Celebrating Earth Day

Mallard on ice

In honor of Earth Day, which in my opinion should be every day, I decided to put together this post to remind myself what is important. To do that I needed to ask myself what I would do if I did not have contact with the natural world, if there were no birds left in the sky or wildlife was so scarce that I would be unable to find  it to photograph, or if  I were unable to find places where I could walk in the shelter of trees listening to birdsong, to sit beside a stream or pond listening to insects drone, close my eyes and soak up the peace which only nature can provide for me.  I realized very quickly that being unable to do so would simply be devastating to me.

Crow

American Coot feeding young

Belted Kingfisher

Nothing is more important than to protect and preserve the wildlife and their habitat on this world, and the world itself.   In so doing we also protect and  nurture ourselves, as everything on this planet, which is our home, is connected.  So the best way for me to celebrate Earth Day, I decided was to share some of the  images of wildlife that I have collected over the years, and in so doing sharing some of the joy collecting them has brought to me.

Bunny splash

Golden eye duck

Pair of Buffle head ducks in flight

Bald Eagle pair

Goshawk

Cormorant

Blue Heron

Red Tailed Hawk in flight

Migrating Swans

Mallard Ducks in flight

Northern Harrier Female

Whether we acknowledge it or not, each of us has their own way to connect with nature.  Some of us have a need to visit a lake or ocean side beach on a regular basis, some of us love gardening or farming, some of us love animals of all descriptions and so keep pets, work with animals or, like me, go on bird  watch.  Then there are people who love nothing more than to go hiking or mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting and more.  Doing so fulfills a basic need  in all of us to connect with nature on a very unconscious level.   

Bald Eagle

Canada Geese

White Winged Crossbil

Squirrel

Peregrine Falcon

While some of them are not so great, I hope you enjoy these pictures. Bring your unconscious need to connect with and interact with nature forward into the conscious and let Earth Day remind you that we share the planet in more ways than one.  Appreciation and consideration is needed in our actions and our daily lives to preserve our environment and the wildlife we share it with, if we wish to continue to fulfill that need and enjoy the beauty and peace that doing so provides.

Susan