Celebrate Earth Day Right in Your Backyard--Here's What I Do

April 22 is Earth Day. On top of that, it's is the 51st Earth Day we've celebrated on this planet. Crazy how time flies, eh?

When I was younger, I didn't fully understand why we needed an official day to bring awareness to, and in celebration of, the Earth. It's not that I didn't appreciate it--after all it's where we live. It's where anyone that we've ever known or heard of from history has lived all the days of their lives.

(Except for astronauts. But ask many of them, and they were happy to come back home.)

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As I've gotten older, I've learned more and more about how much about this beautiful place we take for granted. It's not that we don't care, but with all of the human activity and daily buzz taking our attention, it's easy to forget.

So, I'm thankful there's a day to remember and stoke the fires of our awareness. A day to remember the gift that is this planet and how our actions can help or hinder. (Disclaimer: Whatever your views about climate change and whether or not humans play into that--that's not the subject of this post. Although I'd encourage personal research there.)

I do think we can mostly all agree that this beautiful place is worth celebrating. I've been wandering about, taking in as much nature as possible, over the last few weeks. I've been taking some photos of a few of the things I love about this planet--or at least my little corner of it.

Even right here, around my house and nearby, I'm amazed at the bountiful beauty and how many things, both lovely and necessary, come from the Earth.

If you think about it. Every. Single. Material. Thing we have comes from this one life-sustaining place and/or the space surrounding it.

That's a whole lot to celebrate, indeed. So yeah, go hug a tree. ;) I won't tell.