When you live in places where urban sprawl abounds all around, immersing yourself into nature can be a daunting challenge to say the least. As a kid growing up in the inner city, I can vividly remember spending hours upon end exploring my backyard with the same excitement, curiosity and wonderment as Lewis and Clark must have had traversing the great western expanses of the United Stated in the early 19th century. My backyard was my refuge; it was a place where I found solace and discovered all of the tiny miracles of nature set before me. It introduced to me to life, death and the rebirth...more
