"The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other;... his intercourse with heaven and earth, becomes part of his daily food. In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Time in the wild reminds me how much of what I do is mere dithering. How much of what I own is mere encumbrance. The opposite of simplicity, as I understand it, is not complexity but clutter."

"Obsessions are like fire and water; good servers but bad masters."

Can anyone think of a better way to spend a cold New England winter day, than to sit on a beautiful oriental rug in front of an open fire?

I'm so sick of excessive Christmas festoonery that I'm not sure I'll survive the next week. And if I hear one more lousy rendition of Jingle Bells or White Christmas, I may slit my wrists wide open! Can't we just get together and quietly enjoy the closeness of family?

Am I the only one who sees a life-lesson in this photo? Sometimes when you put an effort into making someone else look foolish, all you end up accomplishing is making yourself look silly.

I miss my fellow scoopers....

(even you Jake) :)

This is what I remember of my earliest days... being taken to barns and parks to touch and feed cows and ducks. I didn't want to be taken to some junked-up amusement park and have my photo taken with some creep in a huge mouse costume. I've gotta say, I'm pretty cute in my knitted white hat. I wonder what happened to that thing?

Children should be spending their time outside, growing up with and around animals (domestic and wild). It's just a healthy way to live. It breaks my heart to see modern youngsters that are so hopelessly "plugged in." Living a life filled with televisions, laptops, video games, and ipods.

Potato Leek Soup anyone? These things have got to be one of the most beautiful vegetables out there. LOVE 'EM!!!!