. “Archdruid” may not be considered an altogether complimentary term, but I think McPhee chose it as a tribute to David Brower – a fitting title for this dedicated devotee of Planet Earth.

Brower photo via Life.com

PVNWG HONORS PULITZER WINNER JOHN MCPHEE ON MARCH 27, 2011

2011-03-02T13:25:00.013-05:00

John McPhee was the March 2011 author. Our main reading selection is his 1971 work Encounters with the Archdruid but members should feel free to read alternate McPhee works if they wish.

McPhee was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and educated at Princeton University and Cambridge University. His writing career began at Time magazine and led to his long association with the New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1965. McPhee has taught at Princeton as Ferris Professor since 1975. Both Encounters with the Archdruid and another of his works, The Curve of Binding Energy, were nominated for National Book Awards in the category of science. In 1977, McPhee received the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His book Annals of the Former World was published in 1998 and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1999.

ABOUT ENCOUNTERS....

Calling David Brower an important environmental activist is like calling Hamlet an important member of the Danish royal court. Brower invented modern American environmental activism. John Nielson, National Public Radio

Reading like a novel, Encounters... acquaints us with the personalities of four men. The protagonist is Friends of the Earth founder and "militant conservationist" David Brower. Brower's three antagonists on the environmental battlefield include an developer, a geologist/miner, and a federal bureaucrat. McPhee takes us on virtual journeys to three wildernesses - a coastal island, a Western mountain range, and the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. We witness the clash of these men's differing philosophies and relationships to nature, but also the humor and friendliness of their interactions as worthy opponents.

Resources to learn more about McPhee, his life and work, and the Archdruid, David Brower.

McPhee Home Page

Bookshelf

Encounters with the Archdruid

The Pulitizer Prize

NPR interview

David Brower Center

Awareness Flowers from Natural History of WATER

2011-03-02T11:48:00.010-05:00

On February 27, seven old faithfuls and three perky guests bubbled with opinions about Alice Outwater's Water: A Natural History. Our group included a water quality scientist, and extremely knowledgeable members of the local Watershed advocacy association, who contributed much to our discussion.

Outwater's book ripples with fascinating details plumbed from Herculean research into North America's past. Chapter by chapter, the book mixes a toxic brew of evidence: civilization has damned our continent's ecological systems that formerly provided a continuously self-cleaning, self-renewing water cycle. As the Fox admonished the Little Prince, "You become responsible forever, for what you have tamed." Without the natural wetlands, free flowing rivers, and intact forests, we awkwardly, expensively and unsuccessfully attempt to use technology and regulations to produce what was once provided free, by Mother Nature. The book underscores how all aspects of nature are related, and work in concert. Removing one species can have a domino effect. For example, Europeans' lust for fashionable and supremely warm fur almost extincted the North American beaver, the wetlands engineer par excellence.

Comments of amazement and uncomfortable heightened consciousness at what has been lost through ignorance, negligence, short-sightedness and sheer greed, in only a few centuries, were followed swiftly by queries as to what can be done? The sheer volume of human population, agricultural, mining, manufacturing uses and abuses, not to mention polluting sources such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, when taken together suggest hopelessness as to ever restoring a natural balance. We wondered--are other, less developed countries learning from our mistakes?

Members mentioned the Green Belt tree planting movement in Africa, and the use of human waste as fertilizer in China. A member who had recently returned from visiting a South African city noted that power outages are routine, occur without warning, and are simply adapted to by the populace. In Croatia, coal falls from the sky. In the Middle East, conflicts are over access to water of any kind, quality is a secondary issue. We are lucky to live where there are regulations on the books, even if they are imperfectly enforced, and as unfunded mandates, become a cruel mirage.

Our watershed association visitors (See Opeqon Watershed, Inc. and Opequon Creek Project ) offered that West Virginia has the most dams of any state in the nation--494 at last count. The WV EPA has determined the most polluted watersheds are home turf: Sleepy Creek and Opequon. The association hosts two water cleanups yearly. The Associations' monitoring for E. coli has been discontinued for now. We know that rain storms spike it. The EPA safe standard for E. coli is 235 MPN/100 mL--a storm event raises it to 1600. Waste water treatment plants, agricultural runoffs, raw sewage are primary culprits.The WV Department of Agriculture is monitoring the streams. Unfortunately there is no one site a concerned citizen can go to to see all the different monitoring results gathered by various entities that relate to water quality.

The EPA has a Watershed Implementation Plan that specifies upgrading of all Wastewater treatment plants. As demonstration projects, the association built five rain gardens throughout the area to retain run off but it has been found that they require so much maintenance that they are not as efficient mechanisms as originally believed. Riparian buffers--three rows of trees by the sides of rivers and streams--do much to prevent erosion and minimize runoff. There are federal funds and other types of grants available to offset costs. The Association holds several tree plantings yearly and draws folks from all over.

How can we take action? Join and become active in water quality activist groups like your local Watershed Association or Riverkeepers group, as well as chapters of national groups such as the Sierra Club. Donations are always welcome! Write to your local, state and national legislators, and agencies such as the EPA. Participate in water monitoring projects. Vote. Think about your consumer choices. If you own property, think thrice before building, altering the landscape, removing natural flora, or using pesticides and fertilizers. Educate yourself. Dispose of waste responsibly. For example, keep unused pharmaceuticals out of the waste stream. Contact your local hazardous waste disposal agency and check out these guidelines here.

We thank Alice Outwater for her work. We now have a thirst to learn more, do more to protect our water.

Poetry Walk Seeks Submissions for Yankauer Wildflower Festival on April 16

2011-03-02T11:35:00.002-05:00

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society will hold its annual spring Wildflower Festival on Saturday, April 16 at the Yankauer Nature Preserve, from 11:00 to 4:00 PM rain or shine. For the fourth year in a row, the festival will feature a Poetry Walk. Original poems relating to the season will be displayed along the preserve’s Kingfisher trail where the majority of wildflowers are found.
Poets are invited to submit for consideration up to three works that explore themes and images related to spring. Send poems by email to pvnaturewriters@gmail.com or by regular mail to Poetry Walk, c/o PVAS, PO Box 578, Shepherdstown, WV 25443. Entries may also be dropped off at Four Seasons Books, 116 W. German Street, Shepherdstown. The deadline for receipt of submissions is 5:00 PM on Friday, April 8.

"WATER, A NATURAL HISTORY" FLOATS US INTO FEBRUARY 2011

2011-01-12T21:27:00.011-05:00

Alice Outwater's Water: A Natural History will be the topic for our meeting on February 27 (See details at left.) Alice Outwater is an environmental engineer and the coauthor, with Larry Gonick, of The Cartoon Guide to the Environment. A little web surfing indicated that Outwater used to live in Vermont but now lives in Colorado and you can read her personal blog Beside the Stream: Country Life at 7000 Feet here: FROM THE BACK COVER of Water: A Natural History: In Water: A Natural History environmental engineer Alice Outwater takes us on a journey that beings five hundred years ago, back to the wardrobe records of kings of France and the diaries of the first Western explorers, to recover a lost knowledge—how the land cleans its own water. Water moves from the reservoir to the toilet, from the grasslands of the Midwest to the Everglades of Florida, through the guts of a wastewater treatment plant and out to the waterways again. Step by step we come to learn what should have been obvious from the beginning: a complex ecological system long kept American water remarkably clean but we have randomly removed necessary components from it… Water is the unforgettable story of the symbiosis that existed between the country’s water, the land from which is springs, and the life the two can support together.

FYI, Water gets 4.5 stars out of 5 in ratings by readers on Amazon. One reader comments “Aldo Leopold would recommend this book!” IMO, an excellent companion activity to reading this book is working on the watershed section of the Audubon society’s Do You Know Your Ecological Address?

Readers, please add info from your own research or reading of this book by commenting on this blogpost! Or email to pvnaturewriters@gmail.com and I will post!

Your fearless leader and humble servant.

January 9, 2011 PVNWG Communes with Leopold's A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC

2011-01-12T20:27:00.006-05:00

Fortunately, nowadays one does not have to "live alone" with awareness of ecological wounds as Aldo Leopold felt he must in the early decades of the last century. Thanks in great part to Leopold's work at consciousness raising , ecological literacy is rapidly becoming a foundation of human society.

As one small example: our group met on January 9 to honor Leopold and discuss his ideas. A gusty wind iced our fingers and toes, but we took comfort that the pale sun rose a little earlier than the day before, and would set a little later. Member Marilee welcomed us to her cozy home, and we settled in with cups of hot tea and delicacies.

