Monday, October 19, 2009

Dolphins off the coast of Newport Beach

Learning how to edit videos on my Mac computer is fun. Time consuming and challenging, but fun.

In April, 2009, from a whale watching boat off the coast of Newport Beach, CA, dolphins were playing in the wake of our boat. Take a look on You Tube. I made the music on my Mac too.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The National Parks

While I always enjoy spending time at the beach, after watching the Ken Burns film "The National Parks" on PBS last week, I am ready to plan a trip right now, and try to make it to every one of America's beautiful National Parks.

It's a fascinating story of how these parks were established, and set aside for the enjoyment of all people. It wasn't easy, there have been many struggles, and history has shown that we humans aren't always careful about what effect we're having on the natural world. But I'm thankful that there were (and still are) people with the foresight to protect the amazing examples of nature these parks hold -- the stunning geography, amazing wildlife and variety of trees and plants. How could humans even consider that we could improve upon what only nature can create.

It's hard sometimes to find and keep a balance between the progress of our modern world, and the beauty of the natural world. But it's an important balance to maintain. We need to spend a little more time in nature, and be sure it's still available to the generations who will come after us.