What is a Wetland?

Although wetlands are often wet, a wetland might not be wet year-round.  In fact, some of the most important wetlands are only seasonally wet.  Wetlands are the link between the land and the water.  They are transition zones where the flow of water, the cycling of nutrients, and the energy of the sun meet to produce a unique ecosystem characterized by hydrology, soils, and vegetation - making these areas very important features of a watershed.  Using a watershed-based approach to wetland protection ensures that the whole system, including land, air, and water resources, is protected. 

Wetlands found in the United States fall into four general categories - marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens. 

Marshes are wetlands dominated by soft-stemmed vegetation.

Swamps are wetlands with mostly woody plants.

Bogs are freshwater wetlands, often formed in old glacial lakes, characterized by spongy peat deposits, evergreen trees and shrubs, and a floor covered by a thick carpet of sphagnum moss.

Fens are freshwater peat-forming wetlands covered mostly by grasses, sedges, reeds, and wildflowers.

The Good News:

Often called "nurseries of life," wetlands provide habitat for thousands of species of aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals.  Although wetlands are best known for being home to water lillies, turtles, frogs, snakes, alligators, and crocodiles, they also provide inportant habitat for waterfowl, fish, and mammals.  Migrating birds use wetlands to rest and feed during their cross-continental journeys and as nesting sites when they are at home.  As a result, wetland loss has a serious impact on these species.  Habitat degradation since the 1970s has been a leading cause of species extinction.

Two-thirds of the 10 million to 12 million waterfowl of the continental United States reproduce in the prarie pothole wetlands of the Midwest.  In the winter, millions of ducks can be found in the wetlands of the south-central United States.

Wetlands do more than provide habitat for plants and animals in the watershed.  When rivers overflow, wetlands help to absorb and slow floodwaters.  This ability to control floods can alleviate property damage and loss and can even save lives.  Wetlands also absorb excess nutrients, sediment, and other pollutants before they reach rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water.  They are great spots for canoeing, kayaking, hiking, bird-watching, and fishing.  And they make great classrooms for people of all ages. 

The forested wetland on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia's Eastern Shore is part of the Atlantic Flyway, where shorebirds and waterfowl rest before they migrate south for the winter.

The Bad News:

Despite all the benefits provided by wetlands, the United States loses about 60,000 acres of wetlands each year.  The very runoff that wetlands help to clean can overload and contaminate these fragile ecosystems.  In addition, non-native species of plants and animals and global climate change contrubute to wetland loss and degradation. 

A watershed includes all the land that drains to a common body of water.  Using a watershed-based approach to protection ensures that the whole ecosystem is protected.

How can I help?

First, identify your watershed and find the wetlands in your neighborhood.  Learn more about them and share what you learn with someone you know.  Encourage neighbors, developers, and state and local governments to protect the functions and values of wetlands in your watershed. 

The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources a assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.

- Theodore Roosevelt

To prevent wetland loss or degradation, here are some suggestions:

• Instead of draining or filling wetlands, find more compatible uses, such as waterfowl and wildlife habitat.
• When developing your landscaping plan, keep wetlands in mind.  Plant native grasses or forested buffer strips along wetlands on your property to protect water quality.
• Participate in a volunteer wetland monitoring program.
• Plan to avoid wetlands when developing or improving a site.  Get technical assistance from your state environmnetal agency before you alter a wetland. 
• Maintain wetlands and adjacent buffer strips as open space. 
• Support your local watershed association.
• Plan a wetland program or invite a wetland expert to speak at your school, club, youth group, or professional organization. 
• Build a wetland in your backyard.

Wetlands can be found in every county and climatic zone in the United States.

One Year Later and Congress Has Learned Nothing

Instead of making it harder for oil companies like Shell to drill in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean, The House of Representatives just voted to make it easier.  If this legislation becomes law, the oil industry will be even less regulated now than it was a year ago before the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. 

And to make matters worse, Shell already gets millions in subsidies every year from the U.S. government.  In fact, last year Shell paid effectively no taxes at all to the U.S. government.  Congress is giving them more incentive to take unacceptable risks with our national treasures.  It's time to put an end to this dangerous game.  We have a chance to do just that. 

