MARIE WINN IS AUTHOR FOR OCTOBER 2009

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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.