We got right to work on a major task--choosing our authors and works for 2011. We have an exciting reading list lined up! (See left.) Unfortunately we became so absorbed in discussing the candidates and related topics that we left only a short time to devote to Leopold's A Sand County Almanac! But here's the gist of what we shared (if anyone remembers something that I missed or wants to contribute a new thought, please email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com or add your comment to this blog posting):

1. Aldo Leopold was an artist-philosopher-scientist. Almost a priest of Gaia. His writing integrates facts with a deep wisdom, a keen intellect, a cautionary prescription, his own emotional and spiritual responses to nature, and his simple enjoyment of living. Each word is perfectly chosen and combined with its fellows. So much meaning is packed into each sentence, but they all seem to flow effortlessly. His descriptions of nature are vivid, sensory experiences. Some members had lengthy handwritten notes or had flagged multiple pages in their copies of the book, to mark their favorites of his ideas and artistic turns of phrase. Members quoted from his writing to emphasize their points.
2. His ideas were groundbreaking but they seem almost commonplace now because so much of what we (meaing the conservation community) read and practice is permeated with his understanding of how humans are members of a biotic community and how our actions need to reflect this basic ecology. But he was one of the first to think this through and express it! Putting his work into the context of his time creates awe for his achievement. He predated Rachel Carson's Silent Spring!
3. As one feels/thinks, so one acts. Our environmental crisis is directly related to how we think, feel and perceive nature. There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot....
4. Leopold pointed out how access to nature was historically a CLASS issue, for example, private game clubs. Without governments and others working to preserve parks and lands accessible to all ( i.e. our rightful heritage), likely only the elite would be able to enjoy natural beauty and the full benefits of a working ecosystem.
5. Hunters can be conservationists, and historically some of our foremost conservationists, like Teddy Roosevelt, came from their ranks. Leopold writes of his hunting experiences as a form of communion with and reverence for the land, and decries hunters whose primary motivation is the trophy.
6. Leopold inspired members to pull out their field guides to check his references to plant species. Two members brought supplemental books written by or about Leopold to share.
7. Question: does Leopold's writing promote an impractical ideal? Not sure. Certainly a guiding principle to work toward.
8. Leopold was fortunate to own land where he and his family could visit and experience it through the seasons. He got to have an ongoing intimacy that deepened over time, with a particular place. We can all do that wherever we live, if we make the effort.
9. Leopold's son was named Luna. That was pretty radical for the time. Still is, come to think of it. Another clue to his "out of the box" nature?
10. Leopold had a wry sense of humor. He comes across as approachable and easy going. He was able to write of serious issues and even admonish us in a way that does not seem strident or accusing, but inspiring
11. Leopold was a proponent of Deep Ecology, before that term was invented, that is the idea that all facets of nature have a right to exist beyond their utility to humans.

GREEN FIRE: ALDO LEOPOLD IS AUTHOR FOR JANUARY 2010 MEETING

2010-12-16T10:33:00.012-05:00

“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.”

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac.

In January 2011 PVNWG celebrates the beginning of our third year (!) by paying tribute to Aldo Leopold and his work A Sand County Almanac. Leopold is a fitting author to follow on the heels of Pancake who plumbs the depths of wrongs perpetuated by the mining industry. He richly deserves his place next to Rachel Carson and Thoreau in the pantheon of environmental writer/heroes.

The summary below* is lifted from The Aldo Leopold Foundation website. This site has a wealth of information about Leopold and the influence he has had on conservation and our awareness of the biotic community--which only continues to grow. The Foundation is putting Leopold's ideas to work. It has developed some exciting projects to bring people together for the benefit of the environment. Please click on the link to check it out. And don't miss the moving preview of the film Green Fire: The Life and Legacy of Aldo Leopold.
*Admired by an ever-growing number of readers and imitated by hundreds of writers, A Sand County Almanac written by Aldo Leopold serves as one of the cornerstones for modern conservation science, policy, and ethics. First published by Oxford University Press in 1949 – one year after Leopold’s death – it has become a classic in the field equaled in its lasting stature only by Henry David Thoreau’s Walden.

While Aldo Leopold was writing in the 1940’s he could not have imagined the far-reaching impact his book would have. Over two million copies have been printed and it has been translated into nine languages.

Long respected in his own fields of forestry and wildlife management, Aldo Leopold was a prolific writer for scientific journals and conservation magazines. However, in 1937, sometime after his fifty-third birthday, Leopold became increasingly focused on reaching the general public with his conservation message. Working over a twelve-year period, Leopold wrote, re-wrote, and re-wrote again, essays that both informed people of how the natural world worked, and inspired people to take action to ensure the future health of the land and water that sustains all life.

Not only was this influential book late to develop in Leopold’s mind, it was very nearly never completed. A week after Oxford University Press agreed to publish his manuscript, titled “Great Possessions,” Aldo Leopold suffered a heart attack and died while fighting an escaped grass fire on a neighbor’s property.

Led by Luna Leopold, Aldo’s son, a group of Leopold’s family and colleagues collaborated on the final editing of the book, reluctantly agreeing to one significant change; renaming the book from Leopold’s working title “Great Possessions” to A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There.

Through science, history, humor, and prose, Leopold utilizes A Sand County Almanac and its call for a Land Ethic to communicate the true connection between people and the natural world, with the hope that the readers will begin to treat the land with the love and respect it deserves.
Date and venue for PVNWG January 2011 meeting to be announced. (NOTE: MEETING SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, JANUARY 9 at 2:00 PM. ) New members interested in attending please email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for details.

Pancake Work Sparks Concern: December 2010 Meeting Report

2010-12-16T09:41:00.010-05:00

Our December 5 meeting was facilitated by member Joy Pardue. Here is her summary of the group's thoughts on Ann Pancake's Strange As This Weather Has Been.

The afternoon was cool with blustery winds. A cozy fire in a room full of books provided a great setting for our discussion.

Diane had printed out some of her thoughts which gave us a good starting place. She commented that before she began reading the book, she flipped through looking for chapter titles and was perplexed to find only "short single-word titles that were no help at all." After reading a few chapters, she realized these were the names of the characters and each chapter was devoted to that particular character. She thought it was difficult to read many of the characters because of the stream-of-consciousness style...and the "Appalachianization' of the speech and thought." Others agreed that phrases and phrasing were sometimes awkward.

Generally, however, we all agreed that this style was quite effective. Cheryl was the first to comment that switching back and forth among the characters lessened the impact of their wretched experiences. Had this story been told in chronological order and/or without a change in perspective, it would have been 'too much' to absorb. Even so Pancake addressed the ever-present disasters in almost every chapter - through memories, daily life and fears about the future.

Descriptions of the natural beauty of the mountains surrounding this community were woven into the story alongside descriptions of the 'slaughter' and devastation of the land. Pancake highlighted this love of place through several characters in particular: Lace's mother, Lace, Bant (her daughter) and Mogey. Through her excellent passages describing the wondrous enchantment of the mountains and the inhabitants’ reverence for their home, the author indirectly addressed the question "why couldn't/didn't they just leave."

Throughout the book, those closely connected since birth answered this question in various ways. Mogey's (Lace's uncle) musings were eloquent and stirring. One passage, based on an experience he'd had at age 10, seems worthy of re-reading:

"Somehow a rock fall had come and made like this room...I stepped into that
little room...something layered down over my self...the feel of a warm bath with
current in it, a mild electric...once it had currented all the way through me
and reached my very ends, it kept on going. It blended me right on out into the
woods...took me beyond myself...I saw then how before I'd been hidden, how I'd
believed myself smaller than I really was. It made me feel bigger in
myself...and it made me feel more here.... And with it came total sureness. And
with the total sureness came peace."

Understandably, several members agreed this chapter was the best of the book.

In another reference as to why so few bring themselves to leave, Bant condensed the dilemma of her parents nicely. "

Bottom line never changed. Lace wanted to stay even though she was convinced
we'd be washed out. Jimmy Make wanted to leave though he didn't think it would
ever get as bad as Lace thought."

Having grown up in a coal-mining community, Jennifer clarified some of the terms pertaining to the mines and filled in details about the mining process. She also commented on the social structure and mores in her community in particular. Even now, not many youngsters are able to find new pathways into life.

By the time we concluded the meeting, everyone expressed an interest in making a field trip to a mountain-top-removal site and agreed to try to make this happen. Jennifer pointed out we'd never get into an area being actively mined; instead we'd likely see a 'restored' mountain. Not a one of us believe we'll see something better - or even as good as – nature’s creation.

Much has been written revealing the exploitation of the land and the people living where coal is to be found - most of it heart-rending. Tragically, events such as these have been occurring in Appalachia for more than a century and are on-going here in WV and in many other coal communities on the planet. We wondered 'how might we help?' and the consensus is that helping individuals or families would be the most effective approach. Clearly, this book touched our hearts and gave us much to think about.

PVNWG MEETS DECEMBER 5 TO DISCUSS ANN PANCAKE WORK

2010-11-13T11:26:00.004-05:00

Due to the holidays and other scheduling conflicts, PVNWG will meet December 5 at 2:00 PM at a member's home. The November selection, Strange As This Weather Has Been by Ann Pancake is the topic for discussion. New members who wish to attend the meeting should email pvnaturewriters@gmail for details.

