Nature Pauses Not for a Human/Viral Pandemic
As I write and publish this brief Post March 28, 2020, our air is thick with pollen — ’tis the season! Six-year-old grandson Sam spent an hour outdoors with us today — social-distancing and all that. I couldn’t help but share a few photos and write a bit of verse about the paradox of […]
Resurrection Fern — A Metaphor in Verse for Nature’s Simplicity
11 Photos An Exemplar for Simplicity in a World of Expanding Complexity I will mention but not dwell upon the fact that Covid-19 house-arrest spurs reflecting, creating, and writing… and encourages me to flourish in Nature whenever I can. March 21, 2020 I drove the short three miles to Rainbow Mountain Nature Preserve to hike […]
Lyrical Expressions in Forest Pathogens… Under a Covid-19 Cloud
I write these words March 18, 2020, sheltered in-place in the midst of uncertainty as we face the Corvid-19 pandemic. As a forester (1973 BS) and applied ecologist (1987 PhD), my passion in semi-retirement is Nature, especially trees and forests. With all of my speaking, teaching, and consulting gigs on Covid-hold, I allocate my time […]
Bethel Spring North Alabama Land Trust: Yet Another Natural Gem
A Corona Virus Statement of Context I am completing this Post on March 15, 2020 as the Corona virus pandemic is burdening our spirit, dashing economic activity, and giving us pause to reflect on the specter of a future bug that could place our entire humanity at peril. I am at my computer only because […]
Nature Poetry: Sowing Seeds for Earth Stewardship
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson I am committed to Earth Stewardship, a mission component driving my entire life in these years of semi-retirement. Spurred by being no longer fully employed, watching the first two of our five grandchildren nudge to […]
Leafless Tree I.D. Hike along Bradford Creek Greenway
February 22, 2020, the North Alabama Land Trust hosted a Leafless Tree I.D. hike along Bradford Creek Greenway in Madison, AL. I remain convinced that learning more about Nature amplifies our commitment to Earth stewardship. Don’t we care more about other humans when we know something (positive) about them, including their names? I believe […]
My Edu Alliance Journal Article on Academic Leadership
I issue weekly (more or less) GBH Blog Posts on Nature-Inspired Life and Living. However, I still dabble in the arena where I operated for two decades prior to retiring: Higher Education Leadership. I conducted an August 2019 Academic Leadership workshop for VPs, Deans, Directors, and Chairs at Kimep University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I developed […]
A Morning Visit to a Nearby Section of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge with my Six-Year-Old Grandson
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge here in northern Alabama covers 35,000 acres, 54.7 square miles. February 1, 2020, my daughter’s younger son (Sam, soon-to-be-six-years-old) and I visited an arm of the Refuge about a dozen miles due south of where I live and just six miles from where Sam resides. We hiked out a mile or […]
Examining a 70-Year Journey at Alabama’s Camp McDowell
I went back to McDowell January 20-24, 2020 to begin serious field work for developing McDowell’s Land Legacy Story — the Natural History corollary to existing books and essays on the facility’s Human History. Founders bought the first Camp parcels in 1946 and initiated Camp programming in 1948. I offer this brief Blog Post as […]
My First Visit to Sipsey Wilderness
Bankhead National Forest The USDA Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Its motto is Caring for the land and serving people. The Bankhead National Forest is the nearest National Forest to my home in northern […]
Back to Camp McDowell
I returned to Camp McDowell and Conference Center December 19-20, 2019 following a year’s absence and two prior Posts: https://stevejonesgbh.com/2018/11/27/mid-november-camp-mcdowell-land-legacy-orientation/ https://stevejonesgbh.com/2019/01/08/mid-november-skies-at-camp-mcdowell/ On the recent December trip I focused on completing plans for conducting a comprehensive Land Legacy Story for McDowell. Published books and internal documents already chronicle the Human History of the Camp since its […]
A Sacred Natural Setting at Cullman, Alabama’s Ave Maria Grotto
December 27, 2019 Judy and I visited Ave Maria Grotto, St. Bernard Abbey, Cullman, Alabama, just 55 miles from where we live. The self-guided tour brochure describes this attraction: The Ave Maria Grotto is located on the grounds of St. Bernard Abbey, the only Benedictine monastery of men in the State of Alabama. The Abbey […]