Nature S Final Curtain Call

In the performing arts, curtain calls transpire when performers return to the stage to be recognized by the audience for their performance. It may seem somewhat strange to speak of "nature's curtain call," but I am thinking of those amazing moments when with the passing of seasons Mother Nature presents a stunning performance, so to speak, for which we, the observers, are amazed: the appearance of spring's flowers, the budding trees of spring, snow-white winter snow, huge flocks of Canadian geese flying south, the filling of dry waterbeds with late spring's melting snow, the stunning colors of autumn's leaves, the glorious colors of desert flowers, newborn animals of diverse species, and changing climates across the earth. There are cycles of nature that enable these wonders. The poems in this book address some of the wonders of nature: the seasons, weather, flowers, creatures, and beautiful scenes of nature. In the final section, however, the question is raised as to whether these wonders will survive the devastating effects of climate change, global warming, and other threats to nature. Will humankind awaken to the need of caring for nature?

In the performing arts, curtain calls transpire when performers return to the stage to be recognized by the audience for their performance. It may seem somewhat strange to speak of “nature’s curtain call,” but I am thinking of those amazing moments when with the passing of seasons Mother Nature presents a stunning performance, so to speak, for which we, the observers, are amazed: the appearance of spring’s flowers, the budding trees of spring, snow-white winter snow, huge flocks of Canadian geese flying south, the filling of dry waterbeds with late spring’s melting snow, the stunning colors of autumn’s leaves, the glorious colors of desert flowers, newborn animals of diverse species, and changing climates across the earth. There are cycles of nature that enable these wonders. The poems in this book address some of the wonders of nature: the seasons, weather, flowers, creatures, and beautiful scenes of nature. In the final section, however, the question is raised as to whether these wonders will survive the devastating effects of climate change, global warming, and other threats to nature. Will humankind awaken to the need of caring for nature?

This Book is produced by me to publicly witness, share, acknowledge, give thanks to God, for the gift of life, for the gifts, talents, graces bestowed, received, promised, past, present and to come. Reborn, likened unto a child, released to explore, taste, sow new seeds, harvest new crops, embrace outwards, share authentically life. Truly new wine is never poured into old vessels. My Poetry herein hangs together, depicts, records, the changing Seasons of my life, from my anxious cries in Poem entitled “Troubled Beginnings” to the continuing transformative light of my Poem “ Catterpillar to Butterfly”

"I here and there o'heard a Coxcomb cry, Ah, rot--'tis a Woman's Comedy." Thus Aphra Behn ushers in a new era for women in the British Theatre (Sir Patient Fancy, 1678). In the hundred years that were to follow -- and exactly those years that Curtain Calls examines -- women truly took the theater world by storm. For each woman who chose a career in the theater world of the eighteenth century, there is a unique tale of struggle, insult, success, good or bad fortune, disaster, seduction, or fame. Whether acting, writing, reviewing, or stage managing, women played a major, if frequently unacknowledged, role in the history of the theater from the late seventeenth through the early nineteenth centuries. From Alpha Behn's earliest plays through the glorious celebrity of Sara Siddons, women molded the taste of the age and carved out in the theater one of the few available opportunities for independence and renown. Not all the women who tried succeeded, of course, and even the best faced opposition as they challenged the male stronghold of playwriting and theater managing. Curtain Calls maps the new territory as these pioneering women staked it for their own; it chronicles their lives, their triumphs, and their losses. We begin with Aphra Behn, whose first play was staged in 1670, and conclude in the early decades of the nineteenth century with Inchbald and Siddons. The one hundred and fifty years encompassed by their lives contain the careers of dozens of lesser-known women, a network, as Dr. Johnson would have it, encompassing both talent and tribulation. Contributors include: Edward Langhans, Linda R. Payne, Pat Rogers, Maureen e. Mulvihill, Deborah Payne, Betty Rizzo, Ellen Donkin, Frances M. Kavenik, Jessica Munns, nancy Cotton, Edna L. Steevs, Doreen Saar, Jean B. Kern, Katherine M. Rogers, Constance Clark, William J. Burling, Judith Phillips Stanton, Douglas Butler, Rose Zimbardo, and the editors.

"Highly informative and remarkably entertaining." —Elle From forest trails in Korea, to islands in Finland, to eucalyptus groves in California, Florence Williams investigates the science behind nature’s positive effects on the brain. Delving into brand-new research, she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and strengthen our relationships. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas—and the answers they yield—are more urgent than ever.