ANN PANCAKE IS AUTHOR FOR NOVEMBER

2010-11-01T10:55:00.006-04:00

Our group has selected a fiction work for November's read: award-winning West Virginia author Ann Pancake's Strange As This Weather Has Been.

The book dramatizes the impact of rapacious mining on the members of an Appalachian family, their land and their culture's place-based traditions. For information about the author and links to reviews, see Pancake's blog here. Read Pancake's short story "The End of the World in Slow Motion" online here

Read historical background for the book here

Date and place for November meeting TBA. (Now scheduled for December 5, see above post.)

Thoreau at the 'Pond"

2010-11-01T09:20:00.007-04:00

Our October meeting on the afternoon of the 24th took place lakeside at Greenbrier State Park in Maryland, a fitting scene in which to share our thoughts on Thoreau and the fruits of his sojourn by Walden Pond. Glimmering curtains of autumn color, pure blue sky above, all mirrored by the calm eye of the water's expanse must have intoxicated us and loosened our tongues. Thoreau received quite an unrestrained critique. Perhaps we were also emboldened by the many years distancing us from this author and somehow perversely moved to demythologize his global reputation. "Holier than thou" and "hypocritical" were some of the words bandied about.

It is said that Thoreau wrote of self-reliance while trucking his laundry to his mother's home. He himself admits to borrowing an ax to chop trees for his cabin. Before conceiving his Walden project, Thoreau and a friend built a fire in a stump one day. The fire spread and numerous acres of the town's woodlots were burned. However, Thoreau scholars remind us that laundry in his time included few items, and laundry of a paupered would-be writer fewer still. Thoreau himself assures us he returned the ax to its owner sharper than when he borrowed it. And Thoreau forever rued his role in the destruction of the woods. Perhaps that incident even contributed to his subsequent living experiment.

On of the assumptions about Thoreau is that Walden is a tale of how he separated himself from society. On the contrary, the book frequently refers to his many visitors. It includes a whole chapter on the history of Concord and the surrounding countryside, gleaned from interviews with local folk. Thoreau studied human behavior, his own and that of others, just as much as the natural environment. He makes admiring as well as critical observations of people and their interactions with nature. He sees fishermen to be as fitting a subject for naturalist study as the the fish. He does have some cutting remarks on the fashions and ambitions of the day that can feel like a sharp poke in the ribs. There are many parallels between his time and ours, between us and him.

Our group remarked on the painstaking detail, with which he described natural phenomena. His description of the process of the Pond's water freezing at winter's onset runs on for pages. His command of the English language to paint pictures and voice subtle ideas made an impression on us--in these days of media-based education and electronics-obsessed youth. What message in his medium? We went off on a tangent bemoaning texting and twitterings. Without a cell phone or digital camera to distract, Thoreau used the artistry of words to explore within, to express and connect. If he lived today, what would Thoreau do? Reading him, we wonder, how should we live?

In Walden, homely explorations of bean-growing, plastering, fireplace-building and cooking are set against lofty philosophizing. As Thoreau lived on Walden Pond, nature and essential human doings are seamlessly interwoven. He brings the same attention and respect to chopping wood and carrying water, as he does to pondering the stars. As a seeker Thoreau is as human as any of us, he had foibles aplenty. But his short life and writings continue to inspire us. In the end, our group agreed that we need the mild wildness of Thoreau to wake us up from our routines. Walden bears reading not just every generation, but every decade. In each season of our lives, a dip in the waters of Walden will refresh.

Author for October: Henry David Thoreau

2010-09-28T10:43:00.010-04:00

I have a room all to myself: it is nature. Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau is our author for October 2010. The collection of essays entitled Walden is the primary selection but members can read any of his writings that have to do with nature. Reading excerpts is a good way to get a taste of his ideas, personality, and philosophy in easily digested bits. Opening Walden to any page and reading one paragraph each day can work too. The book does not have to be read in order. Good chapters to start with are "The Pond in Winter" and "Spring."

For the ultimate in-depth experience, see if you can get your hands on the acclaimed annotated version of Walden, edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer, who is curator of collections at the Henley Library of the Thoreau Institute. (Click on book cover at left to link for more information.)

Encouraged by mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau became a dedicated journal -keeper. Works he intended for publication were inspired by and fashioned from his in-the-moment journal entries. Portions of Thoreau's voluminous journals (7000 pages)have been published in recent years and these are a illuminating window into his way of experiencing the world and capturing his thoughts. (Look for A Year in Thoreau's Journal:1851 or I to Myself, annotated journal excerpts edited by the same Mr. Cramer mentioned above.)

Thoreau's perception of the relationships within nature is often called the foundation of ecology. He is considered one of the most powerful voices for environmental preservation. He was also one of the first naturalists in North America to apply the principles in the controversial Origin of the Species by his contemporary Charles Darwin.

Many devotees of today's simplicity movement pay homage to Thoreau. He was prescient--he saw where unrestrained "progress," technology and materialism would lead and what devastating toll these trends had already taken on the natural world in his lifetime.

Perhaps Thoreau's work will inspire you to look at nature in a different way, or even do more nature journaling. Please jot down your thoughts and responses to share at our next meeting in late October. Members will be notifed of the time and place by email. Prospective new members should email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for details.

Read Thoreau's writings online (Including Walden)
http://www/vcu/edu/engweb/transcendentalism/idea/nature.html

The Walden Woods and Thoreau Institute:
http://www.walden.org/

Thoreau nature quotes:
http://www/walden/org/Library/Quotations/Nature

Scientists use Thoreau's journals to study climate change:
http://www.calliope.org/thoreau/thorowarming.html

SEPTEMBER 2010 MEETING DATE CONFIRMED

2010-08-11T17:52:00.002-04:00

Summer is winding down but Potomac Valley Nature Writing Group is gearing up for an exciting Fall and Winter of great reads. We are a community of kindred spirits--nature lovers who appreciate good writing about our favorite subject in all its variety.

September's meeting is confirmed for Sunday, the 19th, 3:00 PM at a member's home. We will be honoring Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver and Letters From Eden: A Year at Home, In the Woods by Julie Zickefoose. (Please check out the comment Julie herself made on the previous post below!)

If you are new to PVNWG and would like to attend, please email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for directions to the meeting. We would love to have you join us!

AUTHORS FOR SUMMER: Barbara Kingsolver and Julie Zickefoose

2010-07-26T19:01:00.007-04:00

PVNWG is reading Barbara Kingsolver's collection of essays Small Wonder and Julie Zickefoose's Letters from Eden over the summer months. We reunite in September to savor, debate, compare and contrast our responses to these two highly likeable and down-to-earth nature writers.

Kingsolver (at left) was born in Annapolis MD, moving with her family at age two to Kentucky where she grew up. She has lived in various places in the US and in Europe as an adult. After two decades living in Tucson, AZ, she, her husband and two daughters moved to a farm in southeastern Virginia in 2004, where they still reside.

Her writing has received numerous awards. In 2000, Kingsolver received the National Humanities Medal for service through the arts. In 1998, Kingsolver herself established the Bellwether Prize for Fiction. For more information about the author, go to her authorized website here.

Kingsolver began writing the essays that appear in Small Wonder on September 12, 2001, the day after the World Trade Center attack. She writes in the foreword that working on the book was a way to "take heart," survive and be useful to others after that tragic day. She shares her usual keen perceptions while finding wonder and hope in the intimate details of living life on earth. For more about Small Wonder, click here.

Julie Zickefoose is known to many folks as the commentator who brings an Appalachian perspective to All Things Considered on National Public Radio. She is also a widely published natural history writer and highly accomplished illustrator. She studied biology and art at Harvard, later working for a number of years as a field biologist for the Nature Conservancy. She and husband Bill Thompson, III, who is editor of Bird Watcher's Digest, live on an 80 acre wildlife sanctuary in southeast Ohio. See her visually stunning website here.

The essays in Letters From Eden: A Year At Home, In the Woods are just that--deeply felt experiences in nature, accompanied by gorgeous illustrations, that move us through the year alongside the author as she walks and watches in her own personal natural paradise. To read an excerpt from Letters click here. Zickafoose also writes an even more personal, and often humorous, nature-oriented blog (click here) that includes photos of herself, kids and pets.

We should have a lively meeting in September with these two vibrant and thought-provoking authors in [virtual] attendance! Date for September meeting to be confirmed soon for either the 11th or the 18th. Watch this spot or email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for details.

Member Review of Naturalist by E.O. Wilson

2010-06-08T11:38:00.002-04:00

Please click on the Reflections photo at left to see an insightful and moving review of our May book selection, by member Joy Pardue.

