Nature's Voice

In past blogs I have shared Isaac's Werner's connection with nature and ways our parents and grand parents and great grandparents predicted the weather by signs that became sayings.  In last week's blog I shared a book that urges the importance of children's exploration of nature.  To my surprise, it touched the emotions of many followers of this blog.  This week I will share some of the comments I received from readers, and some quotes that may surprise you.  The photographs I share in this blog are taken at our farm, beauty captured as I roamed the places I explored as a child.

Cottonwoods in the Pasture, Credit Lyn Fenwick 

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.  It will never fail you. --Frank Lloyd Wright, (1867-1959) American Architect, interior designer, writer & educator

A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by fathers, but borrowed from his children.  --John James Audubon, (1785-1851)American ornithologist & painter

Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.  --Rabindranath Tagore, (1861-1941) polymath, musician, poet & artist

Cottonwood seeds on the Lawn, Credit Lyn Fenwick

To me, a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.  --Helen Keller, (1880-1968) American author, political activist & lecturer

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.  --Khalil Gibran, (1883-1931) Writer, poet, and visual artist  

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.  --Walt Whitman, (1819-1892) American poet, essayist & journalist

Stranger in the Driveway, Credit Lyn Fenwick

All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.  --Marie Curie, (18867-1934) Physicist & Chemist

Nature teaches more than she preaches.  There are no sermons in stones.  It is easier to get a spark out of a stone than a moral.  --John Burroughs, (1837-1921) American naturalist & nature essayist

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.  --Albert Einstein, (1879-1955) Theroetical physicist

I'm about halfway through [Last Child in the Woods] but am ...taking my time to soak it all in...to pass those foundations down to [my daughter.]  C.L. blog reader, KS

Hedgeapple Shadows, Credit Lyn Fenwick

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 with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.  --Rachel Carson, (1907-1964) American biologist, author, and conservationist

There is an outdoor classroom and an edible schoolyard at our daughter's childcare center, and I'm so grateful.  Simply no substitute for outdoor play and exploration.  A. O., blog reader in NE

The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration.  --Claude Monet, (1840-1926) French impressionist painter

Nature's Travelers, Credit Lyn Fenwick

Nature is just enough; but men and women must comprehend and accept her suggestions.  --Antoinette Brown Blackwell, (1825-1921) First woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister

There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks.  Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.  Linda Hogan, (1959-    )  Television personality

Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.  Thomas Berry, (1914-2009) Religious scholar & student of man's role in Earth history & evolution

We grew up in years & a place that this type of learning was a part of our normal childhood.  R.V.H, blog reader, NM

 The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.  Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be. ...And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.  Anne Frank, (1929-1945) Diarist

Prairie Gold, Credit Larry Fenwick

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.  There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.    Rachel Carson

As the saying goes, with my own edits, 'Why does the Lord give us trees, mountains and dirt?  So we can learn to climb...and have a place to land when we fall.'  NONE of us, ESPECIALLY the young, are climbing and falling enough.  R.G., Blog Reader in Texas

I must close this post sometime, so I will end the blog with two more e-mails I received from readers.

My dad always thought of a pasture or a grove of trees as a perfectly appropriate playground for us, and boy was I surprised to learn that other parents weren't letting their children experiment on plants or arming them with field guides and turning them loose to identify birds.  T.T. in NE

And the last...

Your recollections made me smile and think of the time we lived in St. John (from 3rd grade thru the 7th).  ...I've surely told you stories of living on the north west edge of town, a farmstead across the street with all the farm animals farms had in those days.  A mile and 1/2 catty corner NW across wheat fields was a grove of trees for day trips with a buddy or alone.  On the edge of the tree grove was the Rattle Snake Creek.  It had water in it in those days and nice holes deep enough to skinny dip in.  Good memories.  A. H. in KS

Thank you to everyone who shared their memories and experiences.

Remember, you can click on images to enlarge them.

Who Belongs in National Statuary Hall?

Prior to the movement to include more women among those proud representatives of their individual states among the bronze and marble statues in the National Statuary Hall, only nine women were so honored.  Soon, two outstanding women from the Great Plains will join those nine earlier women to be installed--Nebraska's Willa Cather, the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize and Kansas's Amelia Earhart, the pioneering female pilot.

The women there before them are a group to be admired, some whose names remain familiar and others whose achievements have begun to fade from American memories.  All of them deserve mention.

Frances E. Willard (1839-1898) was a pioneer in the temperance movement and one of the organizers of the Prohibition Party in 1882.  She served as President of the Women's Christian Temperance Union and was President of Evanston College for Women from 1871 to 1874.  She represents Illinois and was the first woman to be chosen for Statuary Hall.  Less well known but perhaps more significant is Esther Hobart Morris (1814-1902) honored by Wyoming.  Orphaned at 11, she supported herself as a seamstress and businesswoman, involving herself in the anti-slavery movement and women's right to vote.  Her influence led to Wyoming giving that right to women in 1869, along with control of their own property and equal pay for women teachers.  Elected Justice of the Peace in 1870, she became the first woman to hold judicial office in America.

Representing Minnesota is educator Maria Sanford (1836-1920), called at the time of her death "the best loved woman of the North Star State."  She championed women's rights, education of blacks, adult education, and was a founder of parent-teacher organizations.  In addition to education, she also led the conservation and beautification program of Minnesota.

