Mary Novaria

Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books. --John Lubbock In honor of Earth Day, some of my favorite pics from beaches, trails and other places that inspire me. Enjoy! And let's take care of Mother Earth.   Farmer's Market Artichokes/Ojai, California My career is like an artichoke. People might think that the leaves are tasty and buttered up and delicious, and they don't even know that there's something magical hidden at the base of it. There's a whole other side of me that people didn't know existed. --Katy Perry Halibut Cove, Alaska John Muir, the famous naturalist, wrote in his journal that you should never go to Alaska as a young man because you'll never be satisfied with any other place as long as you live. And there's a lot of truth to that. --Tom Bodett Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska To the lo...

Kristen and I jumped into the rental car at Maui’s Kahului Airport. Primed for adventure, sunshine and Mai Tais, we were Thelma and Louise. Okay, so Brad Pitt didn’t tag along and our Alamo rental may not have been a ’66 T-bird, but at least it wasn’t a minivan. While the iconic characters, played by Susan Sarandon and Gina Davis, had some significant legal troubles, the closest my cousin and I came to breaking the law was meandering off the trail in the Iao Valley State Park in search of a promised but elusive waterfall. Who could blame us? This was an escape, after all, a brief respite from daily pressures of work and family and, for Kristen, the looming cold, snow and darkness promised by another Alaskan winter. We needed to bank some serious Vitamin D. One way to stay a step ahead of the law is to not drink and drive. That means grilled fish and frothy blended piña coladas at the condo… or a walk on the beach to happy hour and dinner. The sunsets are spectacular and, later,...