Season Finale a Success

2010-06-01T21:12:00.004-04:00

On Saturday May 29, there was a good turnout of PVNWG members, 5 oldies and one newby. Our morning outing was a walk of discovery at a Wildlife Management area nearby--our new attendee is an expert on butterflies and enlightened us about sightings of Silvery Checkerspots, Tiger Swallowtails, Spring Azures and other beauties. She and our resident dragonfly expert demonstrated their netting technique (its all in the wrist) developed through long hours of practice. We thrilled to find various botanical wonders like Rattlesnake Fern, Rattlesnake Weed and Chocolate Tube Slime, (sorry no Rattlesnakes sighted) while Gray Tree Frogs serenaded us. Later, over an artfully presented luncheon, we traded musings in response to E. O. Wilson's autobiography and also touched briefly on impressions of Barbara Kingsolver's collection of essays, Small Wonder. From a list of nature writing classics and recent prize winners we chose upcoming selections so summer reading can commence in advance!

When we reconvene in September, we will compare/contrast Kingsolver's work to Letters from Eden by Julie Zickafoose. In October we tackle Henry David Thoreau's classic Walden. In November we honor our first fiction selection, WV author Ann Pancake's Strange As This Weather Has Been, about a family surviving the tragedy of mountain top removal mining. We round off 2010 in December with Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac. So those of you who enjoy reading in the hammock, on the beach, under a tree or on the porch, there is plenty to choose from. Enjoy the summer and see you in September!

PVNWG SEASON FINALE

2010-05-12T07:26:00.003-04:00

A member has graciously offered to host our book club's season finale at her home near Charlestown on Saturday, May 29! We will gather at 10:00 AM, head out for a leisurely nature hike nearby, then return for a potluck lunch al fresco on the treetop deck. We will discuss the E. O. Wilson autobiography. In addition to Barbara Kingsolver's Small Wonder, we will line up selections that members have previously recommended, so folks can get a jump start on reading this summer! The book discussions will be on summer hiatus for June, July and August and resume in September. Its a SUMMER WORLD and time to get out there!

APRIL 25 MEETING CANCELLED

2010-04-23T14:10:00.001-04:00

Due to scheduling conflicts that affect several members, the April 25 meeting to discuss E. O. Wilson's autobiography Naturalist is cancelled and will be rescheduled.

EDWARD O WILSON IS AUTHOR FOR APRIL 2010

2010-03-31T08:54:00.006-04:00

For our April meeting, members are reading Naturalist, the autobiography of Edward O Wilson. The brillant author and winner of two Pulitzer prizes, pioneer in sociobiology, distinguished entomologist and teacher, and champion of biodiversity--he is known affectionately to our group as "E O." We worship from afar, but this month we will get a little more up close and personal by reading his fascinating life story.

Check out the links below!

Reviews of Naturalist

E.O. Wilson Biography at the Academy of Achievement (with lots of great photos!)

E O Wilson Biodiversity Foundation

Video: Wilson talks about saving life on earth

REPORT ON MARCH 28 MEETING: MARY OLIVER

2010-03-30T07:37:00.008-04:00

Seven of us gather on a misty afternoon to explore our responses to Mary Oliver's work. Some read Owls and Other Fantasies, some The Truro Bear, some Evidence. So many wonderful comments and ideas tumbled over one another, like pebbles in a rushing stream.

We debated whether Oliver's sensibility as a poet, as an artist in love with the sensuality of nature, is as valid a "way of knowing" as the empiricism of Bernd Heinrich. Oliver's approach resonates much more with some of us in our group than others. But no one denies having had at least one of those transcendent experiences in nature that Oliver evokes so well.

We identify that of the writers we have read, those who seem to write most powerfully somehow combine the scientist's passion for facts with the perceptions of their emotional and spiritual selves: the artist and the scientist dancing within one person, the artist-naturalist. We consider male writers we have read who are in touch with their "feminine side" as one member puts it. Oliver is most closely compared to Terry Tempest Williams, Rachel Carson and Robin Wall Kimmerer, all writers who embrace a holistic experience of nature, using their whole selves, the intellect, the body, the soul, and the imagination. It makes sense, considering that we humans are products of nature. Just where does the line between nature and non-nature lie?

The question arose, what are emotions for? Why do we have them? Is it nature or nurture? When we see wild geese winging their way in an undulating V, we respond with a catch in the throat. Is this because we associate it with some pleasant individual childhood memory, or because we--as a species, as mammals-- have co-evolved with nature, with migrating birds who foretell winter or joyous spring, for millennia? Is the study of our response to nature just as important as the study of non-human nature, perhaps these days even more important considering human driven climate change and escalating extinctions?

Mary Oliver invites us to deepen our experience of the natural world and embrace our "place in the family of things."

WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL SEEKS YOUR POEM!

2010-03-01T06:55:00.003-05:00

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society will hold its annual spring Wildflower Festival on Saturday, April 17 at the Yankauer Nature Preserve, from 11:00 to 4:00 PM rain or shine. The festival coincides with the peak blooming of spring wildflowers. Guides will lead walks through the preserve for advanced and beginner wildflower identification. Walks suitable for families are included. Children’s activities are planned and refreshments will be provided.

For the third year in a row, the festival includes a special Poetry Walk component—original poems on spring themes penned by local poets will be posted all along the preserve’s Kingfisher trail where the majority of wildflowers are found. Those who wish to submit poems for posting are encouraged to do so! Submissions should be sent by email to pvnaturewriters@gmail.com. Or, send them by regular mail to “PoetryWalk, c/o PVAS, PO Box 578, Shepherdstown, WV 25443. The deadline for submissions is April 10.

POET MARY OLIVER IS AUTHOR FOR MARCH MEETING

2010-02-10T11:16:00.013-05:00

PVNWG members will read works by poet Mary Oliver in preparation for our discussion on MARCH 28 (rescheduled date due to February snowstorm.) Members may read any of Oliver's poetry but the collections Owls and Other Fantasies and New and Selected Poems, Volumes I and II are especially recommended.

Mary Oliver is renown for her "passionate attention to the natural world." Perhaps her most well known poem is "Wild Geese" (See links to poetry below.) Her relationship to nature is similar to that of Thoreau and Emerson. As a teenager she lived briefly in the home of Edna St. Vincent Millay, where she helped Millay's family sort through the papers the poet left behind. Millay is seen as an important influence in her work. The style of her work has also been compared to Walt Whitman and Robert Frost. Read more Oliver biography at the Academy of American Poets website here.

Oliver won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for American Primitive in 1984 and the National Book Award in 1992 for New and Selected Poems, among many other honors. Here are some comments that underscore her reputation as one of America's finest nature poets.

Oliver locates wisdom in the wilderness she seeks in solitude, where discoveries about the self and nature's otherness can be made...Expressed in simple language and familiar imagery, evoking dark and joyous states, this vision of nature is often conveyed in an ecstatic voice that compels. Annette Allen, Encylopedia of American Literature. Steven R. Serafin, General Editor. Copyright © 1999 by the Continuum Publishing Company.

Poet Mary Oliver is an "indefatigable guide to the natural world," wrote Maxine Kumin in Women's Review of Books, "particularly to its lesser-known aspects." Oliver's verse focuses on the quiet of occurrences of nature: industrious hummingbirds, egrets, motionless ponds, "lean owls / hunkering with their lamp-eyes." Kumin noted of the poet: "She stands quite comfortably on the margins of things, on the line between earth and sky, the thin membrane that separates human from what we loosely call animal." Poetry Foundation website

A strong sense of place, and of identity in relation to it, is central to her poetry. Her poems are firmly located in the places where she has lived or travelled, particularly her native Ohio and New England; her moments of transcendence arise organically from the realities of swamp, pond, woods and shore. Robin Riley Fast, "The Native American Presence in Mary Oliver’s Poetry," Kentucky Review 12:1/2 (autumn 1993), 59; 65-66.

Her poems are filled with imagery from her daily walks near her home in Provincetown, Massachusetts: shore birds, water snakes, the phases of the moon and humpback whales. Maxine Kumin calls Oliver "a patroller of wetlands in the same way that Thoreau was an inspector of snowstorms..." As her creativity is stirred by nature, Oliver is an avid walker, pursuing inspiration on foot. For Oliver, walking is part of the poetic process. Oliver is also known for her unadorned language and accessible themes. Wikipedia entry

Online poems here and here

Photo of Mary Oliver and Diane Ackerman here.

RESCHEDULED FEBRUARY MEETING

2010-02-10T10:23:00.004-05:00

In honor of Heinrich's book Winter World, PVNWG members plan to attend the Winter Wildlife Tracking field trip at Cacapon State Park on February 20. Free and open to the public, it is a family-friendly event led by Park naturalist Kelly Smith. Participants meet at the entrance to the Park Lodge at 10:00 a.m. Pre-registration is recommended but not required. (To pre-register or for more information contact Kelly Heldreth at kheldreth@hotmail.com or 304-229-6229. If the weather is inclement, call 304-676-3397 to make sure the trip is still on.)
After the field trip, PVNWG members will meet at the Cacapon Lodge restaurant to discuss Heinrich's book over lunch. Please RSVP to pvnaturewriters@gmail.com if you plan to attend, so you can be notified in the event of another last minute cancellation. New members are welcome!

FEBRUARY 7 MEETING CANCELLED DUE TO BLIZZARD

2010-02-07T10:58:00.003-05:00

Today's PVNWG meeting is cancelled due to the Blizzard of 2010 and the poor road conditions that remain from yesterday's storm.

