Photo courtesy Michelle Fontaine.

Mr. Sams, as I’ve corresponded in the past, I’ve mentioned I am your biggest fan, so naturally was thrilled to purchase your latest. After I read it, I knew I must not keep it and pass it along to my mother. Her grandkids call her “gram” and she is a lifelong bird lover.

I always love showing your latest books to her (she’s a quadriplegic), and as I showed her this one, with excitement I told her it would be the perfect gift to give her young granddaughters for Christmas. She was thrilled, and especially thrilled over the turkey photos since she doted on a flock that lived in her backyard at a previous residence. (Mom is also a lifelong vegetarian and has never eaten turkey.)

Well, on Christmas Eve, we didn’t read the standard “Night Before Christmas.” Instead, Mom had them open their gift and the girls piled in her bed as the rest of us gathered around and I read “Tea” aloud. When we came to the turkey page, Mom exclaimed something like, “Look, girls!” At which point, seven-year-old Lauren shouted, “YUM!!!”

We all burst into laughter as Mom pretended to cry, wailing “Oh, Laurrrren!” My brother chimed in: “Lauren loves her animals. Especially in sandwiches!”

Just thought you’d enjoy this anecdote. My nieces really do love animals and would spend every day at the zoo if they could. Every time we get together we look at your books and watch the related videos. They may eventually grow out of them, but I never will!

Michelle Fontaine
“Aunt Michelle”

Thank you Michelle for your very nice note! Nice to hear that your mother and her granddaughters enjoy our books and movies.
The entire crew at Carl R. Sams II, Photography Inc.

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Photo courtesy Northwoods Land Trust.

A land donation of 3,200 acres, nearly five square miles, is saving a wilderness refuge in Wisconsin from being developed. This is the largest conservation easement donation ever to a Wisconsin land trust.

According to the story “Libertyville couple donates $4.5 million of land in Wisconsin“, Ken Aldridge has loved the Northwoods of Wisconsin ever since he was a child. When he learned that one of his favorite wilderness refuges near Minocqua could be sold by a logging company for development, he and his wife stepped in.

In June 2010, Aldridge and his wife, Carolyn, purchased nearly 3,200 acres of land near the Minocqua Winter Park, for $4.5 million. The couple placed a conservation easement on the land with the Northwoods Land Trust, a non-profit land conservancy based in Eagle River, Wisconsin, to permanently protect the land.

“If we didn’t buy it, it was going to be developed, and we wanted to preserve the way it is forever,” Ken Aldridge said in the article. Aldridge is the owner and chief executive officer of Aldridge Electric.

Home to Bald Eagles and Wolves
The 3,200 acres will be called the Winter Park Pines Nature Preserve. The land is also natural habitat to bald eagles, timber wolves and deer.

About Conservation Easements
Land protected with a conservation easement is still private land, the owners pay taxes, and the land can be sold per the terms in the conservation easement or given to heirs. The conservation easement is a legal agreement that runs with the land, so future landowners need to abide by it.

Takeaways
1. Never assume that private land, including forest land owned by logging companies, will stay as wilderness. I see this all too often when people purchase land and assume the surrounding natural land will stay that way. Many timber companies are subdividing and selling large tracts of land for real estate development. 
2. If you own land you want to preserve, you have many choices, such as placing a conservation easement on your land, donating land, placing a conservation easement on your land and donating it in a will, or other choices. Learn more in “Why Conserve Your Land? ” from the Land Trust Alliance.

Many people talk about land conservation. I commend the Albridges for actually doing something to make this wonderful gift happen.

More Good News
In some separate land conservation news, comedian Jeff Foxworthy donated 1,000 acres according to the article, ”Comedian Jeff Foxworthy puts 1,000 Harris County acres in conservation plan“.

Do you know someone who may be interested in preserving their land? Please share this article with them by clicking the “Share/Save” button below.

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Have you seen the Alaska northern lights? Watch the short and amazing video below.

Video Link
Northern Lights / aurora borealis on 2012-01-22

According to the description under this YouTube video, in northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the northern lights), named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from farther away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction.

The Northern Lights were taken after an August snowstorm in Denali National Park. Photo by Carl R. Sams II. The Big Dipper registered in the photograph.

