Are You A Tellurian?

After the longer diatribes of late, on owl pellets and salamander longings, I promise this one will be brief. The credit for the topic and the addition of this word "tellurian" to my vocabulary is thanks to Edwin Way Teale. I love his book "A Walk Through the Year". He is such a gifted writer and the depth of his knowledge on the natural world is stunning. I often say "I just play a naturalist on TV." Those of you of a certain age will remember the Marcus Welby commercial, "I'm not a real doctor, but I play one on TV." My entire professional life has felt like that! Whether working at Sea World or the Zoo or the Science Museum or even Greenbriar, I often felt I was playing a part, always the "on the job" learner. But I do believe I am a real tellurian, and so are many of you. It means "dweller on the earth" and I want to share the way EW Teale described it.

"Many a person lives a life span on this globe without ever dwelling on the earth. He may come to the end of his days without ever having appreciated or understood or loved or found affinity with this green and beautiful world even in the wonder of it's springtime. And he may leave this unique planet unaware of all he has missed. Anyone, it seems to me, who loves anything in nature simply and sincerely will find a measure of joy in life. And those who are tellurians, who dwell on the earth and feel a oneness with it throughout all their lives, who know the deep emotional attachment to it-are bound together in a special way...." EW Teale from

"A Walk through the Year"

And so, all of us are bound in a special way aren't we? We would rather be out playing in the woods than sitting at our computers. We are dazzled by what we see when we really "look" and for us, delight is found right out the door and it costs nothing. Recession proof joy. Delight then, in your tellurian ways!

Pat