As soon as tomorrow, Congress will be voting on a bill that would cut billions of dollars worth of subsidies to oil companies like Shell.  But the industry and their friends in Washington are currently doing everything they can to stop that from happening.  That's why you need to speak up and send a message to your members of Congress. 

Congress needs to hear your voice.  Ask your members of Congress to put an end to government subsidies to the oil industry now. 

Shell just submitted plans to drill up to ten new wells in Alaska's Arctic Ocean over the next two years using the same faulty tecnology that BP uses in the Gulf.  But Shell's plans in the shallow waters of the Arctic are even more dangerous than BP's are in the Gulf and run a higher risk of blowouts, according to government data. 

Shell isn't prepared for a disaster in the Arctic Ocean.  No one is.  It's a known fact that there is no way to effectively clean up an oil spill in the Arctic's harsh conditions.  All they care about is their corporate bottom line. 

Congress should be fighting for you.  It's your money, and it's our land.  The vote could be happening as soon as tomorrow.  Contact your members of Congress today and ask them to put an end to government subsidies to the oil industry before it's too late. 

(content - Melanie Duchin, Greenpeace Arctic Campaigner)

American Wetland Month

May is the month to recognize and celebrate the wonderful ways wetlands enrich the environment and people.  It is a time to give back to the environment by learning more about wetlands and participating in the many scheduled events. 

Why celebrate wetlands?

Wetlands are among the most valuable but least understood of all natural resources.  They provide rich habitat for wildlife.  They are places in which many animals and birds build nests and raise their young.  Migrating birds stop over in wetlands to rest and to feed.  We celebrate wetlands each May when they are teeming with new animal and plant life. 

Wetlands benefit our communities as well.  They replenish and clean water supplies and reduce flood risks, provide recreational opportunities and aesthetic benefits.  They serve as sites for scientific research and education, and benefit commercial fishing. 

Unfortunately, wetlands have been misundserstood for many years, often viewed as wastelands to be drained and converted to other uses.  But if wetlands disappear, water will not be as clean, fish and bird populations will suffer, and the frequency and severity of floods will increase.  Americans have begun to recognize the value of wetlands, and the rate of loss has declined dramatically over the last 30 years.  It is important that we continue to stop the loss of wetlands and begin to achieve a net gain through better management and restoration.  Learn how you can help by discovering more about wetlands and participating in events celebrating American Wetlands Month.

Wetland protection and you:

Government regulations and zoning restrictions are not enough to protect and restore wetlands. 
Citizens must also participate in wetland protection efforts.  You can identify your watershed and find any wetlands in your neighborhood by visiting National Wetlands Inventory.  Caring, devoted volunteers can make a big difference.

Where Bluebonnets Abound - Celebrating America's Wildflowers

The month of May reminds me of springtime back home, and by back home I mean Texas. 

I actually only lived there for a little over a decade.  However, the youngest two of my family were the only ones born there, and my parents still live there.  Over time we had gradually beome "native Texans."  And every year in May we would drive out to the country, pull off to the side of the road, and enter the great blue sea of bluebonnets for our family pictures. 

"No self-respectin' Texan passes up a photo-op with the bluebonnets."  (A comment my mother was known to make every year.) 

And it was true!  Every spring we would see others among the state's official wildflower posing in front of cameras.  The side of the road usually looked like a parking lot with everyone pulled over.  And the amazing thing was, we never accidentally got anyone else in our shots!  The fields where the bluebonnets grew were always so huge everyone was able to have their own space! 

I never realized how unique our situation was with an entire state celebrating this special wildflower.  After I moved away from Texas I remember visiting a friend where I currently live - a friend that had never lived in Texas.  And as I was going through her family's photo album that they gave me to look at I asked, "Where's your pictures with your state's wildflower?" 
They looked at me as if I had just asked them if I could pee on their carpet. 

So I explained... that families in Texas anually take photos with our bluebonnets,... that whenever I went to my friends' houses there were always framed pictures of children surrounded by bluebonnets hanging on the walls or sitting on shelves,... that my mom had an album labeled "bluebonnets only." 
"Really?  We never do that,"  I was told.  Then they asked, "We have a state wildflower?"
Very soon after that I realized it's practically a "Texas only" thing - which is sad. 

My family and I keep the wildflower tradition alive every May by visiting our current state's wildflower:  the black-eyed susan.