Notice will be posted here if the February meeting is rescheduled, but thoughts are that we may skip February entirely and discuss Heinrich's book WINTER WORLD along with our February author Mary Oliver at the meeting on March 7.

If you have any questions, please email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com

BERND HEINRICH AUTHOR FOR JANUARY 2010

2010-01-04T10:12:00.005-05:00

At our February 7, 2010 meeting (CANCELLED DUE TO BLIZZARD OF 2010) we will discuss Bernd Heinrich's Winter World. Biologist Heinrich is the author of numerous award-winning books, including the bestselling Winter World, Mind of the Raven, and Why We Run, (he has also had a career as a top long distance runner) and has received countless honors for his scientific work. His most recent published book is Summer World. He studied at the University of Maine and UCLA, and is professor emeritus of biology at the University of Vermont. He divides his time between Vermont and the forests of western Maine.

Click here to read New York Times article SCIENTIST AT WORK: BERND HEINRICH; Signs of Survival In a Frozen Forest by James Gorman, from January 7, 2003. Click photo of book cover at right to see inside WINTER WORLD.

PVNWG Celebrates One Year of Meetings!

2010-01-04T09:05:00.011-05:00

On a sharply chilly January 3, 2010 we marked twelve months of Reader's Club meetings and warmed to a brand new year of great reads and fresh insights.

The six members present (including one new--welcome!) gave Diane Ackerman's The Moon by Whale Light a thorough going over. This book is actually more like 4 books in one--it combines four lengthy essays on different groups of animals: bats, crocodilians, whales, and penguins.

We all praised Ms. Ackerman's skills in acute observation, bell-like clarity of expression, the breath-taking figurative language for which she is so well known, and her sense of humor. We also noted that her focus in this particular book included not only incredible detail regarding the natural history of the creatures being studied by the researchers whom she interviews and accompanies, but also on the very human natures of the researchers themselves. Some liked this facet of the book, others felt it was a distraction.

Although the essays were not originally written to be published together, we did detect a theme of human misconceptions about animals and the ensuing harm humans have caused to them. For example, bats being feared as evil, rabies-carrying, bloodsucking creatures of the night, attacking humans and getting tangled in hair--when actually they are highly important contributors to our planetary ecosystem, one of the least likely of critters to convey rabies to humans, are major pollinators, consumers of harmful insects, attentive parents, and all around remarkable and fascinating mammals. Sorely misunderstood in previous years, bat populations have been decimated severely by human actions, intentionally, and more passively, by loss of habitat. Bats colonies are also dying out due to a disease. To promote bat conservation, including installing bat houses go to http://www.batcon.org/

A related theme was how much we owe to dedicated researchers such as the ones profiled in the book--but also the vast amount there is to yet to learn. A whale researcher in the book remarks that "once people learn about [an animal] their indifference, which is always based on ignorance, will be replaced with fascination, which is based on knowledge." Questions about the very concept of intelligence and its expression in animals and in humans is woven through the warp of Ackerman's descriptions. The whale researcher again: "What we call intelligence may only be a kind of vandalism, just mischief on a grand scale. It might not be the only form mind can take, and it might have little to do with real wisdom. " Something to mull over next time you are sitting in commuter traffic.

Read this book and you will be astonished at what you learn about bats, crocs, whales and penguins. It has inspired us to learn more about these creatures, especially about our native species of bats. This is also a great read for those interested in exploring the historical relationship between humans and animals, and perhaps, for nurturing hope for the future.

JANUARY 3, 2010 MEETING REMINDER

2009-12-29T12:58:00.003-05:00

The next PVNWG Reader's Club meeting is set for this coming Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 3:00 PM. We again will be meeting at a member's private home by her gracious invitation. If you have not yet attended a meeting, but would like to join us, you may attend as a current member's guest. Email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com to express your interest and we will make the necessary arrangements. Previous attendees should have received directions by email. With our January meeting we celebrate our first year of monthly meetings and look forward to reading more wonderful authors in 2010!

DIANE ACKERMAN AUTHOR FOR DECEMBER

2009-12-06T20:34:00.003-05:00

For December our primary reading selection is Diane Ackerman's The Moon By Whale Light, a collection of essays on her encounters with rare and endangered species, as she accompanied researchers seeking to understand and protect them. Members may read any of her works but note that some of her works are more focused on natural history than others.

From her website:

Poet, essayist, and naturalist, Diane Ackerman is the author of two dozen highly acclaimed works of nonfiction and poetry, including A Natural History of the Senses -- a book beloved by millions of readers all over the world. Humans might luxuriate in the idea of being “in” nature, but Ms. Ackerman has taught generations that we are nature—for “no facet of nature is as unlikely as we, the tiny bipeds with the giant dreams.” In prose so rich and evocative that one can feel the earth turning beneath one’s feet as one reads, Ackerman’s thrilling observations—of things ranging from the cloud glories to the human brain to endangered whooping cranes—urge us to live in the moment, to wake up to nature’s everyday miracles.

Ms. Ackerman has received a D. Lit. from Kenyon College, Guggenheim Fellowship, Orion Book Award, John Burroughs Nature Award, and the Lavan Poetry Prize, as well as being honored as a Literary Lion by the New York Public Library. She also has the rare distinction of having a molecule named after her --dianeackerone. She has taught at a number of universities, including Columbia and Cornell. Her essays about nature and human nature have been appearing for decades in The New York Times, Smithsonian, Parade, The New Yorker, National Geographic and many other journals, where they have been the subject of much praise.

To learn more, click on Ms. Ackerman's photo above to visit her webpage.

REPORT DECEMBER 6 MEETING

2009-12-06T19:37:00.005-05:00

A chilly December afternoon. Bright remnants of yesterday's snowfall. Water glinting through bare trees. Five nature lovers convene to talk about Wendell Berry's The Long Legged House and the ideas therein. And eat cookies and drink wassail.

Berry's writing is deep and wide like the Kentucky river where he has made his home. Diverse topics and personal stories flow like ripples and currents joining together in one major theme: our relationship with nature, what it has become, but also what it can be, once was, could be again. Published in 1965, the book is a collection of Berry's earliest essays and is jampacked with insights and ideas ---ideas that are more timely and urgent than ever. All the more shocking that none of us seemed able to find the book in our local libraries! So with purchased copies in hand, we shared passages that we found exceptional such as:

The great increase of our powers is itself maybe the most immediate cause of our
loss of vision. It must be a sort of natural law that any increase in man's
strength must involve a lengthening of his shadow; as we grow in power, we are
pursued by an ever growing darkness.

Berry describes our collective errors with an eloquent, slap-in-the-face accuracy. But he balances that bitter medicine with a balm to the spirit, a prescription for salvation for himself and for us:

And so, difficult and troubling as the times are, I must not neglect to say
that even now I experience hours when I am deeply happy and content, and
hours where I feel the possibility of greater happiness and contentment than
I have yet known. These times come to me when I am in the woods, or at work
on my little farm. They come bearing the knowledge that the events of man
are not the great events; that the rising of the sun and the falling of the
rain are more stupendous than all the works of the scientists and the
prophets; that man is more blessed and graced by his days than he can ever
hope to know; that the wildflowers silently bloom in the woods, exquisitely
shaped and scented and colored, whether any man sees and praises them or
not. A music attends the things of the earth. To sense that music is to be
near the possibility of health and joy.

Not to be outdone by Berry, we all agreed on the importance of balancing literary "calls" to responsiblity and stewardship with a straightforward celebration of the endless beauty and fascination of nature. Our line up of primary reading selections for the early months of 2010 are as follows:

January 2010 Bernd Heinrich: Winter World
February 2010 Mary Oliver: Owls and Other Fantasies
March 2010 E.O. Wilson: Naturalist (his autobiography)
April 2010 Barbara Kingsolver: Small Wonders

(NOTE: Each month's book will be discussed at the meeting held on the FIRST SUNDAY of the following month. Example, January's book selection Winter World will be the topic of discussion at the February meeting.)

Cheers to the Readers' Club members and all the great authors we have enjoyed in 2009. Our January 2010 meeting will cap off our first year of monthly get togethers!

SEE YOU AT DEC 6 MEETING!

2009-12-02T02:27:00.003-05:00

The PVNWG Reader's Club is set to meet on Sunday, December 6 at 3:00 PM. We will discuss our thoughts about Wendell Berry's The Long Legged House.

New members always welcome! Since our meeting is at a private home, new members can attend as a guest of a current members. If you are a person interested in joining us, please email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com to make arrangements.

If you have previously attended a meeting, email a query for directions to the location.

Hope to see you there!

WENDELL BERRY IS AUTHOR FOR NOVEMBER 2009

2009-11-07T18:16:00.007-05:00

The PVNWG Readers' Club has selected Wendell Berry as the author and The Long-Legged House as our read for the month of November 2009. The book will be the focus of the Readers' Club meeting on December 6.

