What I’ve Been Reading

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of work, writing and Christmas shopping. Tis the season. We finally put up our Christmas tree. We’re late this year because I wanted the boys to help with the decorating, so we had to work around their work schedules.

But enough about that. Today I want to talk about what I’ve been reading. A short time ago I finished the novel “Mad Honey” by Jodi Picoult.  The cover and blurb are below.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Alternatingly heart-pounding and heartbreaking. This collaboration between two best-selling authors seamlessly weaves together Olivia and Lily’s journeys, creating a provocative exploration of the strength that love and acceptance require.”—The Washington Post
 
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • PEOPLE’S BOOK OF THE WEEK • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PopSugar

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising their beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined that she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in and taking over her father’s beekeeping business.
 
Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start. 
 
And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can’t help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet she wonders if she can trust him completely. . . .
 
Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in Ash, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.
 
Mad Honey is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.

My Thoughts:

This is a provocative story. It makes the reader really think about what it’s like to deal with the issues that young Lily has to deal with. It’s the story of first love and secrets, and the question it raises is how much of our past do we have to share with our potential lovers?

This story takes you by surprise in pure Jody Picoult fashion. A young boy, Asher, is charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Lily. It appears as if he did do it, even though he’s proclaiming his innocence. This story takes us through his trial where all the evidence points to him, but in the end there’s a surprise. I don’t want to ruin it for you, so I’ll stop there.

I will say I read this book in one day. It was that good. It definitely kept my attention. It’s the perfect gift for your reader friends, and if you need to unwind during the holidays. This book is for you.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. Are you reading any good books? What are they? Drop the title in the comments! I’d love to hear from you!

Rewilding for a Healthier Earth

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of work and writing, and cooler weather. This weekend is warmer and I’m spending as much time as I can outside. Once winter hits, I’m going to go into hibernation mode, but enough about that.

Today I want to talk about rewilding. What is it?

Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation. It’s about letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes to shape land and sea, repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes. Through rewilding, wildlife’s natural rhythms create wilder, more biodiverse habitats.

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What a great idea. I bet it would help the bee situation and the diminishing coral situation in our oceans and seas. Both of which we need to keep our earth alive and thriving. So, why is it so controversial? Well, it would cause some of our industries to lose profits. That’s right. Think of all those landscaping companies out there that would be put out of business, not to mention the fishing industry.

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The fishing industry is the biggest culprit in our oceans and seas as far as damaging ecosystems. They overfish which leads to extinction, not to mention, they pollute our waters as well . We need that predator/prey balance in our oceans to keep it thriving. So, if we were to rewild our soils and our waters, we’d be bringing our earth back into balance.

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I know what you’re thinking, what about our industries? Well, they’re smart people, they can become creative and come up with ideas that would work within the parameters that our panel of conservationists would set up. There’re some jobs right there. Then we’d have to have the enforcers who’d make sure the companies were doing their utmost best to follow the guidelines. More jobs.

It would be a drastic change. I know and we all know as humans we fight change, but here’s the thing. We need to make these changes to keep our earth alive for future generations.  I’m sure every parent out there wants to provide a safe and healthy environment for their descendants. I know I do.

Photo credit: Kevin M. Gill on Visualhunt.com

So, we need to buck up and get behind this idea. Oh yeah, and while we’re at it, let’s clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Let’s face it, humans have been defiling the earth for way too long. It’s time to clean it up. It’s our home, and the home of our future generations.

Photo credit: The Sun and Doves on Visualhunt.com

Thanks for reading my post, how do you feel about rewilding? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Save the Bees!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of working and writing. I’m making progress on my story, and I’m excited about it. But enough about that.

This week the weather was spectacular. I ran outside a couple of times and I’m definitely in the mood for summer. My tulips are coming up this year. They didn’t last year, I’m not sure why. I wasn’t expecting them this year, but low and behold there they are.

https://allthefreestock.com/

Which brings me to my topic for today. We need to take special care of our bees and other pollinators. They are vital to the survival of trees and flowers on our planet. According to reports, the honeybee population has declined by 89% and is on the verge of extinction.

https://allthefreestock.com/

There are a variety of factors contributing to this decline, climate change, pesticides, declining habitat, and disease.  The honeybee is a critical link to our agriculture. They are the pollinators that keep our flowers growing as well as a variety of food staples we humans eat. I find it ironic that such a tiny insect has such an impact on our earth.

We humans have to wake up and save the bees. If we don’t, and they do go extinct, our supply of fruit and vegetables will be substantially reduced. According to Einstein, we could survive maybe four years without bees. That is a scary thought.

