Ludington Daily News Column- March 2011

My monthly news column, "Get Off the Couch," was due by noon today. Turned in on time! This column has been running for over four years now, with good local enthusiasm. Every year, in March, I've reviewed some books by people who get off the couch.

This year, I re-read and reviewed two old favorites: North With the Spring by Edwin Way Teale and Beyond Your Doorstep by Hal Borland. Here is the opening:

Old Standbys for Any New Naturalist

It’s that month of mud where green is mostly hoped-for. Once again, I find solace in books. This year, I pulled out two old favorites by writers of a passe status, those called naturalists. To be considered academic these days, a specialty is required. If you take up zoology, perhaps you will study the bacteria which inhabit the mites that live only on the eyelashes of dogs. I think I’d rather take the dog– bacteria, mites, eyelashes and all, and go for a walk...

These columns are not available on-line, unless you subscribe to the Ludington Daily News. One collection of columns is currently available as an e-book, called Get Off the Couch with Joan, at Smashwords.