Another educator, Jeannette Rankin (1889-1973), honored by Montana, was a social worker and advocate for women's suffrage, as well as a rancher, lecturer, and lobbyist for peace and women's rights.  Probably she is best known for her political positions, as the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916 and in 1940.  She supported the cause of Peace throughout her life and voted against America's entry in World Wars I and II.  She was the only member of Congress to oppose the Declaration of War on Japan.

Colorado's choice was Florence Sabin (1871-1953), a pioneer in science and public health.  She graduated from Smith College and received her medical training at Johns Hopkins Medical School, the first woman to graduate from there.  Her medical career included many achievements, and for the state that honored her she came out of retirement at the request of the Colorado governor to chair the subcommittee on health that modernized the state's public health system with the "Sabin Health Laws."

Two Native American women have been honored by their states.  Sarah Winnemucca (1844-1891) of Nevada and the Paiute tribe, used her skills in languages to assist both the government and Native American people.  She gave speeches, published the first book by a Native American woman, and started a school in which children were taught in both their native language and English.  The second Native American, Sakakawea (ca. 1788-1812) from North Dakota, served as interpreter for Lewis & Clark.  North Dakota honored her as "traveler and guide, a translator, a diplomat, and a wife and mother."

Washington chose Mother Joseph (1823-1902), who entered the Sisters of Charity at the age of 22.  In 1856 she lead five missionaries to the Pacific Northwest where she employed her skills as an architect and artist in the construction of eleven hospitals, five Indian schools, seven academies, and two orphanages, supervising the construction and raising the funds.

Helen Keller

Finally, perhaps the best known woman among those in the National Statuary Hall is Helen Keller (1880-1968) honored by Alabama.  Her statue depicts Helen as a young girl at the water pump when she first understands the connection between her teacher Annie Sullivan's signing in her hand and language.  Although deaf, blind, and unable to speak, she communicated by touch, Braille, and a special typewriter to become a writer and supporter of social causes.

Of particular notice to me as I studied the women honored in Statuary Hall is the common element of service to others.  It was not their personal achievements alone that caused their states to select them but rather their great service to others.  In the push to achieve Equal Visibility Everywhere (EVE), I hope the continuing honors in nominating women will focus on their service to others, as well as their popular fame and personal achievements.

Another observation is that most of the states that have honored women have been from the Western half of America!  Several were born and educated elsewhere, but their service was welcomed and honored by states in the West.  Perhaps the fact that as settlers immigrated westward, women were often partners with husbands and brothers in farming and business.  Women played an active role in the Populist Movement, particularly farm women, while urban women and women in the East were more involved in Suffrage and Women's Rights.  Perhaps, laboring side-by-side on the farm or in other endeavors gained quicker recognition and respect than parades and speeches!

Willa Cather championed women of many types in her writing--Antonia Shirmerda in My Antonia, Alexandra Bergson in  O Pioneers, Thea Kronberg in Song of the Lark--, inspiring readers with fictional heroes as well as inspiring women with her own achievements as an author.  Amelia Earhart showed women not only that they could fly planes but also that just because men had dominated many professions women were not incapable of mastering those professions as well.

Other states are now considering whether to replace earlier statues with individuals from more recent times.  Two governors have already signed legislation to replace male figures with females, with plans to move the statues of these largely forgotten men to a respectful location elsewhere.  In some cases of removal, the men are being replaced because they were chosen for values no longer respected.

The selection of replacements should not be based exclusively on gender, but it does seem appropriate that states give more attention to the ladies than some have in the past!

Sunflowers Everywhere!

Photo credit:  Larry D. Fenwick

In a recent blog by a friend, she commented on the amazingly abundant native sunflowers this year, contrasting them with the poor dry-land corn.  We have become accustomed to fields of commercial sun flowers in recent years, but that was not what she meant.  On roadsides, in ditches, along pastures and cultivated fields, anywhere they can find a space, large or small, native sun flowers have grown.

You may remember two very early blogs I posted in 2013 about Sunflowers.  Although the sunflower is the Kansas State Flower, and is beloved for that reason, farmers--including Isaac B. Werner--are not always so enthusiastic.  There are several journal entries in which Isaac complains about the hard work of hoeing sunflowers and sand burrs from around his trees, as well as complaints about sunflowers in his corn and potato fields.

Photo credit:  Larry D. Fenwick

Yet, they are beautiful, and on our way to the Kansas State Fair recently, we paused to take photographs, which my husband added to on a recent trip into Pratt.  Much of this week's blog will be sharing photographs.  A few other wild flowers are included.

Those of you who have followed this blog for a long time may remember the pair of posts titled Isaac and the Sunflowers--Part 1, and the following week, Part 2, from 2013.  You may want to return to them to read more about sunflowers, but in particular I want to remind you about what is called the Vogel Model describing the pattern of seeds in the center of a sunflower.  As a reminder I will republish the illustration, but what I want to include in this blog are photographs of the many different kinds of sunflowers that were shown at the Kansas State Fair, all of which show Vogel's pattern in their seeds.

Photo credit:  Larry Fenwick

I will add that the "holes" you see in the patterns are not the result of poor seed growth.  I followed an adult woman looking at the sunflowers I photographed, and she thought she was being very quick and unobserved as she picked seeds from the sunflowers on display.  Some of the sunflowers had been seriously disfigured by other seed collectors, but you can still see the Vogel pattern.

Queen Anne's Lace

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. 
It's what the sunflowers do.  --Helen Keller


Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.  --J.M. Barrie

Look closely for the Monarch butterfly I captured

Normality is a paved road:  It's comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow.  --Vincent van Gogh




Tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun.  --The Beatles

Goldenrod