Advent Earthcare

Exploring the Amazon, looking for birds.

 My theme for this first week of Advent is "Cherish and care for the earth". I express my unity with nature at Advent in two main ways:

• by offering small gifts of love and attention in recognition of all I receive from the earth
• and by finding joy and fulfillment in simply being alive, instead of in an excess of buying, eating, using, and wasting.

Agenda Today:

1. Journal queries
2. Define my work for earth care
3. Feed the birds
4. Make bird feeder pine cones

1. Journal queries:

How do I seek the holiness inherent in the order of nature, the wildness of wilderness, and the richness of the world?
How do my daily habits and choices reflect my respect for the web of life?
How do I educate myself and others about living in harmony with the earth?

3. Define my work for earth care:
I'm working with five climate and environment groups now, and my priorities are shifting. Today I'd like to define my goals for the next year:

1. My top priority group now is my Friends Meeting Earthcare Support Group, which I started a little over a year ago, and which has been very grounding for me. We meet once a month to listen, share, and support each other. My goal is to continue to offer them a monthly newsletter and a friendly ear, and grow together in our understanding and practice of unity with nature.
2. As the convener of the Earthcare Support Group, I report monthly to our Peace and Justice Committee, which is the way we take action in our Meeting: I bring to them the ideas we have for action, which the committee seasons, and then brings to the Meeting as a whole. We are working together on a Minute to Reduce Plastics in the World, which will be our focus for the next year.
3. I also attend a monthly meeting of the Interfaith Earthkeepers, which is a group of faith communities "committed to the care of God's creation". I find it to be an informed, passionate, and active group of people, and I want to be more involved, but haven't yet found my niche.
4. I've also been involved with the group 350Eugene for a few years now. Their goal is to "build the global grassroots climate movement that can hold our leaders accountable to science and justice." I'm friends with many of that crew, and we work together well. My goals are to continue to build relationships, get educated, and join in actions when I can. 
5. We have mostly laid down the work of Climate Revolutions by Bike, but we will probably still do the odd action or education opportunity. My goals are to stay informed on active transportation issues by attending the Active Transportation Committee Meetings, and keep in touch with my cohorts on the CRbB Hub-Group.

3. Feed the birds:
We have two seed feeders and a hummingbird feeder that we keep filled year round. I also have a suet feeder that I fill when it gets colder.

Last year my grandson and I went looking for ducks on the Amazon creek, and lured them up onto the grass with some healthy poultry pellets. (NEVER feed bread to ducks! It causes malnutrition, and has also been linked to a condition called angel wing syndrome that causes a deformity in the bird’s wings, reducing its ability to fly and increasing its vulnerability to attack or other injuries.)

4. Make bird feeder pine cones:

When it gets colder, the wild birds will look for high energy foods. 

Peanut butter is high in fat and full of protein, and could be considered the perfect bird food. Be sure to get natural, no-sugar peanut butter, or use vegetable shortening as an alternative.

Supplies: 1 c. peanut butter or shortening, or a combination, 1 c. oatmeal or cornmeal, large pine cones, bird seed, yarn or string

Yield: Makes 2 bird cones-

1- Mix equal parts peanut butter or shortening with oatmeal or cornmeal until well blended. (I used half a cup of each and it just covered this one medium-sized cone.)

2- Choose a pine cone. Cut a long length of string to hang the bird feeder, and tie around the pine cone near the top (about 3 sections down).

3- Use a butter knife to spread peanut butter inside the pine cone and around the edges.

4- Fill a bowl with birdseed. Roll the pine cone in the birdseed and use your hands to pack it on firmly.

Go out and hang it in a tree where you can watch from a window.