Wendell Berry farmed a homestead in Northern Kentucky from the early 1960s, and is one of the most revered environmental writers, winning numerous awards. His body of work includes novels, short stories, essays, fiction and poetry. The Long-Legged House, published in 1969, was his first collection of essays and set forth his dominant themes: sustainable agriculture, connection to place, the pleasures of good food, good work, healthy communities, fidelity, reverence, and the interconnectedness of all life.

All About the Author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Berry

Reviews

http://www.ecobooks.com/berry.htm

An Interview with Wendell Berry

http://arts.envirolink.org/interviews_and_conversations/WendellBerry.html

"The Requirement" by Wendell Berry (Harper's Magazine)

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/03/0081443

NOVEMBER 1 MEETING REPORT

2009-11-02T07:53:00.002-05:00

Our meeting to discuss Marie Winn's Red-tails in Love was very enjoyable. The meeting mirrored some of themes of the book itself. One member graciously hosted the meeting from her home in the treetops. The setting was a worthy site for a hawk's nest. Our group meets regularly to share our admiration for nature writers as did the New York birders. As a group they tracked the progress of a pair of hawks who nested high on a tony apartment building overlooking Central Park, culminating in a party with champagne when the fledglings soared from the nest. The enthusiasm of our group for the author's work mirrored Winn's praises of the natural wonders of the Park and her fond observations about the quirks and talents of her fellow birders. The vote of the 4 "regulars" present (4 regulars and 1 guest-welcome!) was that Winn's writing is the most accessible and entertaining of any of the authors we have read so far. We especially remarked on the effortless way she weaves natural history information into the story--which reads like a mystery. If you want to know more, you will have to read the book!

NOVEMBER 1 MEETING LOCATION

2009-10-26T18:42:00.002-04:00

Sunday, 3:00 PM, November 1, 2009 we meet to discuss Red-tails in Love, by Marie Winn.
This meeting is at a current member's private home by invitation only, so directions will not be posted on the blog. Any persons who are interested in joining the group may attend this meeting as a guest of a current member. If you wish to attend as a guest, please email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for further information.

MARIE WINN IS AUTHOR FOR OCTOBER 2009

2009-09-29T00:17:00.006-04:00

For October we are reading Red Tails in Love: A True Wildlife Drama in Central Park by Marie Winn. (Click on her name to go to her home page.) This is the story of Pale Male, as the hawk hero was known by his fans, and about whom a NOVA episode was filmed. You may have seen the enchanting documentary on PBS, but the book provides many more details to savor and enjoy, not the least of which is Winn's whimsical and entertaining writing style.

Winn is a nature columnist for the Wall Street Journal. She has written a nature blog on happenings in Central Park for years now: check it out here. She also has a newer nature book out entitled Central Park in the Dark. There is a link to her bio on her website (see above). For reviews of the book click on her photo at right.

The key action in Red Tails in Love takes place in the spring. However, October is a great time in our area to watch out for migrating hawks. We won't be able to organize an official PVNWG outing this month as we did for mosses in September but members are encouraged to get out there and look for hawks!

Washington's Monument near Boonsboro, MD is a favored spot to see hawks, as well as other birds of prey as they ride the thermals southward along the ridgetops. Waggoner's Gap and Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania are enticing as well for those of us with the time, energy and gas money to make the trek. I can vouch for all three of these sites as exciting places to visit. Hawk Mountain has a beautiful nature center with naturalist talks using live rehabilitated birds.

For all you ever wanted to know about hawks check out Blakeman on Hawks. Also see Hawk Watch Association. Here is the site they list for West Virginia in Monroe County: Hanging Tower. If anyone has a tip for a good nearby site, please email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com and I will post it.

Enjoy the book and please note that our next meeting is on NOVEMBER 1, site to be announced.

SEPTEMBER MEETING AND NEW AUTHOR LINE UP

2009-09-28T23:56:00.005-04:00

The meeting on September 27 had six attendees, five "old" members and one new. Our discussion about Robin Wall Kimmerer's Gathering Moss focused on our personal experiences of using the four ways of knowing-mind, body, emotions, and spirit-in learning about nature.

We also extended our selection of authors through January 2010. We decided to alternate 'vintage' nature writers with more contemporary ones, and also alternate male and female authors.

Upcoming for October is the already selected Marie Winn and her book Redtails in Love.
The remaining months each have a main book selection but any writing by the selected author will serve as well.

November- Wendell Berry (The Long-Legged House)

December-Diane Ackerman (The Moon By Whale Light)

January- Bernd Heinrich (Winter World).

A major change is a shift of the meetings to the FIRST SUNDAY of the month. This change will better accomodate the upcoming November and December holidays. We will not meet in October. The next meeting will be Sunday, November 1, when we will discuss Marie Winn's book. Site to be announced on the website.

Site for September Meeting, September 27, 3:00 PM

2009-09-19T08:02:00.001-04:00

Site for September Meeting, Sunday, September 27, 3:00 PM: Shaharazade's Tea Room in Shepherdstown. They are open through the late afternoon, unlike some of the other places in Shepherdstown. The website makes it look wild but everytime I've been there its been peaceful and quiet. See map:http://www.shaharazades.com/directions.htm

NEW LOCATION FOR SEPTEMBER'S MEETING

2009-09-17T01:55:00.002-04:00

Yankauer Nature Preserve is holding another event in the pavilion on Sunday, September 27, so our scheduled 3:00 PM meeting will need to find another location. Watch this site for an update on the new location. Members will receive an email directing them to the new site, as well.

ROBIN WALL KIMMERER IS AUTHOR FOR SEPTEMBER 2009

2009-08-31T07:22:00.005-04:00

For September we are reading Robin Wall Kimmerer's Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. Published in 2003, the book was the winner of the 2005 John Burroughs Medal Award for Natural History Writing. Robin Wall Kimmerer is an Associate Professor on the faculty of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Here is what the Oregon State University Press has to say:

In this series of linked personal essays, Robin Wall Kimmerer leads general readers and scientists alike to an understanding of how mosses live and how their lives are intertwined with the lives of countless other beings. Kimmerer explains the biology of mosses clearly and artfully, while at the same time reflecting on whatthese fascinating organisms have to teach us.Drawing on her diverse experiences as a scientist, mother, teacher, and writer of Native American heritage, Kimmerer explains the stories of mosses in scientific terms as well as in the framework of indigenous ways of knowing. In her book, the natural history and cultural relationships of mosses become a powerful metaphor for ways of living in the world.

At our next meeting on September 27, we will discuss this book. Members will bring writing of their own they wish to share, especially any inspired by the month's reading selection.

WRITING GROUP MEETS AUGUST 30!

2009-08-26T10:09:00.004-04:00

Heads up, summer is almost over and fall awaits! The Potomac Valley Nature Writing Group meets this Sunday, August 30, 3:00 PM at Yankauer Nature Preserve (directions in sidebar at left).We do not have a designated group read to discuss, but at last meeting challenged ourselves to make a daily entry in our journals for the entire month of August.

Please bring your journals and any other nature writing you may have done in August. Read over your work and ask yourself these questions:

What are the themes that seem to reoccur?

What types of things do I notice and write about? People, place, weather, bugs, plants, colors, smells, emotions, facts, etc.

What did I learn about nature?

About journaling?

About writing and my own writing process? About myself?

Did you add anything else to your journal like pressed flowers,sketches, clippings, or photos?

If someone else was reading your journal, what conclusions might they draw about your relationship with nature?

We will share our answers at the meeting. Each member also was asked to bring a short excerpt from any author's work that provides inspiration for her/himself to write about nature. Bring any nature or writing/journaling related books or articles for "show and tell," to loan or pass on. Don't forget water and a camp chair. Lastly, bring a friend! New members always welcome!

Look forward to seeing you! Sandy aka Trillium http://trilliumtravels.blogspot.com/

JOURNALING CHALLENGE FOR AUGUST!

2009-07-28T07:45:00.008-04:00

Four members were present at our July meeting. We enjoyed a sudden thunderstorm, which soon was replaced by fluffy clouds and a pleasant breeze. Joe Pye Weed and Purple Coneflowers grew tall beside the pavilion.
While we all had praise for Hollows, Peepers and Highlanders, -(the chapter on cannibalistic fireflies made a special impression)- we noted a trend of monotony in the style and content of the list of books we have been reading.
Therefore, as a group we will not be reading Scratching the Woodchuck for August. To become more in line with the "nature writing" part of our group's name, our challenge for the coming month is for each of us to make one entry in our nature journals each day! The entry can be very short, even a phrase, but should relate somehow to our personal relationship with nature--thoughts, feelings, sensory experiences, facts learned. Nature as broadly defined. Journal entries will be shared at the next meeting on August 30, 3PM at Yankauer. It will be fun to see the themes that run through each member's entries.
Each member is asked to bring a short excerpt from any author's work that provides inspiration for her/himself to write about nature.
Plans are in the works for a possible nature writing/journaling "retreat" for autumn. Stay tuned.
Please email Sandy at pvnaturewriters@gmail.com with any comments or suggestions.