Though they aren't nealy as abundant as the bluebonnets were in Texas, they are still very pretty. 

This week we celebrate nature's bounty of wildflowers across the nation for National Wildflower Week. 

Across the nation, wildflowers growing beside highways, in gardens and elsewhere are valued for their natural beauty.  As Lady Bird Johnson (founder of National Wildflower Week) once said, "These and other native plants give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours."

National Wildflower Week aims not only to highlight wildflowers' beauty, but to encourage citizens to understand their value and take steps to protect them.  Wildflowers and native plants help conserve water, reduce mowing costs, provide habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife and protect the soil from erosion.  In addition, native plants often require less resources to maintain than plants that aren't native to a region. 

But many wildflowers nationally are in danger from habitat loss, non-native plants that grow aggressively and compete for resources (called invasive plants) among other factors. 

How do I celebrate National Wildflower Week?

Participate in a local event.
Chances are, there is a wildflower event happening in your neighborhood.  Visit the National Organizations Directory to find a native plant society, conservation group, botanical garden or other plant related organizations where you live. 

Wildflower walks and garden visits.
Explore for yourself.  Bring a field guide.  Visit a sanctuary, state or local park, national forest or refuge, public or private garden, and other locations to experience the joy and beauty of wildflowers. 

Wildflower beautifation projects.
Introduce native wildflowers along roadsides, in parks, and around churches, schools, and other public and private buildings.  Request government and private support for such projects.  Encourage local nurseries and garden centers to stock native plants and seeds.

Celebrating wildflowers.
The national forests, national parks, national wildlife refuges, grasslands, and millions of acres of public lands are truly America's wildflower gardens.  Celebrating Wildflowers  is a website that promotes the many programs featuring the important role that the nations's public lands, over 630 million acres, play in providing diverse habitats for much of America's flora.

Original 1971 Commercial

One of the many observances celebrated in April is Keep America Beautiful month. 

Keep America Beautiful is an environmental organization that was founded in 1953.  It focuses on litter prevention, reduce/reuse/recycle, and community greening (planting trees and gardens). 

KAB was the first organization to bring littering to national attention and made "litterbug" a household word. 

On Earth Day 1971, this commercial was launched with the message: "People start pollution.  People can stop it," featuring the "Crying Indian."



Shortly afterwards, another commercial was aired...

Our Natural World - An Earth Day Celebration

"Every body needs beauty as well as bread,

Places to play in and pray in,

Where nature may heal and

Give strength to body and soul alike."

- John Muir

"If we can somehow retain places where we
can always sense the mystery of the unknown,
our lives will be richer."

- Sigurd F. Olson

"All good things are wild and free."

- Henry David Thoreau

"To love and be loved is to

feel the sun from both sides."

- David Viscott

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of

wonder, he needs the companionship of at

least one adult who can share it,

rediscovering the joy, excitement and mystery

of the world we live in."

- Rachel Carson

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed,
and to have my senses put in tune once more."- John Burroughs

"Where else can the limitless landscape

match the greatest reach of the human spirit?"

- T.A. Barron

"So we shall come and look at the world with new eyes."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"This is our purpose: to make as meaningful as
possible this life that has been bestowed upon us;
to live in such a way, that we may be proud of ourselves;
to act in such a way that some part of us lives on."
- Oswald Spengler

"Come forth into the light of things.

Let nature be your wisdom."

- William Wordsworth

On this day I pray:

...that you will spend more time outdoors.

...that you will observe nature more closely.

...that you will be inspired by the beauty of our natural world.

...that you will use that inspiration to make a positive change in your own personal way.

...and that every night you will go to sleep knowing you left the world a better place than the day before.

The Beavers Had a Day

I love to nature watch.  And in the spring - when everything comes to life - I do more watching than I probably should.  So yesterday, aside from walking around aimlessly and gawking, I spent the morning comfortably perched on a cliff by a pine tree growing out of the cliff face at the edge of a bog.  I tucked myself comfortably up against the thick solid trunk, and leaned back in bliss behind a thin veil of branches that provided both concealment and a view. 

At dawn, an hour before the sun's glare bleeds the colors, the bog was a study in pastels.  There was no green vegetation at all.  The water surface shimmered in colors ranging through black, tan, blue, and dark greenish where the light reflected from the pines at the edge of the beaver pond. 

