Tracey in Maine

The results of an impromptu walk around my neighborhood.  I have to admit, I got a bit lost.  Many hours later, my feet still hurt.  But it was worth it, I think. 😉

This Sunday, April 22nd will mark the 42nd observance of Earth Day. According to Earth Day Network, “More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.”

To inspire you to get in on this year’s celebration, here are eight amazing nature-related blogs on WordPress.com:

Birdlightwind.com

70degreeswest-explore.com

Leahyetter.WordPress.com

Drawandshoot.me

Beingmark.com

Beetlesinthebush.WordPress.com

Theblondecoyote.com

Lookingatthewest.com

So, how will you celebrate Earth Day 2012? Maybe Picnic for the Planet, or plant a tree? Whatever you do, be sure to share it on your blog! And don’t forget to tag your post with Earth Day to make it easier for others to find.

For more cool nature blogs, check out our collection of Recommended Blogs, and add topics like Nature and Earth Day to follow in your Reader.

The other and most important half of The Blissful Adventurer team is Juliet Housewright, my talented wife and photographer.

Juliet has a keen eye for design, fashion, and aesthetic which she uses to create compelling images.

Keep in mind that many of these images were taken with an iPhone 3G (including the shot above) which has a relatively poor level of resolution, yet she really documented beautifully our first 6 months living in Colorado.

The Hipstamatic App for iPhone is not for everyone; it does however speak to Juliet and me in our journeys and we are grateful it is such a reasonably priced and easy to use app.

Enjoy the show!

Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City as it is now formally called is easily one of the most vivacious places I have seen in my travels.

Rising from the ashes of war and abject poverty, Vietnam as a nation is firing on all cylinders. The changes in culture, quality of life, and wealth are all over Saigon.

This is a country that has gained almost 40 million people since the end of the war in 1975. These are industrious, friendly, and perhaps the happiest people I have encountered anywhere on the planet.

On the road to El Dorado

I saw myself crumbling

like the shards of slate-stone

and each making tread

more treacherous

Madness is a word we have left from the vernacular

and it is, without hyperbole, a descriptor,without equal

Just today the loneliest are left to insufferable fates

when it is true they are indeed mad

Not in anger were shots fired

nor in the corners where ragged dogs

vie for the attention of the weakest of men

It is in the common hours that madness claims

victims to ambition and those that advance

in the confident march 

A ray of light on the wall of the Pantheon. In this greatest functioning example of ancient architecture I am always amazed that the renaissance genius Raphael is entombed here.

Today I was a bit housebound with various projects.  Still, the sunlit landscape called to me on many an occasion. As I have written before I am lucky to live in an old house well-kept in its old style with many windows of ancient rippled glass on all sides, some of which are double and even triple paned.  It is both exhilarating and calming to move from pane to pane, over time, and try to capture an ever-shifting beauty from sunrise to sunset.

I took Juliet for her very first coffee cupping yesterday at Denver’s NOVO Coffee. This is a wonderful process by which roasters hone the flavors in their beans and a wonderful way to fully understand the flavor complexities in great coffee.

As it turns out Juliet always gifted with an eye for beauty and interest was able to capture some fine photos on the tour of the roaster while learning to cup like a pro.