The Nature Ramblers
cribbed from many, assembled by Tom Shelton
As the World Turns, The Sun Also Rises over The Good Earth
where A River Runs Through It and Where the Wild Things Are,
away from the Asphalt Jungle, Crosstown Traffic and City Lights.
For many Wild Things it's A land For All Seasons,
but Some Like it Hot and A Place in the Sun,
and move on before The Big Chill.
Heeding The Call of the Wild, the Nature Ramblers gather here
for A Walk in the Woods, following The Winding Trail,
Seeking what we find: All Creatures Great and Small,
All Things Bright and Beautiful, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
To lead us on these rambles, “Who ya gonna call?”
Not just Ordinary People, but The Best & the Brightest:
Dale Hoyt and Linda Chafin and Don Hunter.
As they enlighten us on The Diversity of Life
and the Rhythms Of Life in nature,
they help us regain The Sense of Wonder
with The Nature Fix we so desperately need.
They educate and entertain us with stories about The Private Life of Plants,
The Hidden Life of Trees, Tales From the Ant World
and How Dung Beetles Roll Their Food in a Straight Line.
We see and learn about Wicked Bugs, An Earthworm's Life,
The Deadly Mantis, and if we are very quiet
we may even hear The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating.
Dale calls our attention to the pollinators busily working among the flowers
as he shares the latest revelations about The Secret Life of Bees.
As for those little clouds of Purple Haze scattered low over the meadow,
Linda introduces us to the airy flower spikelets of Purple Love Grass.
Don details it all with his wonderful photographs
as he keeps a sharp eye out for any of the Fantastic Fungi.
As we ramble we aren’t too concerned about
an Attack of the Giant Leeches or The Killer Shrews,
but we are careful to look out for and shun those 3 leaf climbers,
The Untouchables, that just might lead to The Seven Year Itch.
Unfortunately we can't avoid The Invaders, The Thing From Another World
and other Aliens running rampant over the land
as if set free from some Little Shop of Horrors.
But as we listen to the gentle whisper of The Wind in the Willows
and the cheerful song in What the Wren Says,
catch a glimpse of a Monarch that is too soon Gone With the Wind,
our attention is again drawn to the great variety
and beauty of the native flora and fauna all around us,
reminding us all that It's a Wonderful Life.
Sources:
As the World Turns – TV soap opera; The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway novel; The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck novel; A River Runs Through It – Norman Maclean novella; Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak children's picture book; Asphalt Jungle – W. R. Burnett novel; Crosstown Traffic – Jimi Hendrix song; City Lights – 1931 film; Wild Things – 1998 film; A Man For All Seasons – Robert Bolt play; Some Like it Hot – 1959 film; A Place in the Sun – 1951 film; The Big Chill – 1983 film; The Call of the Wild – Jack London novel; A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson memoir; The Winding Trail – Roger Smith (ed.) essay collection; Seeking what we find – Nature Ramblers motto; All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful – James Herriot memoirs; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – 1966 film; “Who ya gonna call?” - 1984 Ghostbusters film song; Ordinary People – Judith Guest novel; The Best & the Brightest – David Halberstam book; The Diversity of Life – Edward O. Wilson book; Rhythms Of Life – Russell Foster & Leon Kreitzman book; The Sense of Wonder – Rachel Carson book; The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative – Florence Williams book; The Private Life of Plants – David Attenborough book; The Hidden Life of Trees – Peter Wohlleben book; Tales From the Ant World – Edward O. Wilson book; How Dung Beetles Roll Their Food in a Straight Line – Charles Q. Choi article, Smithsonianmag.com 1/5/21; Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects – Amy Stewart book; An Earthworm's Life – John Himmelman book; The Deadly Mantis – 1957 film; The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating – Elisabeth Tova Bailey book; The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd book; Purple Haze – Jemi Hendrix song; Fantastic Fungi – Paul Stamets (ed.) book of essays & interviews; Attack of the Giant Leeches – 1959 film; The Killer Shrews – 1959 film; The Untouchables – Elliot Ness & Oscar Fraley memoir; The Seven Year Itch – George Axelrod play; The Invaders – 1967/1968 TV series; The Thing From Another World – 1951 film; Aliens – 1986 film; The Little Shop of Horrors – 1960 film; The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame children’s novel; What the Wren Says – Janet Lembke story in her book Dangerous Birds; Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell novel; It's a Wonderful Life – 1946 film
