Earth Day Photos of Land, Sky and Sea

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 lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world. --John Muir

Leo Carrillo State Beach/Malibu, California

A simple life is good with me. I don't need a whole lot. For me, a T-shirt, a pair of shorts, barefoot on a beach and I'm happy. --Yanni

Starfish/Cannon Beach, Oregon 

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. --Jacques Yves Cousteau

Haystack Rock/Cannon Beach, Oregon

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. --Thomas Jefferson

Walking Lightly Ranch/Whitefish, Montana

“I’m in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love. And it’s difficult to analyze love when you’re in it.” --John Steinbeck

Farmer's Market/Whitefish, Montana

We can make a commitment to promote vegetables and fruits and whole grains on every part of every menu... And we can help create a culture - imagine this - where our kids ask for healthy options instead of resisting them. --Michelle Obama

Farmer's Market Tomatoes/Santa Monica, California

I have a love affair with tomatoes and corn. I remember them from my childhood. I only had them in the summer. They were extraordinary. --Alice Waters

Elk/Grand Canyon, Arizona

Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble voice. --Black Elk

Dolphin/Maui, Hawaii

The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it. --Jacques Yves Cousteau

Butterfly/Maui, Hawaii

 The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.                 
 --Rabindranath Tagore

Hen and Chicks/Torbeck, Haiti

It may be the cock that crows, but it is the hen that lays the eggs. --Margaret Thatcher

House and Laundry/Torbeck, Haiti

Haiti, Haiti, the further I am from you, the less I breathe. Haiti, I love you, and I will love you always. Always. --Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Fraser River/Winter Park, Colorado

Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away. --Marcus Aurelius

Sunflower/Eau Claire, Wisconsin

I thought maybe I could become like the next Van Gogh. I bought a sunflower and painted it, and it looked like the work of a 6-year-old. --Takeshi Kitano

Hummingbird/Topanga, California

Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark. --Rabindranath Tagore

All photos copyright Mary Novaria. Quotes can be found at www.brainyquote.com