Light reflected from the wavelets as beavers swam at slow, steady, unvarying speed.  Their noses and ears peeked out of the water, etching V's in their wake.  One beaver hauled itself out onto an old dam overgrown with viburnum bushes.  Its shaggy coat glistened black as it bent over on its haunches and, with its front paws, brushed the fur on its head and behind its ears.  Then it waddled back into the water and slid out of sight. 

As I sat there I continued to watch muskrats, woodpeckers, geese, grackles, red-winged blackbirds, and wood ducks.  I silently thanked the beavers, because with their dams and their constant cutting of brush and trees, they have created this oasis of very varied life in what would otherwise be an almost uniform expanse. 

By the end of the day I had discovered that it had been, in fact, International Beaver Day.  I had inadvertently celebrated their "special" day by observing and appreciating them for what they mean to our natural world. 

This is obviously not a well known Day.  But hopefully that will change in the near future.  Check out this one minute video and spread the word. 

International Dark Sky Week

Once a source of wonder - and one half of the entire planet's natural environment - the star-filled nights of just a few years ago are vanishing in a yellow haze. 

Human produced light pollution not only inhibits our view of the stars; poor lighting threatens astronomy, disrupts ecosystems, affects human circadian rhythms, and wastes energy to the tune of $2.2 billion per year in the U.S. alone. 

One way astronomy is affected:

Unshielded lights send their light in all directions, including straight up.  This sets the sky aglow, in much the same way that the sun sets the sky aglow during the day.  Now, the sky does not glow as bright at night as it does during the day, but the increase in sky glow caused by cities is enough to make it difficult to see dim objects in the sky... and it's getting worse.

One way ecosystems are affected:

Newly hatched turtles need a dark night sky to orient themselves toward the sea, but artificial lights behind beaches lure them away.  Hatchlings are attracted to lights and crawl inland, or crawl aimlessly down the beach, sometimes until dawn, when terrestrial predators or birds get them. 

One way humans are affected:

Light tresspass has been implicated in disruption of the human (and animal) circadian rhythm, and strongly suspected as the cause of suppressed melatonin production, depressed immune systems, and increase in cancer rates such as breast cancer. 

Making a difference -

In 2003, Jennifer Barlow, a sophomore from Midlothian, VA, founded a grassroots effort called National Dark Sky Week "because I want people to be able to see the wonder of the night sky without the effects of light pollution.  The universe is our view into our past and our vision into the future.  With National Dark Sky Week, I want to help preserve its wonder."
It has been endorsed by the International Dark Sky Association, American Astronomical Society, Astronomical League, and Sky and Telescope, and now goes by the title of International Dark Sky Week.

The most important goal is that we once again may be able to see the wonder of the universe that has been a treasured part of history as long as humans have existed on this Earth, and that we do not allow such beauty to fade behind a blanket of light pollution.


The opportunity to experience the natural night sky should be available to everyone.  This natural resource, which inspires our attempts to understand the cosmos, should be protected through the use of well-designed lighting systems that put light where it is needed and not waste energy through unnecessary illumination of the sky.  Properly designed lighting systems provide safety and convenience without polluting one of our greatest natural assets. 

It is so important that International Dark Sky Week gains more and more support each year to ensure its success.  The only way to reduce light pollution is if everyone participates.

Ideas for participation:

1. Evaluate your lighting needs and extinguish all unnecessary lighting in or around your property.  If lights are necessary (for safety or visibility) do not turn them off.
2. Blog about it.  Or write a letter to your local news source to increase publicity.
3. Encourage your friends and neighbors to permanently reduce the use of non-essential lighting.  Purchase and install a dark sky friendly lighting fixture for yourself or a neighbor.  Or talk to your local supplier about carrying a selection of these fixtures.
4. If your an educator, teach students about the night sky and light pollution.  Kids can find ways to understand and improve the issue by participating in activities such as a star count or a home audit. 
5. Host a observing event this weekend, such as a family/neighborhood backyard stargazing party, picnic, BBQ, or sidewalk astronomy.
6. Spread the news to everyone you know and encourage them to turn off their unneccesary lights.
7. Whatever you do, and however you participate, have fun and enjoy the night sky. 

How to see the Milky Way.

