Nature and family

I would not have made it this far in my life without my family to support me. My mom and my sister Vikki was the people that helped me get in to nature. My mom showed me rolly pollies when we were digging in the garden. My grandmother, mother, and my sister Vikki are in to gardening and my grandfather keeps pigeons and feeds wild birds. My parents used to bird watch and my mom had a bird feeder when I was a kid. I got in to birding when I found one of my mom's bird books in the living room. When my sister Vikki moved away and got married, our garden fell in to disrepair until I got in to gardening and habitat restoration. Vikki and John keep a garden at their Ashville home and hike many of the mountain trails and state parks. When we went to the Blue Ridge Mountains on the summer of 2010 we went to North Carolina Arboretum, the Carl Sandburg House Pisgah national forest and hiked the trails. During our trip to Boston last summer Nikki took us to the Boston Arboretum and the Auburn Cemetery to look at plants, birds and gravestones and we had fun. My mom and my dad helped me get over the fears of bees, wasps, thunderstorms and stay in school. If it was not for my family I would still be at my house playing video games and looking out my window.

Music and nature

Allman Brothers Jessica Courtesy of You Tube

The Allman Brothers Jessica is one of my favorite Instrumental Classic Rock songs. When I hear this song I think of grasslands, pinelands, open pastures and the serenity of these locations. I favor most genres of music from classic rock to hip hop to jazz. I do not like country, acid rock or gang rap music at all. I dislike the voices and lyrics of country songs, the screaming of acid rock and the gang violence of many rap songs. Of all of the genres of music that I listen to, my favorite is jazz music because of the instrumental nature of the music and classical is a close second. I think of locations, wildlife and events when I listen to music. Music is one of my calming strategies when I am stressed or unhappy. When I am working on computer work, in the garden or around the house I put on a classic rock, hip hop or classical music station or throw in a jazz CD. Music that has a peaceful quality helps me stay on task but music that has negative lyrics, foul language makes me feel uncomfortable. Music is one of the best ways to get away from the moment