HOLLOWS PEEPERS AND HIGHLANDERS FOR JULY

2009-06-29T07:46:00.011-04:00

July's reading selection takes us home with Hollows, Peepers, and Highlanders: An Appalachian Mountain Ecology by George Constantz. (PVNWG recommends the revised and expanded edition published by West Virginia University Press in 2004.) The book first paints a broad picture to give the reader an understanding of the geologic origins of the region. Combining scientific insights with first hand experiences, Constantz entertainingly describes the adaptations of the species that live there. He puts it all together in a final section on climate and changes through the seasons.
Naturalist George Constantz was born in Washington, DC but spent part of his childhood in Mexico and Colombia. With degrees in biology and zoology, he has worked as a teacher, ecologist, researcher and writer. Active in efforts to conserve water quality in West Virginia, he founded the nonprofit Cacapon Institute and manages the Education program at Canaan Valley Institute. He and his wife, Nancy Ailes, live in the Cacapon River watershed. See author and book related links at left. (Photo Credit: Ken Thomas, Wikimedia Commons)

Report on June 2009 Meeting

2009-06-29T07:32:00.007-04:00

It was a cool, overcast Sunday, June 28 at Yankauer Nature Preserve. Drops of rain echoed on the metal roof of the pavilion as we watched and listened to birds in the surrounding trees and undergrowth. Along the path, Scarlet Bee Balm was in full bloom. In this pleasant setting, four of us kicked off summer with a discussion inspired by Beyond Your Doorstep by Hal Borland. We reviewed author candidates for future months, including some poets! Having read several works from decades ago, we decided to move toward more contemporary writers and include works by or about inspiring environmentalists. Check the reading list for updates!

Backup Site for PVNWG Meeting

2009-06-28T11:19:00.003-04:00

We should be fine today at the Yankauer Pavilion even if it rains. But in case of winds or bad storm we can adjourn to Shaharazade's Tea Room in Shepherdstown. They are open through the late afternoon, unlike some of the other places in Shetown. The website makes it look wild but everytime I've been there its been peaceful and quiet. See map:
http://www.shaharazades.com/directions.htm

Reminder June PVNWG Meeting

2009-06-24T11:57:00.002-04:00

This month's meeting is rapidly approaching! Join us at Yankauer Nature Preserve at 3:00 PM, Sunday June 28. Bring water and a camp or lawn chair. We'll be discussing Hal Borland's Beyond Your Doorstep. But topics take off from there, so don't stay away if you haven't read the book. Directions to the preserve: http://www.potomacaudubon.org/yankauer.html#dir
New members are welcome! Bring any books you would like to suggest for our reading list.

Good benefits

2009-06-03T08:47:00.001-04:00

"Thanks to PVNWG I am getting exposed to so many good writers and it is broadening my view of nature from field guides to personal guides, from listing to listening, from recording to observing. This is fun!"
Cheryl

HAL BORLAND IS AUTHOR FOR JUNE 2009

2009-06-01T17:43:00.008-04:00

June's book selection is Beyond Your Doorstep: A Handbook to the Country by Hal Borland. Borland is well known as the contributor of 1, 750 nature essays that appeared in the Sunday edition of the New York Times between 1942 and 1978. He was also the author of many other nonfiction and fiction works, including the memoir The Dog Who Came to Stay, and the novel When Legends Die, which was adapted into a film in the early 70s.
He and his wife, Barbara Dodge Borland, who was also a writer, lived on a 100 year old farm in the far northwest corner of Connecticut, at the edge of the Berkshires. He and Barbara moved to the farm after he had a life-changing encounter with a serious illness. Their land included one side of a mountain and fronted the Housatonic River. Borland cherished his farm as a "home at the end of nowhere," with an unmarked mailbox. There is a room devoted to Borland at the Audubon Center in Sharon, CT. There visitors can view mementos and objects from his small second floor study, including his manual typewriter. (See author links at left for photos.)
Borland writes in an easy, accessible style. Reading his work you often feel as if you have received an intimate letter from a close friend. Beyond Your Doorstep is considered a classic of nature writing. The book's backcover describes it -- "A stylishly well written guide to, and meditation on, the flora and fauna of the countryside, Beyond Your Doorstep is now more timely than ever as a source of inspiration for anyone with a desire to know more about the living things we so often look at but never actually see or understand. "
Borland tells us his book is, "primarily about the countryside, not the wilderness; countrysides are common and within reach of almost everyone."

First Chapter: The Country House. "The newcomer to the country will find the first signs of "wild life" in his own house. Even before he explores the dooryard he can sharpen his eyes indoors. He may be surprised at the outsiders who want to share that house with him."

REPORT ON MAY MEETING

2009-06-01T17:18:00.003-04:00

Our meeting on May 31 was held at the outdoor pavilion at Yankauer Nature Preserve. Six members were present. The beautiful weather and natural surroundings must have spurred our creativity. Inspired by our May book selection, we had one our most thought-provoking dicussions yet. I just filled almost eight pages in my journal trying to capture the many ideas and questions that members tossed around like hot potatoes.
A sampling: Do animals have emotions? What about insects? Are humans part of nature? If we are different from the rest of nature, how? Why is writing and reading about nature important? Can new technology help us reverse damage to the ecosystem? What else needs to happen? Are animals much smarter than we know? The ethics of cowbirds. Tool kit making chimps. Do animals watch people like we watch animals?
We missed those of you who couldn't make it!
Watch the blogspot for info about June's book selection, Hal Borland's Beyond My Doorstep. The next meeting is scheduled for 3:00 PM, Sunday, June 28, again at Yankauer. But check the blogspot closer to the date for any changes. We will be arranging a back up location in the event of rain. New members always welcome.

The Four Dimensions

2009-05-29T21:50:00.005-04:00

I've been noticing how multidimensional Wallace's work in Idle Weeds is. Check out the description of the nature writing class that he teaches:
The Four Dimensions of Nature Writing: Fall 2008
This course will explore our nature writing tradition with readings, field trips, and writing exercises. We will approach the tradition through four dimensions wherein we perceive nature: the self, the "other," space, and time. We will read representative excerpts from founding figures: Gilbert White -- nature as the self; William Bartram -- nature as the "other"; Henry Thoreau -- nature as space; Charles Darwin -- nature as time. This course will explore attempts to coordinate the dimensions with things like Bigfoot legends in The Klamath Knot: Explorations in Myth and Evolution. Field trips and writing exercises will focus on interpreting local landscapes in terms of the four dimensions.

Some Talent!

2009-05-29T07:44:00.003-04:00

I'm found this month's book a little slow going at first, but the more I read, the more admiring I've become of the author's talent with extendedmetaphors--like comparing the ridge's canopy seen from above to the ocean, with birds and insects leaping up like porpoises-- and suggesting that the insects thriving together on milkweed plants are like a Borgia court thriving on poison!
The way he uses all his senses is staggering, incredible powers of observation. He is especially skillful with sound and color. He makes all kinds of allusions to art and history. He writes about his experiences of time morphing and feeling the presence of ghosts of past human inhabitants. I'm writing down so many snippets of his writing in my journal. The book has so many levels I am in awe of his accomplishment. I try to imagine how he wrote the book, how many hours did he spend sitting alone on the ridge, staying present with what was occurring around and within him? Looking forward to our discussion! Sandy

Idle Weeds Starring Short Tailed Shrew

2009-05-23T11:17:00.009-04:00

Click photo for more info and images. Photo by Phil Myers, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Creative Commons License

May Meeting at Yankauer Preserve!

2009-05-23T00:05:00.003-04:00

This month's Potomac Valley Nature Writing Group meeting will take place Sunday, May 31, 3:00 PM in the pavilion at Yankauer Nature Preserve. Please bring a lawn chair and water. During the summer months we will plan to meet at different locations outdoors, and return to our Shepherd University classroom in the fall.
The book for May is Idle Weeds: Life of a Sandstone Ridge by David Rains Wallace. Members are encouraged to share one or two passages in the book they found especially notable and why. We also like to hear readings of members' own writings, especially when inspired by the current book of the month.
After our discussion, those who wish can explore the trails and possibly do some nature journaling. New members are welcome! Don't worry if you haven't read the book. For directions to the Yankauer Preserve, go to http://www.potomacaudubon.org/yankauer.html
Hope to see you!

DAVID RAINS WALLACE is AUTHOR FOR MAY

2009-04-27T06:37:00.003-04:00

David Rains Wallace needs a publicist! He has written many natural history books and is highly regarded as a naturalist and author, but finding information about him on the web is very difficult. See the few links at left I was able to locate. Please post if you have information to share. We are reading Idle Weeds: The Life of an Ohio Sandstone Ridge for May.

REPORT ON APRIL MEETING

2009-04-26T20:09:00.005-04:00

This afternoon we had a scintillating discussion of Terry Tempest Williams' REFUGE. The book generated ideas and questions on a wide range of topics. The book received mixed reviews but all agreed it was a worthwhile read. We had two new members attending, welcome!