The night sky has been forgotten by many. I hope that International Dark Sky Week will encourage you to "look up" and appreciate its wondrous features... And not just nights this week, but on any night. 

Hallmark Sells Frogs?

My daughter's birthday was last week, and she received a gift from a friend of mine (who meant well) that rocked our world... and not in a good way.  But we created a happy, rescue situation regardless.  Here's what happened:

Anyone who knows my daughter knows she loves animals.  Which is why she usually receives something revolving around this theme whenever any gift-giving time comes around.  Sometimes it's an adoption certificate (ASPCA, WWF, etc.), a stuffed animal, a real animal, or all the above.  This birthday was an aquatic one.  She received (among other things) a new betta fish from me, and from my friend (again bless her heart, she didn't know what she was doing)...

two African Dwarf Frogs inside a tiny, 1/3 of a gallon plastic prison from Hallmark.

"Hallmark sells frogs?"  Sure enough there was a Hallmark sticker still on the side of the tank.  To be honest my response was "how cute are these guys?", but my daughter gasped and stood transfixed.  My friend and I thought she was in awe.  She wasn't.  "This is so bad!" ( Luckily this reaction didn't phase my friend.)

Now, I'm no herpitologist, but I do work with amphibians and reptiles (the local ones only, obviously) more often than most people do.   And, as a Naturalist, I should've known immediately that this little "habitat" was wrong - like my daughter did.   But this was the last gift my girl opened, and I was caught up in all the "birthday cheer" of the day.

We took a field trip to the local Hallmark.  Several of these aquariums were perched on top of a shelf and sold with picture frames and pretty paper weights (which is what I think this is supposed to be, sadly enough).  They are called "EcoAquariums" and they are made by a company called Wild Creations.  When we started to ask the clerk questions, she said they just got them in 4 days ago and had only just fed them for the first time.  It was pretty busy in there, and I didn't want to be confrontational until I knew more. 

According to the "literature" that came with the frogs:

• The frogs, the aquarium plant, and the gravel "work in harmony to create a completely filter-free ecosystem habitat."
• "Your 'EcoAquarium' will clean and condition itself with very little additonal care."
• Feeding: "2 pellets per frog, 2 times per week" using the frog pellets that came with them.
• "Change the aquarium water every 3 months" using "room temperature spring water."
• "Keep water at room temperature, 68-84F/20-29C."
• The life of the frog is "guaranteed for one year."

That sounded like a bunch of baloney to me.  So I called the experts on exotic frogs:  Fauna in New York.  I described the "EcoAquarium" and here's what they had to say:

• First, "Hallmark sells frogs?"  Then...
• Each frog needs a minimum space of 1 gallon.  So, since there's 2, a minimum of 2 gallons is needed.  (They were actually pretty pissed at the fact that there were two fogs in this tiny cube.  One of them said, "There's 2 of them in there?  Oh, that really makes me mad!"). 
• There's no such thing as a "filter-free" aquarium. Yes, the gravel does help their environment, but it does not keep it clean... especially such a tiny space. The larger the tank, the easier it is to keep clean.  They need a filter.
• They should be fed at least 3 times per week and with a diverse diet.  Pellets alone are not going to keep them healthy.  They suggested alternating the pellets with frozen blood worms. 
• Partial water changes should be weekly, not once every 3 months!
• Using spring water is okay, but it's too soft.  The best water to use is to completely dechlorinate regular tap water. 
• These are tropical creatures.  And like tropical fish, they need a heater.  Water temperature is always slightly cooler than the air temperature.  So, if your home is set at the minimum 68F/20C, then the water wouldn't be warm enough.  And actually, the frogs need to be in a temperature of about 77F/25C. 
• They need some place to hide.  These are timid creatures, and being kept out in the open without something to crawl under or into will stress them out. 
• The average life span in the wild is 15 years.  The average life span in captivity is 5 years.  Hallmark guarantees the life of the frogs for one year!!  The way the frogs are being kept in these "EcoAquariums"... they will only last one year... if they're lucky. 

"So I guess you will want to return them?" 

An obvious first question my friend asked my daughter.  But, No.  If we return them, someone else will buy them, keep them in their cold, filthy prison and they will die.  My daughter's decision - which I support 100% - is to give them a better home.  I spent every bit of my free time this past week making sure I was doing everything I could to make sure these frogs have the best - and longest - possible life from now on.  And in eveything I did, I called/emailed Fauna and/or spoke to the aquarium specialists at my local pet store.  FYI - In case you were wondering, you cannot set these guys free as they are NOT part of your ecosystem (unless you live in the Congo region of Africa). 