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Virginia McKenna, founder of the Born Free Foundation, tells the heartwarming story of the rescue of Bella, a blind lioness, in the short video below. I had to post this for you as the scene near the beginning of the video where Bella stops and looks at Virginia after being released into her new home is almost heart-stopping. I felt that if you love wildlife you’d enjoy this!

Video Link
Lion back in Africa

Bella has been with The Lilongwe Wildlife Centre and is doing very well! They say she particularly loves the enrichment providided for her, from bowling balls to smelling bags. See photos of Bella.

Born Free
For those of you old enough to remember, Virginia McKenna starred in the extraordinary family classic movie, Born Free. The following is a description of the movie from MSN Entertainment: “It’s the heartwarming true story of a British couple who teach their pet lioness how to survive in the wilds of the African jungles. Joy and George Adamson (portrayed by real-life married couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers) involuntarily domesticate several lions while living in Kenya. They keep one, named Elsa, until she is fully grown, and rather than turn her over to a zoo, they decide to train her to live like a wild animal so that they can release her into her natural habitat.”

The Born Free Foundation does wonderful work protecting the wildlife we love in their natural habitats, and much more, in the United States and other countries. Learn about Born Free USA.

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If you want to watch a female black bear giving birth to cubs, check out Jewel’s Den Cam at the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota. The camera is very cool – I’m watching it right now and Jewel, a female black bear, is scratching her head with her front and back paw!

The camera is solar powered and uses infrared technology, allowing us to view Jewel’s activity in the dark. I learned about this remarkable den cam in the article, “Bear Named Jewel To Birth Cubs Live On Internet Via Solar-Powered Webcam In Her Minn. Den (VIDEO)“.

Watch a Bear Dig a Den
There’s a very nice video of a black bear named June digging a den here. I’ve never seen a bear dig a den - it’s pretty interesting!

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Sissel sings Auld Lang Syne in the amazing video below featuring nature, wildlife and an important message.  My sister-in-law sent me this amazing video and I watched it six times! This is a MUST see-trust me!

Video Link
Happy New Year – Auld Lang Syne by Sissel (Live).wmv

What did you think? Isn’t the photography amazing?

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Did you hear about the baby seal that entered a home and napped on the couch? I could not believe my eyes when I saw this on the evening news!

Annette Swoffer found a baby seal in her kitchen, who later napped on her couch, the New Zealand Herald reports. View the short video below to learn more about this cute little baby seal-you may want to keep your doggie doors closed!

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Image courtesy www.experiencegr.com.

I listened to the story “Black Bears Moving South” on Michigan Radio this morning. Black bears have been sighted…in Grand Rapids! At first I could not believe my ears.

Grand Rapids is just two hours west of Milford, Michigan. It’s interesting that black bears are moving south.

“Even in the greater Grand Rapids area you have a lot of green space, so when you have those connecting forest corridors or even forested blocks you build bear habitat,” Adam Bump, a bear specialist with the Department of Natural Resources, said in the article.

Learn more and listen to the radio broadcast too in the article, “Black Bears Moving South” (if the article is not on the main top part of the site after today, look on the bottom of the page under “Previous Reports”)

Learn More
“Bears move south: One is caught on camera ransacking beehives in Cascade Township“

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Gabrielle Ford, a hero of ours and an anti-bullying spokesperson who we are proud to call our friend, is featured at the Detroit Thanksgiving Parade in the inspiring, short video below.

Video Link
Gabrielle Ford .. Detroit Thanksgiving Parade Special Moment

Learn more about Gabrielle Ford. Buy her book too-it makes a wonderful gift!

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In the short video below, a deputy in Huron County, Michigan picks up and moves a stunned deer to the side of the road. According to the story in the Detroit Free Press, “Video: Deputy rescues deer after it wouldn’t leave road“, the deer stood in the roadway for almost 25 minutes before being picked up and moved to safety.

The scene was captured on the patrol car’s video camera. According to the article, Huron County Sheriff Deputy Ryan Swartz responded to the accident call in Dwight Township. The doe survived being hit by a car, but hadn’t moved from the roadway when he arrived at the scene, so he decided to move it out of the roadway to prevent another accident from happening.
 

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