Time passage via the natural world

This beautiful, informative calendar has four panels representing the Earth’s four natural seasons, either from equinox to a solstice or from a solstice to an equinox. Stepping outside the convention of having 12 pages full of squares, the calendar’s four panels guide you through the astronomical season using several bands: Sky, Sun, Moon, Earth, Tide Chart and Gregorian Calendar from top to bottom.

I use the tide band to remind me when it might be a good time to plan a trip to the Oregon Coast. This year, I’ve already taken seven trips and have found an excellent low tide every time, so I’ve been able to see all kinds of cool critters, including chitons, crabs, starfish and large barnacles. I look at my ECOlogical Calendar every day and at the moon every night. I’m still working on learning to identify the planets and stars in the sky, which is a lot of fun, and the calendar serves as a perfect reminder.

The calendar is also very good for giving reminders of a number of phenomena you just wouldn’t otherwise think about at all, such as the activities of amphibians, butterflies, worms, salmon, bats, eagle mating, fledging of birds; plus things such as the mushroom season and when bears start to hibernate. Most of us could probably keep track of some of those seasonal events on our own, but few could keep track of them all — even a professional ecologist or farmer would have to be fairly compulsive to be mindful of everything on this calendar, simply by memory and/or Internet searches.

You could probably use the Calendar Band to note your regular doctor’s appointments, interviews, and meetings if need be. But personally, I use a conventional planner for that, primarily because this calendar seems too beautiful to mark with my handwriting. It’s as much a work of art as it is a practical tool for nature awareness. And how many art works change with the seasons?

— Amy Scanlon

ECOlogical Calendar

$10

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Antenna Theater

[It’s only July, so you could still get use from two of the four ’07 panels; or you could obviously hold off until ’08 (expect to pay about $16) – sl]