We’ve all heard how important it is to eat a diet high in roughage. Likewise, “roughaging” (spending time outdoors) is essential to our mental health. Even if it’s a settee on the porch, we need it, gotta have it. I aim to be the reason you pulled your bedding out the back door last night.
Winnie Nielsen says: What a darling pair of??
Storm has finally moved on and we are doing well save having no power. Last night about 2am was pretty scary but in the end our town has trees down, lots of branches and debris, and some bad local flooding. At our house we got 9 inches of rain in 24 hours. Things could have been so much worse and everyone is just grateful we were spared. Today we had powerful winds all day long and just light rain. Tonight all is calm again and it is a huge relief!! Bump even ventured out a few minutes ago for a sniff test . He was pretty frightened by he winds and noise of stuff hitting he roof. A good sign indeed!! Thank-you for all of your support !! Everyone around here is just so happy to be in the other side of this monster of a storm!!
MaryJane says: When this came in last night, it was such a relief. Not only was our dear Winnie on the upside of things but Carol’s 90-year-old mother lives alone in Ocala (near where you are) and we hadn’t heard from her yet. We finally did late last night. But your news in the interim helped immensely.
In the concrete jungle of Taipei, capitol city of Taiwan, I imagine residents often long for nature.
Like, deeply long.
Photo by Chensiyuan via Wikimedia Commons
Tapping into this profound longing, florist Alfie Lin accepted a commission from the Beautiful Touch Association to fancy up a Taipei city bus with the trappings of a real, live forest.
“I hope the public will feel that it’s a beautiful and interesting experience,” he told the Agence France-Presse. “They can smell the scent of summer on the bus and see the vibrant green plants to feel messages from nature.”
The forest bus is taking a trial run this month, but Lin hopes it will become a permanently rooted fixture of the city. Passengers like Celine Wei hope so, too. “I feel happy and relaxed on the bus smelling the flowers and plants,” she says. “I hope it can become a regular service on a double-decker. It would become something special to Taipei.”
If you can’t bathe in an actual forest (read my post on shinrin-yoku), a mobile forest might just soothe a city dweller’s wild side.
Ya think?
Take a quick virtual ride on the forest bus and share your thoughts:
Krista says: I think this is a great idea and it seems like many of the passengers would agree. It’s almost like a fresh breath of air in all the city life congestion. Hopefully the test run will become permanent and other buses will join in too.
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
I think I mentioned before that I love Bumblebees the most. There is something about their large yellow and black fuzzy bodies and the loud buzzing they make that warms my heart. This photo is a beauty.
Beautiful! Bees are such amazing and beautiful creatures. We do not have our own hives, but a nearby neighbor does. We have a bee garden, complete with bee waterers. I love watching the visiting bees drink and collect pollen.