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So, what can we do to save them? Stop using pesticides. Plant flowers for food for them. The bottom line is we need bees to maintain the quality of life we’ve all enjoyed. Now it’s time to step up to the plate and make sure we can sustain it. We need to do this not just for ourselves but for future generations too.

https://allthefreestock.com/

We need to do something now. Don’t you agree?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. How about you? Do you have any ideas on how to save the bees? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Saving the Earth

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve had a busy week at work and writing. I also took some time to get together with friends this weekend and walk down memory lane a little bit. I needed a night out, but enough about that. Today, I want to talk about cleaning up our planet for the next generation.

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The first thing I want to address is taking better care of our oceans. Eighty percent of pollution in the oceans is plastic waste. Approximately, ten million metric tons of plastic enters our oceans every year, killing marine life, fish, and seabirds.

This is not just a United States problem. This is a global problem. We need to recycle and get everyone around the globe on board with it. The oceans are keeping our planet alive they provide at least half of the oxygen for the earth. It’s imperative we start cleaning them up now.

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But what can we do individually?

We can recycle. That’s the biggest step we can take as individuals. The less plastic we use the better. We can stop using pollutants like bug sprays and fertilizers. All of these find their way to the ocean.

So, by taking these steps we can take care of the ocean, but pollutants also have a negative effect on our land. They seep into our drinking water and contaminate our soil which makes growing food that much harder, and let’s not forget about the Bee. This little insect is so important for pollination, which is essential for us humans in growing our food. The use of insecticides kills these pollinators.

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 We should start growing our food organically and stop using pesticides all around the world. I know this will be hard to do, but if we get everyone around the world to agree to some kind of treaty, it’s not impossible.

I want our earth to be a viable place to live for future generations. I’m sure you do too. What steps do you think we can take now to ensure our kids have a sustainable planet? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Save the Bee Day!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. Today is May 20^th and it is “Save the Bee Day.” A very important day indeed.

Did you know that without Bees and other pollinators we wouldn’t have flowers or food? What a hefty responsibility for such a tiny insect. The UN says 90% of all flowering plants depend on pollinators to survive and they also affect 35% of global agricultural land. So, saving the bees also fights world hunger.

This type of symbiotic relationship shows how we’re all connected and that one living thing is not more important than another. So, plant some flowers and leave a bowl of water out for the bees. They need sustenance as they go about saving the world.

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https://allthefreestock.com/

It’s Time to Take Care of Mother Earth

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. Today is the first day of daylight savings time where we turn the clocks ahead one hour and lose an hour. I don’t know about you, but I hate daylight savings time. It messes me up for a whole week. I don’t sleep well and that makes me cranky.

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On a more positive note, my pinched nerve is so much better. I’m going to try to make it through the day without any muscle relaxers or anti-inflammatory meds. My index finger on my left hand is still numb, but at least I can still type.

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But enough about that. Today, I’d like to talk about taking care of our planet. We humans sure have made a mess of things. From depleting our rain forests to the great garbage pile in the ocean, we should be ashamed of ourselves.

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Why don’t we get smart and create a global organization whose primary purpose is to clean up the mess we’ve created? That way every nation would have to be involved. I wonder if that would help get rid of the wars? I mean if we’re all working toward the same goal, wouldn’t we have to get along?

Just like the trees in the forest cooperate with the fungi in the soil, we could cooperate with other countries and clean up our planet. Wouldn’t that be something?

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I know, I’m being idealistic, but sometimes the answer really is that simple. If we don’t do something soon, future generations are going to be in trouble. It all starts with the forests and the oceans. They are the things keeping our earth alive. Along with our pollinators, let’s not forget the bees.

https://allthefreestock.com/

The bees keep our forests and flowerbeds growing. Isn’t it interesting that the health of the planet depends on such a tiny insect? Let’s do our part this spring and plant flowers so the bees have plenty of sources to collect their pollen. That’s one small thing we can do right now for our planet.

How about you do you have any ideas on how to keep our earth healthy? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Could the Movie Wall e be Prophetic?

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve been working hard at work and on my story. I’m at the last part of the story and I’m so excited. It’s turning out to be a good one. I’ve put a lot of my heart and soul into this one, but enough about that. I don’t want to give away too many secrets on that one. 😊

 

Photo on VisualHunt

Today, I’d like to talk about what kind of Earth we’re leaving to our kids. Have you seen the movie Wall e? It was popular when my kids were younger and when I saw the movie, I felt it was strangely prophetic.  It’s the story of how humans had destroyed the Earth by leaving mounds of garbage and waste all over. They also destroyed the air because of smog pollution, so the planet  had become toxic to humans. They had to move into a new world in Outer Space where every technological advantage was available to them. They became overweight and lazy. Pushing buttons for food, drink, and transportation.

