Trees!

June 17, 2020June 17, 2020 by Katie | Leave a comment

You can find more of our nature books recs for kids here (and for adults here!). This link will take you to some of our favorite camping gear for kids.

Trees! Right now trees are all the rage at our house. I just finished reading The Overstory (more on that soon), and it left me feeling all sorts of feelings about trees. At the same time, I found myself playing a tree-centered game with the boys, reading them a few great books about trees, and we’ve been doing all sorts of playing IN the trees. Read on to see our latest tree-related recommendations. Continue reading …

Tree Meditation

June 19, 2017September 15, 2018 by Sarah | Leave a comment

Happy Mindful Monday 🙂 Any excuse to use alliteration? I’m there! I thought it would be cool to start things off on a positive note, something to bring awareness to your day and potentially the rest of the week. Mindfulness is simply awareness. I like to think of it as noticing the sensations in your mind, heart, and body in the present moment. It’s basically watching without judgment. It’s tough. How well you watch yourself and your actions gives you control over them or at least a starting point in understanding them more fully.

Mindfulness can be practiced and honed in a many ways, but today I’ll share a single exercise for you to work with all week. Notice the trees. It sounds simple and it is, but how often do you do it? Do you have a favorite tree in your town? No?! Why not? I’m sure there is one that is more attractive to you than the rest, this week you should find it. I have favorite trees all over the place and I can’t tell you how many people have laughed at me when I pointed them out, but it’s true. Notice the trees and you’ll realize you too have favorites. If you live above the tree line or in an area without trees, you may notice any greenery: grasses, bushes, cacti, etc.

In the Field : Sara Lingenfelter

April 29, 2016April 29, 2016 by Katie | 7 Comments

This post was originally published on April 25th, 2014. We’re republishing it today because it’s Arbor Day! Get out there and hug a tree, but first, read about someone who’s doing some awesome work to help save the American Chestnuts.

As we mentioned on Monday, today we’re introducing a new column called In the Field, where we tag along with someone doing interesting work. In this post we’re talking to Sara Lingenfelter (formerly Fitzsimmons), the regional science coordinator for the Pennsylvania Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF). I think I can speak for both Sarah (my sister) and myself when saying that having an excuse to search out and talk to someone like Sara is just the sort of reason why we started Seasoned. I couldn’t wait to learn more about TACF’s mission and current projects as well as Sara’s research and the day-to-day aspects of her job!

Given that today is Seasoned’s first Arbor Day, we couldn’t think of a better tree to talk about than the American chestnut, Castanea dentata. Depending upon your age, you may have heard your parents, grandparents, and/or great-grandparents talk about the majesty of the American chestnut. These trees are native to the forests of the Eastern US, where they were considered extremely important for their role within the ecosystem and as a valuable economic resource.