Earth Day Musings from Mother Nature

Today is Earth Day 2011, and it's time once again to give thanks to this planet that we call our home. Although Mother Nature speaks to us in many ways, I think we sometimes forget to listen. Awhile back I wrote a post on Mother Nature, and I think its message is especially appropriate today. I hope you will ponder these Earth Day musings from Mother Nature, and take to heart a few when making your choices everyday:

1. Please don't try to second guess me - if you took the age of every living thing on earth, and added them up, I would be millions of years older then the total. So, I think I might know a thing or two about how the earth is supposed to function and grow, and will teach you if you only stop and listen.

2. I live everywhere - from the tallest mountain to the lowest valley, from the hottest desert to the coldest oceans. Please be a nice guest in my house, or it could soon become inhospitable. I may have to ask you (not so politely) to leave.

3. I am happy to share my bounty with you, but I ask that you don't take advantage of my generosity. Rather, only take as much as you need, and leave some for the rest of the world and its offspring.

4. I love creepy crawlies, including snakes, spiders, beetles, and all of the other things that most people are afraid of. So the next time you think about squishing, poisoning, or otherwise getting rid of them please remember they are dear to my heart.

5. Although it is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, nothing artificial can compare to the magnificent sunsets, flowers, mountains, streams and animals that I have given you, so please treat them with care.

6. I am the original creator of diversity. Meadows, forests, oceans, and plains have thousands of inhabitants who all are part of a complex ecosystem working together. Monocultures have no place in my plans. You can learn a lot about diversity simply by studying them.

7. The soil of the earth is made up of trillions of living, breathing organisms. Pick up a handful of nice, crumbly soil, and you are holding billions of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes. Not to mention worms, centipedes, ants, beetles, and other scavengers of the soil. Do you really want to destroy all that just by tilling?

8. I am a peace lover. There is nothing as peaceful as the sound of the waves, the silence of the star filled night sky, the breath of the cool breeze, or the sight of a flower slowly opening.

9. I am quick to cause destruction. Volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, drought, wildfires all come quickly and many times without warning.

10. I am a lover of all living things. Please help all things live to their fullest potential. I will be forever thankful to you and reward you with beauty and bounty.

So there you have it, right from Mother Nature herself!

If you want to find Earth Day Events in your area, or to pledge your "Act of Green" go to Earth Day 2011's "A Billion Acts of Green" website and also check my "Acts of Green" post at Wildlife Garden.

For many more wonderful posts on what gardeners from around the globe are doing to help our planet earth, please visit Jan Huston Doble's website "Thanks for today" and see the Sustainable Living Project 2011. 

May your Earth Day (and year) be filled with the beauty and bounty of nature. Every Day should be Earth Day and every little bit we can do helps!