But we won't be shopping at Hallmark while these torture devices are still being sold. 

Naturally we never would have bought something like this.  And if I had seen this at Hallmark myself I still would've done some research, made some phone calls, emails, letters, created a blog post, etc.  The post, however, would've been different, but with the same message:

Wild Creations PROMOTES cruelty to animals!

Before Hallmark, there was Brookstone...

After 18 months of protests, thousands of calls and emails, and appearances outside Brookstone stores by a guy in a giant frog costume, Brookstone had finally decided to pull a product they called the "Frog-O-Sphere" (also from Wild Creations) from its shelves. 

PETA started campaigning against the tiny plastic frog prisons after receiving complaints from Brookstone customers and after a whistleblower reported that frogs housed in the tiny 4in.H x4in.W x4in.D plastic boxes were neglected, deprived of veterinary care and adequate food, and kept in filthy water.  The whistleblower told PETA that when frogs became obviously ill and "unsaleable," they were moved to the store's storage rooms, where they wasted away and died. 

PETA's undercover investigation of Wild Creations revealed filthy conditions and deadly neglect.  In some cases, frogs were so hungry that they chewed each other's legs off.  In some other cases, 37 out of 40 frogs died in shipment to the stores after they were left in a container so long that they suffered from heat prostration. 

Now Hallmark is selling them.  Please, please tell Hallmark to stop selling them!
call:  1-800-425-5627
mail:  Hallmark Customer Service, P.O. Box 419034, Mail Drop 216, Kansas City, MO, 64141 US.
No email address is available that I can find.  If you have/know it, please let me know. 

And tell Wild Creations that it's an idiotic idea to throw 2 frogs and some gravel into a container smaller than a shoebox and leave them there their entire lives!
email:  info@wildcreations.com
call:  (843) 448-8880
fax:  (843) 448-8988
mail:  Wild Creations, 1560 Pine Island Rd. unit C, Myrtle Beach, SC, 29577 US.

And now I give you Tom and Jerry in their clean, warm, 3-gallon tank with juicy blood worms in their bellies and a castle fit for a king to hide in!

The boys will be given more room in the near future.  This is what we had on hand, and they're doing fine.    We just wanted them to live happily ever after ASAP.  

Note:

If you already are the owner of an EcoAquarium or a Frog-O-Sphere, please give them a better home, but first, get professional advice from your local pet store or contact Fauna.  Do Not transplant them without knowing what you are doing.  And DO NOT leave them where they are! 

The lives of these helpless froggies are depending on you. 

 

 

Download PETA's free app.

Here Comes The Sun, cont.

In my nostalgia for summers past and anticipation of summers to come, I think of swimming, kayaking, basking in the sun while wiggling my toes into warm sand at the beach, and reveling in the sights, sounds, and smells of flowers, bees, and birds. 

For me, summer used to begin on the first day of school vacation, the season of long days.  But a more universal, and just as specific, beginning of summer (in the northern hemisphere) is the vernal (spring) equinox ("equal night"), when the night and day are the same length. 

Members of many species, myself included, become more alive again at this first "scent" of summer.  Skunks come out of their dens, and we get the first whiffs of their presence.  Chipmunks emerge from underground and leave their first tracks on the softening snow.  The yearling beavers leave their dens as their parents get ready to have new pups. 

Flower buds of the willows, alder, beaked hazel, poplars, and elms are poised to respond to the first warmth, to open and reveal their beautiful colors and varied forms. 

Some of the birds that overwintered begin to sing, and the migrant birds are plying the skies by the millions on their way north from the tropics.  The first are starting to arrive. 

Nature is about to burst at the seams. 

Here comes the sun.  Doo'n do do.  Here comes the sun.  And I say, it's all right.

The warming sun signals relief, and I'm ready.  The rest of nature has been waiting and getting ready as well.

Here Comes the Sun... and You

Spring arrives today at 23:21 UTC (for those of us in America that's 6:21pm Eastern Daylight Time). 

Today is the perfect day to start a "New Year's Resolution." 

Why?

