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Who says humanity and the natural world can't get along? We talk a lot in our culture about "man vs. nature (sic)" but how true is that really? Today's stories for Earthy Thursday take a look at the ways in which humanity is either teaming up with nature or finding ways to welcome it into our backyards. Read about using plants to send messages, the surprising greenery of London, and giant rats who help save human lives. All this and more in the Pagan News Beagle!

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding
all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again —
beauty the brave, the exemplary,
blazing open.
Do you love this world?

–excerpt “Peonies” by Mary Oliver*

Loving the world feels like a difficult topic to write about today when I see news coverage of the recent oil spill in Santa Barbara and read about the dolphins dying. It can be easy to start to feel discouraged and hopeless in the face of such destruction and lack of love for the earth, our precious, irreplaceable home.

    Tiny flowers know
    that hope blooms eternal
    pushing the way
    through cracked stone
    reclaiming
    repopulating
    rebirthing the Earth

    What is a seed
    but a miracle
    right in front of me

    What am I
    but a miracle
    to be seeing this right now…

After a long stint in Los Angeles and a life mostly lived in California, I'm finding my first springtime in the country in central Missouri to be indescribably magical. As the flowers begin to bloom and the green begins to return, I am truly shocked to behold all the botanical life that just bursts forth everywhere, all on its own, without the intense watering and cultivation that was so often necessary in my former desert environment. And it seems that so many different flowers, all in one place, are expected to miraculously appear on the scene at various times throughout the year! It's a kaleidoscopic theater of brightness and life.

For example, I recently discovered that a seemingly lifeless shrub right in front of our house had - quite possibly overnight - adorned itself in elegant, delicate, and intensely bright yellow blooms. I've since spied the same blossoms elsewhere in my area. Now that I know that this beauty as forsythia, I thought I'd explore some of her floral magic and wisdom.

Sometimes the best solution to an environmental issue is to look to nature. Today's Pagan News Beagle features several examples of how activists and scientists around the globe are working to implement nature-based solutions to heal the planet in unexpected ways. Read on to learn about artificial forests, "ugly" (but edible) vegetables, and plastic-eating fungus.

Tiny flowers of summer
Waving colorful flags
of the season’s surrender
against a backdrop of dry leaves

Lifting tender, hopeful
tenacious faces
parched but promising
a last hurrah
a final fling
a tiny majesty

Spots of glorious color
on dry ground

Proof of life’s own love affair with itself.