Next meeting was set for May 31 at 3:00 PM with a possible change of location. Confirmation on location to come. In general, we will be scheduling meetings for the last Sunday of the month.

We were also very productive in that we have set books of the month through October! Participating members each suggested one title then they were drawn in random order.
MAY: Wallace, David Rains: Idle Weeds – The life of an Ohio Sandstone Ridge
JUNE Borland, Hal; Beyond Your Doorstep
JULY Costanz, George: Hollows, Peepers & Highlanders: An Appalachian Mountain Ecology
AUGUST Kline, David: Scratching the Woodcock--Nature on an Amish Farm
SEPTEMBER Kimmerer, Robin Wall: Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, 2003
OCTOBER Winn, Marie: Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park, 1998

Click each title above to be linked to a website with more information!

I'm realizing that while the selection of a specific book is important, it is not as important as the responses we each have as we read, and then the special chemistry that occurs when we all get together and share our insights.

Happy reading (and writing! ;-)

Terry Tempest Williams' REFUGE

2009-03-30T22:59:00.009-04:00

In REFUGE: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, Terry Tempest Williams witnesses the diminishment of the migratory bird refuge at Great Salt Lake, walks with a loved one through illness and grief, and explores the meaning of her family history. A dominant theme of the book is accepting loss and embracing change as part of nature.

The author is celebrated for her unique style and ability to evoke a deep emotional response in the reader. In 2006, Ms. Williams received the Robert Marshall Award from The Wilderness Society, their highest honor given to an American citizen. She also received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Western American Literature Association and the Wallace Stegner Award given by The Center for the American West. She is the recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in creative nonfiction. Terry Tempest Williams is currently the Annie Clark Tanner Scholar in Environmental Humanities at the University of Utah.

Report on March Meeting

2009-03-30T22:51:00.005-04:00

The March 29 meeting had a good turnout of six people with three new members attending. We enjoyed a lively discussion about Rachel Carson as an environmentalist and as an author. Members shared some readings of favorite passages. Members had read from different works, including Always Rachel (a collection of letters to and from Dorothy Freeman), Under the Sea-Wind, The Edge of the Sea, A Sense of Wonder, The Lost Woods (an anthology of Carson writings), and The Sea Around Us. We reviewed an ever-growing list of candidates for future reads, but settled on Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams for April's book. One member is investigating the purchase of a nature writers' anthology to assist us in the book selection process. Many excellent suggestions have been put forth! We are still determining what process to use for selecting books. As the season warms, we hope to schedule some meetings outdoors. The next meeting is set for Sunday April 26, 3:00 PM, Snyder Hall, Shepherd University.

FILM ON CARSON TO SHOW AT NCTC IN APRIL

2009-03-18T08:30:00.004-04:00

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009, 7:00 PM at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV. Free and open to the public. A SENSE OF WONDER
This film depicts scientist and author Rachel Carson in the last year of her life as she battles cancer and the chemical industry. The film is making a nationwide 100-city tour this month to celebrate National Women’s History Month. Carson’s bestseller Silent Spring, which she started writing in 1958 at the age of 50, was highly influential in the banning of the chemical DDT and the creation of EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the passage of the Clean Water Act.
Written by and starring film and television actress Kaiulani Lee, A Sense of Wonder offers a historically accurate and powerfully moving portrayal of this amazing woman. (http://www.ecosalon.com/)
For more information about the film and a sneak preview: http://www.asenseofwonderfilm.com/

POETRY WALK CALL FOR ENTRIES!

2009-03-07T09:01:00.001-05:00

LOCAL AUDUBON SOCIETY SEEKS POEMS FOR SPRING FESTIVAL

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society is asking local poets to submit poems that will be displayed as part of its annual Wildflower Festival, which will be held this year on Saturday, April 18
The festival will be held at the Society's Yankauer Nature Preserve north of Shepherdstown.
Its events will include a Poetry Walk, which will feature poems that focus on spring themes posted all along the preserve's Kingfisher trail.
Those who wish to submit poems are encouraged to do so by email by sending them to pvnaturewriters@gmail.com. Poems may also be dropped off at the Four Seasons Bookstore in Shepherdstown or submitted by regular mail to Poetry Walk, c/o PVAS, PO Box 578, Shepherdstown, WV 25443.
The deadline for submissions is April 10.
For more information contact PVAS at 304-676-3397 or pvasmail@aol.com.
PVAS is a member of the United Way of the Eastern Panhandle and the Combined Federal Campaign

Marcia Bonta Inspirational!

2009-03-05T06:57:00.004-05:00

http://marciabonta.wordpress.com/appalachian-seasons-books/
Squirrel recommends this site about naturalist writer Marcia Bonta.

COMMENT: CARSON WORKS

2009-03-01T08:55:00.002-05:00

If you are reading any of Rachel Carson's books, comment here. Note which of her works you are commenting on.

COMMENT: ALWAYS RACHEL

2009-03-01T08:54:00.002-05:00

If you are reading Always, Rachel, add your comments here.

Film on Carson in the works to show at NCTC!

2009-03-01T07:55:00.001-05:00

I have been speaking with PVAS and NCTC about scheduling a free showing of the film. More info coming soon. Trillium
http://www.asenseofwonderfilm.com/

New feature: Member Links

2009-03-01T07:35:00.005-05:00

Scroll down to check out links to member blogs and other sites showing members' writing and research. We now have four member links and looking forward to more!

First Impressions

2009-02-26T18:14:00.003-05:00

If Thoreau is the "father" of nature writing, then Rachel Carson is apparently his female counterpart. I hadn't realized how influential she was and how much courage it must have taken to publish Silent Spring. I'm glad we chose her as our first author to read!

Second Hand Bookstore Find!

2009-02-26T18:12:00.002-05:00

This evening I found a 1951 hardbound copy of The Sea Around Us! El cheapo. 9th printing but still a good deal.

RE BLOG DISCUSSIONS, POSTINGS, LINKS

2009-02-25T10:46:00.001-05:00

This site will be focused on discussions relating to our group's current readings/author as well as group events, business and so on. The blog mistress will regularly post general entries on topics or questions relating to our current author and members can post comments to add to the discussion. If you want to post your own entry for the group you may email it to pvnaturewriters@gmail.com and the blogmistress will post it for you. Or query for further instructions on how to post entries directly. Only members will be given access to post entries directly.

To share your personal journal entries and other material not relating to our current readings, members can create their own blogs. Email your blog website address to pvnaturewriters@gmail.com and I will add it to a list of links to member blogs. Then to see what members are doing/writing/thinking we just click on the link! For now blog links will be limited to group members. I will also add a link to WVNaturalists yahoo group.

What book(s) are you reading?

2009-02-25T10:40:00.001-05:00

Your blogmistress is reading Always, Rachel (skipping around! its a huge volume) and will read Under the Sea-Wind in its entirety. Add your comments below re what you have chosen to read.

TIME PLACE NEXT MEETING

2009-02-25T09:27:00.000-05:00

Next Meeting: Sunday March 29 at 3:00 PM at the same location. Room 317, Snyder Hall, Shepherd University, corner of High and King Streets, Shepherdstown. Please enter through the front of the building. You may park on the street or in the lot in back of the building.
If you will be a new attendee please rsvp to pvnaturewriters@gmail.com

2009-02-25T07:58:00.003-05:00

We had a great turnout for the first meeting of the Potomac Valley Nature Writing Group (PVNWG).

Let me know if you have not received your member list.

Author to Read: The author we will be reading and discussing for next meeting is Rachel Carson. The primary book we will discuss is Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952-1964 - The Story of a Remarkable Friendship. However, feel free to read any of her works instead of or in addition to this. See side bar to the right for helpful links.
Members suggest that we check our local libraries, used book stores, ebay, and used items available on amazon.com, bookfinder.com and other websites as alternatives to buying new.

Discussion Question: The general discussion question we will use for the next meeting is: Pick at least one or two passages (no more than a page or so) that you found exceptional or of special interest/impact. Think about why and how these passages affected you. Consider content, but also style of writing, and what the passages tell you about the author.

Writing: All members are encouraged to keep an ongoing journal of nature observations, thoughts, and any responses to the group selection or other readings. We agreed that each member would write a paragraph of personal response to the selected reading. Bring one copy of your paragraph to the meeting.

Welcome!

2009-02-24T09:11:00.000-05:00

This blogspot is the base camp for the Potomac Valley Nature Writing Group. As we go out on our adventures in reading, writing and exploring nature, we can convene here to share what we have discovered (in addition to our meetings!) Please bookmark this site!

Come to the site to quickly check on what is going on with the group. No need to sign in! To post comments on what others have written, you will need to create your own gmail account. It's easily done. If you want to post your own blog entries here (which I hope you do!), contact me for further instructions. We can also post photos, share links to websites, reviews of books and so on!

More later...