I have found THE MOST FASCINATING book on eating outdoors. And I will tell you that once I started the book, I could not put it down (hello, 5am bedtime), and I have recommended it to all my friends who hike, meander, and eat in the wild. It has inspired me to look at being outside differently, and taught me much about food, walking and hiking, history, and culture.

"We are in a unique location, and you have to have a pioneering spirit to make it all the way up to the festival if you don't have ties here," says Caroline MacLennan, festival director of the Hebridean Celtic Festival -- Fèis Cheilteach Innse Gall in Scotttish Gaelic. The place she's speaking of is the Isle of Lewis, the northernmost island of the Western Isles, some forty miles off the north west coast of Scotland.

Canoeing - it sounds romantic, doesn't it? My aunt and uncle had their first date while canoeing a Michigan river. My parents gave my husband and I a double kayak for our wedding present. I am a nature photographer, and most of my photographs are taken out on the lake, during a quiet paddle. Every other week our daughter and I go out and clean up the lake, picking up people's trash.

It is all about the water, and how you can truly experience nature by being on it.

Little House on the Prairie: even if you’ve never been to the American midwest, these words bring up images -- images which seem like memories, really -- of life at the edge of pioneer times in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas a century and a half ago.

Whether you make it for a living or listen for fun -- or both -- music is a central part of the winter holiday season. Listen in as those whose music you enjoy offer ideas about music they like to hear or play this time of year.

One of the most important things we can do for young kids is to read to them - and teach about the world, through those books. One such book that I just love is called Elephants, a simple, loving, and beautiful picture book that teaches about this incredible animal, as well as elephant conservation.

One of our favorite authors, Gabrielle Yetter, has a new book that we're delighted to share with our wandering educators. Entitled Martha the Blue Sheep, it's a story of fitting in - or not, of taking care of those in need, of good deeds and celebrating life. It's a lovely tale, beautifully and colorfully illustrated by Daro Sam and Monnyreak Ket. It has much to teach us about acceptance, helpfulness, and diversity. Read it with your kids, and then find (or be) your own Marthas in life.

A Film In The Park

Unfortunately, the drive-in movie theater is no longer a primary moviegoing opportunity in the United States. It used to be that you could find such drive-ins across the country, but they’ve been closing down left and right. They’re just not as profitable as they used to be, and there are really only a handful left.

If I were to dance these words, I would dance the drops of rain falling on parched earth. 

Winner of two World Music Awards, 'Cielo Nocturno' by renowned guitarist Russ Hewitt is a work of art. The Grammys? They know what they're doing by putting it on the ballot in three categories. Hewitt, now on his third album, is constantly growing, traveling, writing...and impressing listeners. His work is new to me, but one listen to Cielo Nocturno and I was hooked. When I interviewed him, I became even more of a fan.