The sky this month is lovely to behold. Look to the west in the early evening. As the sky darkens you will see stark-white Venus first, then orange-red Mars and finally a fainter yellow Saturn.

One of Canada’s best stargazing extravaganzas happens on August 12-15th at River Place Park, RR 3, Ayton, Ontario near Mount Forest. The general public is invited to attend.

Do you own a piece of property? No, you don’t. How could you?

But perhaps you are fortunate enough to have the responsibility of stewardship, however temporary, of part of this beautiful planet. If so, what is happening in the front yard and in the backyard? What life is there and what is the condition of the life present? Is it diverse? Is it thriving?

Whatever the answer, the state of life, or the ecological integrity of the place where we live and exercise stewardship says a lot about our attitude toward nature. It affects how we perceive the relationship we have with life on this planet.