For a nature writer, capturing the essence of an animal, ecosystem, or landscape is a thrilling undertaking. Armed with five senses and a mesmerizing, but sometimes inadequate assortment of words, I strive to paint evocative images in the minds of my readers while sticking to the truth about my subject. Yet, it’s a lonely undertaking, as all writing is a lonely undertaking. Animals may snarl or whistle, but they don’t talk. Leaves whisper and rustle, and the branches of pines whoosh in wild storms, but I gather only enough from these tree conversations to leave me yearning or aflame with a desire for something I can’t identify.

And yet, these alien tongues call me. After staring at a computer screen for hours and feeling the rush of words pour from my mind – or straining to find the rush of words – I step outdoors as though stepping through a portal that takes me into the world of Robert Frost, Aldo Leopold, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, David Suzuki and other nature writers and poets who belong to a long lineage of lovers and protectors of this earth. I stride alongside them, mentally tossing out bits of remembered poetry or prose while soaking up views of autumn and walking lonely roads. The rust and gold around me becomes the richness of their words. The interwoven or juxtaposed shapes of trees revealed by fallen leaves become their ideas, their theories. The tapestry of nature reflects the tapestry of knowledge, of roots, of culture, of art. It’s all right out there, waiting for me to step out my door and through that portal.

On a different note, but still concerning writing and the world around us, I signed up with the Writers Who Care 50/50 Project last week, donating $50 to CARE International’s fundraising for the relief of hunger in East Africa and making a commitment to submit 50 pages of my fledgling (nestling? incubating egg?) romantic novel, A Look Across the Sand, to the scrutiny of California author Sophia Knightly. She and other published fiction and non-fiction authors jumped on board as volunteers to assist Kathy-Diane Leveille with her innovative, inspiring, and downright useful fundraising project. I’m sharing the link for the project (http://writerswhocare.blogspot.com/) because it’s difficult for me to feed my soul on the beauties of nature without thinking of the world’s hungry. How much beauty do you see when you’re starving?