Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart

Category: Nature (Page 5 of 20)

Feast for the Senses at WaterFire Providence

A few weekends ago, the hubby and I snuck off for a night away from the kiddos! We headed to WaterFire Providence. Basically WaterFire is a cultural event centered around specially made fire braziers (created by artist Barnaby Evans) that float in the water. They are placed all along three rivers in downtown Providence and accompanied by a musical program.

20160924_191144

It’s a pretty simple concept, but it’s beautiful, inspiring, and a feast for the senses. There are boat rides available, but we stuck to walking along the rivers this time around. There are street performers, food, lots of people watching, and this year there was a torch ceremony that preceding the lighting.

20160924_185636

I first stumbled upon WaterFire when I was in Providence for a concert quite a few years ago. The concert got cancelled at the last minute and we ended up wandering around downtown and came across a crowd…and fires…in the water! I’ve been back a bunch of times since then (check out my post “Rivers of Fire” for a look at one past visit). I hope you enjoy the pictures from my latest visit!

20160924_184549

20160924_190122

20160924_192540

20160924_190745

20160924_194821

20160924_231850

20160924_235435

Little Changes in Little Spaces

I don’t particularly love my house or my yard. They’re not terrible, but there are a lto of big things I would change if I had the means (or perhaps I would move!). So I’m always trying to create spaces that inspire me give me a sense of peace. As a writer and a parent, the inspiration part is a little easier than the peace part.

I’ve always put lots of love into my gardens (both flower and veggie), but lately I’ve been making small changes in other way. They have begun to add up to make a better yard, one that I find myself wanting to be in more often and engages lots of my senses.

Here are my little yard spaces in pictures (and the two little guys in the last picture always spruce up the place!):

20160729_161055

20160914_092300

20160623_154631

20160623_154609

20160729_161022

20160718_095903-1

20160725_094840

The Grounding is Going Strong

Almost three years into this crazy grounding experiment and it’s going strong. (To remind you what grounding is, it’s my quest to put my bare feet on the actual, physical earth most days.) I’ve grounded in all kinds of weather throughout all four seasons and on all types of natural surfaces. I kept at it when pregnant with The Prince. It’s become an important part of my routine.

20160602_110002

The kiddos have gotten into the spirit of it. They often take their shoes off while we’re outside and say they want to ground themselves (though I’ll definitely be limiting this once the weather turns colder). Recently, I even caught the hubby standing with his bare feet in the grass, staring off into space (and he hates dirty feet!).

20160328_131306

The meditative aspect of grounding has become really important to the process. It’s a time to remember my breathing and think about, well, nothing really. It’s a few minutes a day, and it’s not every single day, but it makes a big difference to my sanity.

When the Words are Gone Let the Pictures Speak

Another August 2nd. Another birthday my sister Kylene will never celebrate. I’m feeling at a loss for words this year. Maybe because I had so many words (and even some math) on her birthday post last year. Maybe because while things change day-to-day and year-to-year in my life, nothing changes for her. What else is there left to say?

A tree was planted in Ky’s memory shortly after she died. In the spring when I was running every Saturday morning down by the harbor, I would stop and visit it. I caught it in full bloom one week and made sure to snap a few pictures. So I think I’ll let those speak for me. Happy birthday, Kylene!

20160611_092207

20160611_092259

20160611_092311

20160611_092344

The #InkRipples Inspiration Continues with Science

#InkRipplesblueandgreenI’m a bit of a science nerd at times. I have a layman’s fascination with astrophysics and love watching programs and videos, reading books, and visiting exhibits on the many topics it covers. (Long time readers of the blog may remember these classic science posts on the Large Hadron Collider, the Big Bang, and dark matter.) And that’s what brings you today’s #InkRipples moment of inspiration.

The boys joke that when they see too many cool things (i.e. trains, fire trucks, police cars, construction vehicles, and the like), their heads explode, complete with hand gestures and sound effects. I feel that way about science. It can make my head spin, but it’s an endless source of head-explosion moments…and inspiration!

The thing about science is that it can make you feel very insignificant, as it does in this video about how small we are in comparison to the largest known star. (I may have shared this video and the following one on the Observation Desk before, but they are totally worth a rewatch if you’ve already seen them.)

With information like that, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the large scale of the Universe and to think that nothing you could ever do in your puny, little lifetime could have any kind of lasting effect. So before you begin to despair, let me share this next video with you, which I think helps us to appreciate the intricate way we are all connected to each other and the Universe. When famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked what the most astounding fact in the Universe was, he head this to say:

So now I want to know what kinds of things induce your head-explosion moments.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Katie L. Carroll

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