Wall e is a robot that has been left behind on earth until one day he meets Eve. A new, sleek search robot, who comes to Earth to see if there are any signs of life. There are, she finds a plant that has started to grow. Wall e falls in love and follows her back to the new and improved world that humans now occupy. It’s a great movie and ends well with the human’s returning to earth.

Even though Wall e ended well, I wonder if, we’ll be so lucky.  Our oceans are heavily polluted endangering sea creatures, and just last week, I found out the Amazon rain forest was burning. We need to take better care of our planet if we want it to be there for future generations. We need to clean up the oceans and take care of the bees and the trees.

I know, it’s a big job, and it’s going to be hard because we need the whole world to participate and get involved. It can’t just be the US. We need some sort of international treaty that holds all countries and continents accountable, but it also has to be done on an individual level. We all must take responsibility for cleaning up after ourselves and taking care of our trash.

I have an idea. Let’s make recycling big business. Can you imagine what it would do to the earth if we could sell our garbage to the highest bidder? People wouldn’t be throwing plastic in the ocean anymore, it’d be worth too much. It’d be like throwing money out the window.  Who does that?

So, let’s make sure Wall e stays a fictional story and do whatever it takes to take care of our planet, because our planet takes care of us.

 

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. Do you have any ideas on how we can clean up the planet? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

What Should We be Teaching our Future Generations?

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back today and I’m talking about some vital skills our future generations will need to survive on our planet.

 

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Our kids are going to inherit this messed up world we inhabit and they’ll inherit all the problems our greedy society has created in our quest for more. More money. More possessions. More power. More. More. More.

 

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The thing is we’re teaching our kids that striving for more is the only way to be. It’s not.  We need to teach our kids the concept of enough and the concept of balance.

 

Why?

 

Because being in Striver mode all the time is not good for our health.  If we continue in Striver mode and we continue to reproduce at the rate we are, we’ll soon be fighting over smaller and smaller space. We’ll be producing more trash and our landfills will overflow. This is a problem. By any chance did you see the movie “Wallie?” The Trailer is below.

 

 

In the movie, humans have to leave earth and move out into space into a floating world because earth is no longer able to sustain life. It’s covered in garbage and all the humans are too heavy to move or exercise. It’s an awesome movie and I’d recommend watching it with your kids if you get the chance.

That’s where our society is headed if we don’t start taking care of our planet and each other. Haven’t you heard? Obesity is an epidemic.

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We need to teach our kids to slow down and take care of themselves.  Because we’re in Striver mode, we eat fast food and processed food. We do this because it takes less time to prepare and gives us more time to work. What happens when we reach that pinnacle of success? We have more money than we ever dreamed of, but we can’t enjoy it because we don’t have our health.

 

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Sad.

We need to slow down and teach our children to garden and how to cook for themselves so they can control what they put in their mouths. By doing this, they control their health.

 

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  We need to teach our kids to be fair. We can do this by teaching them to empathize with their fellow man. Empathy? How do you teach that?  By encouraging a love of reading.  By reading about different characters, our kids step into their worlds and learn about them.

 

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The more knowledge and tolerance they have for others, the better they’ll be at getting along with their peers. A vital skill when space is becoming smaller and smaller, wouldn’t you agree?

Reading you say? Yes reading. It’s also an awesome coping mechanism when you’re dealing with stress. Just an FYI. 🙂 Sadly, it isn’t a cure-all. We need to teach our kids how to communicate, using I messages so they can resolve conflict without a lot of negative feelings.

These Negotiation Skills will be in high demand in the future.

How can we teach this? By having our kids interact with their peers. Don’t let them play video games all day long. Don’t let them use their phones as their only means of communication.  Arrange play dates and get them outside, playing games, and solving their own conflicts.

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Last but not least. Teach them a love and respect for nature. Walking in nature is good for you. It’s called “Forest Bathing.” This practice originated in Japan, and there’s scientific proof it’s beneficial. Something I’ve known for a long time, but didn’t know there was actual proof of it.

 

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“A 2010 research review found that forest environments promoted lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity than city environments. ^[6]

Forest environments have been found to be advantageous with respect to acute emotions, especially among those experiencing chronic stress.^”[7]

Nature isn’t just good for you, we as a species need the trees and the bees in order to survive. The bees are our biggest pollinators. Thirty percent of our food crop depend on them to grow and ninety percent of our wild plants depend on them to flourish. That’s a tall order for those tiny bees wouldn’t you agree?

