See Bob's Art

www.bdavisart.com

During my time at the GRP, I met an incredible person and artist: Bob Davis. I wanted to post the link to his website in case anyone was in the mood for viewing or purchasing some amazing art. Bob's love for nature and spirit are so evident in his work...prices range from the low 3 digits to $1000ish. I hope you enjoy them...my favorite work ("time flows through me") is above...any support of Bob would be welcomed...

Seek the Joy of Being Alive

The title of this post is one of many Cherokee expressions I've been thinking about for the last few days. I just returned from 4 days in the woods with 43 fifth graders and it was amazing as always. Our yearly trip to The Green River Preserve (www.greenriverpreserve.org) centers around Forest Carter's book "The Education of Little Tree;" whether it's on hikes into caves or through waterfalls, making fire from quartz, eating sour leaf, attempting the climbing wall, learning to compost, going on a night exploration, or talking about the Cherokee way, kids (and me!) get to literally walk in Little Tree's footsteps for a few days. All of our students were amazing and totally into it...despite a few pukers on the bus ride home, it was flawless. Post-trip, this year more than ever, I am feeling so thankful for the beauty of nature and the joy of being alive on this earth.


lin samples a fresh radish from the GRP winter garden


me and my hiking group on our hike to the cave (yes, I did see bats and they definitely flew right past my head - yikes!)


p.s. - for those of you who haven't read the book, read it. It will change you...

No Shame in this Game

It was a big day Monday in the Rietz family. David Rietz returned from his trip to Las Vegas and the brothers-Rietz golf tourney WITHOUT the Wooden Plate of Shame. Instead, the second prize trophy (The Ann Schwer trophy aka the copper plate of mediocrity) now graces our mantle.



It should be noted that this is the first time in four years that the Wooden Plate of Shame has not graced the mantle. With this, we are well pleased. It should also be known that David won the practice round out-right for the first time and received the Pewter Tankard of Glory. Out of respect for the brother who ended up with the Wooden Plate, I will not reveal the final first and third place results. I will, however, clearly state that there is "no shame in this game" any longer.

RAPTORS

Ok, so I'm not sure how many of you know about my latest obsession...the raptor. I guess I missed out on the "raptor" portion of childhood and am loving learning all about these cool creatures. For those of you who don't know, raptors are birds of prey that kill their meals using their talons. Raptors include hawks, owls, falcons, eagles, vultures, kites, and harriers. My favorite raptor these days is the barred owl. Their slightly curved beaks are really just used for tearing apart food while they eat and are not that powerful. They are also known for having amazing eyesight. Raptors are also at the top of the food chain and help control pesky rodents in our environment like mice, voles, etc.

As of late, I've been known to shout out "raptor!" when driving around with friends or walking with my class to the public library. This is a picture of a raptor I saw while golfing with my dad last weekend! (isn't it big? I'm guessing it was a hawk of some kind...) I want you all to know I realize my nerd-dom with this last comment.



I was prompted to blog about my interest in raptors after our visit to the Carolina Raptor Center today. After our service work, our partner out there (Louise) walked the kids over to the vulture habitat and commenced to tell them about 6 new vultures that came to the Center yesterday. Apparently, about 50 vultures became trapped in a giant steam stack right outside of Charlotte and had been stuck there for days. The operators of the factory finally turned off the steam only to find about 30 dead vultures and about 20 more stuck inside. The dead vultures seeemed to have died from starvation - a problem that could have been prevented had the workers called the Center earlier.

That's a lot of dead vultures. And dead vultures means an increase in raw carion on the roads and areas in our community as they are "nature's garbage men." The moral of the story is if you see an injured anything be it raptor or otherwise, you should call a rehabilitation facility asap!

If you want to learn more about raptors, check out the wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_of_prey

Maybe I'll create a few more raptor afficionados....

Three Cheers for Dads

My dad came to visit me this past weekend while Dave was out in Vegas beating up on his brothers in golf (way to go, honey...) - hip, hip, hooray for a lovely weekend and for dads who can help their daughters replace a pool table light in their dens with a basic globe light after 4 hours of toil. Can I get three cheers?

Flatrock Music Festival

Here are the pics from our nutty adventure to Flatrock, NC. Yes, I am drinking a frosty beverage at noon after my 10 mile hike to the festival...






our buddy David and his musician buddy Ken who won the festival for new songwriters last year...if you want to give him a listen go to www.myspace.com/kenkiser

Who Came to Visit Me?

Who is this friend who came to visit, shrouded in the mystique of the photo booth camera? Correct guesses are worth 10 points.

whew!

well, the last three weeks have been a blur...we trekked to Winston twice to cheer on the Deacons...we cheered more when they pulled out a come from behind victory over MD (28 answered points, what?)...went to Asheville for the weekend with friends, and tried to get control over the laundry that seems to have taken over our home since I went back to work. yikers is all I can say. I will post pictures from these events in the next few weeks I hope!