Deep Summer - a time when the Earth feels full of energy and almost hot from both the sun and life itself!

Fledgling chicks take to the air; butterflies swing into color, rivers and streams run clear through intact forests. And, if we're lucky, clear night skies reveal the depth of the Universe in trillions of stars and the Milky Way.

Closer to Earth's surface, listen for bees, and notice gemstone colors captured in water sprinkled onto your home garden. The life lived at ground level creates its own world bound up basic earthly elements. 

Summer is a frenzy to propagate and release the next generation of plants and animals that must learn how to survive the coming months of heat, fire and smoke. Some will succumb to their prey; and others will survive their first full year of life on Earth, but not without challenges. We can help both plants and animals get through that first year of life.

Being naturally aware means giving nature a chance. How? Give room and space and respect to mother birds trying to raise chicks; stay on hiking trails and leave the stream to animals who need flowing water more than we do; let home gardens get messy for resident and migrating birds; leave spiders and insects to flourish to become food for birds and bats.

All of this means standing back to let nature be nature. Release your grip to control nature with mowers, choppers, sprayers, blowers and chemicals. Humans and all other life forms survived for Millenia just fine without the time, cost, effort and worry! Let nature be nature, and step back to enjoy the sights and sounds of birds, bees, butterflies, wind in the trees, and the fragrance of blossoms brilliant with colors of a rainbow.

Let an energetic Earth  flourish in the heat of summer for the next generation of life.