A Beautiful Monday

After yet another weekend of rain, the sun is shining on this beautiful Monday. This spring has got to be the wettest I can remember for a decade!

The rain has brought us gifts in the form of green life, and profusely blooming flowers. Everything this spring has been so intense - the color, the saturation, and....the gloom on the seemingly endless sunless days.

Humans need sunlight. We are hard-wired to take in sunlight through our eyes and skin, and produce vitamin D and various amino acids and hormones. It is a well-known fact that people in higher latitudes often suffer from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Canadians flock to Florida over the winter, to escape the not only the cold, but to soak up the sun's necessary rays.

The depletion of the ozone layer in the last 20 years has caused more UV rays to make their way to the earth. Compound that with the melting of glaciers, and the UV burden increases even more. More UV rays means more cases of cataracts, and skin cancer. Modern sunblocks made to combat the UV rays are now known to contain compounds that react with the sunlight to create carcinogens! So what are we to do?

It all goes back to our stewardship of the planet. While we probably cannot reverse the damage we have done, I am still optimistic that we can prevent further damage to our environment. If everyone would turn off lights in unoccupied rooms, and turn off power strips to computers, TVs and printers, it would go a long way to saving energy and less green house gases would be emitted into the atmosphere. If we gave up beef, the methane produced by cattle would go away. If we used less gasoline, the environment would improve. If we consumed less, the environment would improve.

As an artist, I am very attuned to the landscape around us. Our open spaces and wild places provide me with my inspiration for paintings. I am trying to do my part. Rather than consume, I reuse, recycle, and renew. I paint over canvases. I take damaged frames to a framer, so they can be made into smaller frames and reused. My trips to the art store are limited to purchasing the essential things I need, rather than buying $30 of stuff I don't need. I don't print out anything unless I really need it. I wear my clothes until they wear out. i also support the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, to protect this national treasure, and to insure that future generations may enjoy the bay as we do now.

I am not perfect, in fact, I have to learn some new habits to do my part in saving the environment. Old habits are hard to break, but with conscious thought, it can be done.

So....as I go out on this beautiful day, and walk my canine friend Lucy, I am thankful for the sun, and thankful for clear blue sky and green vegetation. And yes, I will wear sunblock, lest my skin becomes burned.

Artfully yours,

Cathy Harville