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And trees? They provide oxygen. It takes TWENTY-TWO trees to provide enough oxygen for one person. There are 7.442 BILLION people on earth. That’s a lot of trees. Now do you see why it’s important to have a love and respect for nature?

 

Photo via Visual Hunt

So there you have it.  My view on some of the essential skills our kids will need to survive on a shrinking planet. Are there any vital skills I’ve missed? Share your thoughts!  I’d love to hear from you!

 

 

 

The Orchards at the Orchard and Thoughts on Saving the Bees

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you!  I’m back after an awesome Saturday spent at the Apple Orchard. Some of us moms got together and we took our sons to one that was close to home.

It was the perfect fall day. A crisp breeze blew our hair back, but it left us with that sharp, fresh cleanness that only a brisk wind can. The sun was out, but it didn’t take the chill away. It was perfect for playing games, hot cider, and donuts.

We’re trying to get outside as much as we can before winter’s hibernation. The theory this year is we’re going to have a snowy one. According to one source, the Great Lakes are the warmest they’ve ever been and as a result we’re supposed to get more snow. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I’ve got my fingers crossed for snow days. I’m just as bad as my kids on that one. 🙂

We’ve been fortunate, these last two seasons have been awesome. We had that hot, steamy weather that I love in the summer, and because of it, we made some awesome memories at the lake. I witnessed some beautiful sunsets and some glorious starry nights.

I’m awe-struck by the beauty of the Universe. Our Planet is amazing. I see it when I go on hikes or take my kids to the orchard, don’t you? I always take a minute to stop and breath in the crisp or humid air (depending on the season), then I take in the bright colors of autumn or the brilliant shades of the setting sun.

I enjoy my hikes alone because I’m able to think about the stories I’m writing and solve plot issues, walking in nature does that for me.  But when we went to the orchard, I was glad I had the other moms with me. We got to bond and the boys deepened their friendship with each other. I’m grateful they’ve found some great friends, and I’m excited to see all of them grow up together. I hope they stay friends forever. 🙂

When I think about my boys and their friends and the future they may have, I wonder about what kind of world we’re leaving them. I hope we leave our kids with a healthy planet and not a dying one. We need to save the bees. Without them, there would be no apple orchards or wonderful autumn colors. Our plant life would die off, and trees would stop growing which means our oxygen supply is in peril.

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Did you know that honeybees and wild bees are the pollinators of the majority of the crops we eat? Out of 100 crop species that provide us with 90% of our global food supply, 71 are bee pollinated. Check out this article for more info http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/17/opinion/spivak-loss-of-bees/

What can we do to save the bees? We can plant flowers that aren’t contaminated by pesticides. We need to feed the bees so they can feed us. So we can enjoy our wonderful nature walks and all the pollinated fruits and vegetables they provide. Let’s leave the Earth a beautiful place for our future generations.

 

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Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. If you have any suggestions on what we can do to save the bees, leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

To check out some other Slice of Life Posts, click here.

 

Could the Heavy Pollen Season this Spring help the Bees?

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a hectic couple of weeks. I’ve had classroom visits and I finished editing my fourth novel. I have news on that, but I’ll share that at a later date. 🙂

I’m in Michigan and as I’m sure many of you have heard we’ve had an extremely rough winter. In fact, I sent my kids to school today with their winter coats again because we just can’t seem to get the temperature above sixty degrees. Boo!

Anyway, I’ve heard because the winter has been so horrible that our spring is going to be the worst for allergy sufferers. According to the rumors, everything is going to pop at the same time this year and the pollen is going to be at very high levels.

Well, this got me thinking. 🙂 If the pollen is going to be at high levels this year, it would make it a great year to help the bees! That’s right! We need bees to keep the earth healthy. I’m sure you remember my post on saving the bees. Click here to read it: https://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/lets-save-the-bees/

Photo compliments of Creative Commons on Flicker. Photographer Mike Baird

These tiny insects are one of the things that keeps our earth in balance and they do this when they cross-pollinate flowers. Unfortunately, the bee population has dwindled and experts aren’t sure why.

In order to keep our earth strong and vibrant we need to help our little friends. How can we help you ask? Well for one thing, plant flowers this spring. Let’s give our bee friends some food and while you’re at it, leave a basin of water near your flowerbeds, a birdbath isn’t just for birds, you know. 🙂 Bees get thirsty so let’s help keep them hydrated. To find out more ways to help our bee friends go to this link: http://www.queenofthesun.com/get-involved/10-things-you-can-do-to-help-bees/

My twitter friend, Dave the Bee shared it with me yesterday and it inspired this post.  Let’s take advantage of this heavy pollen season and help the bees help us! Plant some flowers this spring! 🙂