Because, starting a New Year's Resolution in January, the most depressing month of the year, is unproductive, and, therefore,... depressing when you fail.

So, why not start all the healthy and productive ideas you've been having now?

You most likely tried to do these things on January 1st and then failed a week or two into it. 

But now you have the sun!

You're no dummy.  You already know that sunlight is a natural anti-depressant, and that lack of sunlight causes depression. There's even a medical name for depression caused by a lack of sunlight - Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). 

So, why on earth would you think of motivating yourself to start something "out of the ordinary for you" on some of the most depressing days of the year and then be successful? 

You wouldn't, right?

Well, if there was at least half a day's worth of daylight, and you were getting more minutes of it every day, you would be more motivated to accomplish those resolutions. 

Studies show that it takes 28 days to form a habit.  So, if you were trying to change something about yourself, or your daily routine, and you wanted it to "stick," then you need to be motivated for at least 28 days to be successful. 

The minutes of daylight in each day has been increasing since December21st.  But, at (or around) the Spring Equinox, each day has more sunlight than darkness.  And the sunlight will grow until June 21st of this year. 

That's well over the 28 days you'll need to establish your healthy new habit!

And, the sun will still out-weigh darkness each day until September 23rd.  So, you'll be going strong with sunlight on your side for 6 whole months! 

So, when winter (and next New Year's) comes around, you will have to think of a new "New Year's Resolution," instead of trying to find a way to re-do last year's failures. 

But don't forget to wait until the Spring Equinox to actually start it.  You'll be more successful that way. 

Don't know what to change about yourself?  Here are some suggestions, in no particular order.

The Apple Guardian's Best Resolutions You Can Give Yourself:

• Rescue an animal.  If you plan on getting a new pet, don't go to a breeder.  Getting your pet from a shelter saves the life of your pet and puts breeders out of business.  For more information on this visit the ASPCA or the Humane Society's website. 
• Feed wild birds.  Or at least observe them.  You'll gain a new appreciation of our natural world.  You will even be more in tune to the rest of nature all around you. 
• Exercise more.  Duh.  This is an obvious one.  But this time you are more likely to be successful.  And you won't believe how amazing you will feel when you can keep it up for a long period of time!
• Smile more.  Seriously, try it.  People will respond to you like you are someone special.  And you are!  But most importantly, you will feel light-hearted and generous, which then will lead to even better relations with others.  Just start with random people you walk by every day.  You'll see. 
• Learn a new language.  Have you ever seen two people trying to communicate to each other, and neither of them speak the same language as the other?  Do you notice that they each treat the other person as if that person were stupid?  Peace and compatibility start with understanding. 
• Participate in outdoor activities.  Find an outdoor recreational sport that you've always been interested in - or something you've never tried - (preferably a non-polluting one) and start becoming a regular at it.  Once you develop a regular outdoor hobby, you will be physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. 
• Visit National/State parks.  There are National parks, forests, wildlife refuges and historical areas near you that you may not know about.  Find out where they are, and make a commitment to visit at least one a month.  Take family/friends or go alone.  You'll learn more about your area, enjoy time with others, and/or find a peaceful place to relax. 
• Go organic.  Find out how organic foods are beneficial for you and the environment and where you can find them.  Turn all your meals 100% organic. 
• Conserve energy.  Find out ways to lower your carbon footprint... and your energy costs.
• Go Vegetarian.  Why?  Because it's healthier for you, the environment, and obviously the animals involved. 
• Buy more fairly traded items.  When you, for example, purchase fairly traded coffee over regular coffee, you are ensuring that those who worked to produce your coffee was treated, well, fairly.  You will help those in poor countries to make a fair living and successfully raise their families.
• Recycle.  This is a daily activity that you and your family can get into.  Call your local recycling office, obtain a recycling bin or two, learn what goes into it, and start recycling.  You'll find you have more recyclables than trash.  And that's okay.  There's too much trash not going anywhere anyway. 
• Protect the world's habitats.  Okay, I know this one is loaded.  But just by doing several of the above, you will inadvertently be protecting the world's habitats.  Also find other ways to protect by volunteering, donating, etc.

March

Heavy rains scale down to intermittent showers.

The thaw begins.

Plants, insects, animals wend their way up to Earth's surface.

Quickly light increases.

Happy March!