Talks & Walks Calendar

A Life in Moonlight

Nov. 2 Sunday — 11 am to noon

Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff
3839 W Kiest Blvd, Dallas, TX 75233

Become swept away by the Moonlady and enthralled by the magic of the Moon in this purely poetic talk. Amy Martin, author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth (wild-dfw.com), will share her relationship with the Moon and expound on the nature of moonlight and the art of living with lunar phases, and how we owe our existence to tides and the nature of synchrony. Learn to live in tune with the Moon.

Part of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff service on Sunday. Open to all faith traditions of those of none at all. All are welcome. Afterward or before, enjoy a walk on their outdoor labyrinth or ramble their wooded grounds.

Amy Martin has been deeply tied to nature, on Earth and above, since a toddler. She writes about nature in books (Wild DFW, Itchy Business, Speaking of Mother Earth) and for GreenSourceDFW (greensourcedfw.org), and volunteers extensively to aid urban nature in its healing. She recommends a good howl at the Moon on a regular basis. Better than therapy. Which is why she’s called the Moonlady (moonlady.com).

Full Beaver Moon Walk at Elm Fork Nature Preserve

Elm Fork Nature Preserve in McInnish Park – 2335 Sandy Lake Rd, Carrollton, TX 75006 – Google maps

A Dallas County Open Space property

Managed by Carrollton Parks & Recreation

• Nov 4 Tuesday
• Check in at 5:15 pm. Event starts at 5:30 pm, ends at 7:30 pm
• Sunset 5:33 pm, twilight ends5:59 pm, moonrise 4:48 pm.

Leader: Amy Martin, author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth https://Wild-DFW.com/ �

Take a walk in the Full Moon light with Amy Martin, the Moonlady and author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth. While we wait for full darkness, Amy will present a poetic overview of the Moon and lead an audience-involving demonstration explaining the lunar phases and why we only see one side of the Moon. After this, you’ll be a pro-level Moon watcher, able to predict where the Moon will be at any time.

Then off a hike on wide, well-maintained, trails among the large trees of Elm Fork Preserve past a spur of the Elm Fork, stopping at a moonlit pond for a nice howl at the Moon. Enjoy breaks for short raps ranging from synchrony and the formation of life on Earth to the nature of moonlight. We’ll chat about nocturnal denizens, their use of Moon phases, and how urban nature turns to darkness for safety and adaptation from Wild DFW’s After Dark chapter. Plus plenty of Moon bathing, Moon-shadow dancing and Moon song singalongs.

Reserve your spot here.

The Flora, Fauna, and Fantastic Nature of Wild DFW

Nov. 20 Thurs – 11:30 am to 1:30 pm

Dallas Co. Master Gardeners

location tba

North Texas nature is anything but average! The area has astounding diversity, frequently landing in the top 10 of iNaturalist competitions worldwide. Drawing from her popular book, Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth, learn from author Amy Martin how that diversity arises from our unique tilted layers of bedrock and discover the plants and animals that live here.

Get to know the ecoregions that shape the area and why we serve as an integral ecotone linking east and west. Journey through the wonderfully wild areas of North Texas via incredible photos from the book. Meet the courageous volunteers who preserve these precious places and derive deep healing from them, a gift of nature available to us all.

Never See North Texas Nature the Same Way Again

Rockwall Butterfly Brigade
https://www.facebook.com/RockwallButterflyBrigade/

March 3 Tues – 6:30 probably, exact TBA

location TBA, private residence

Author and naturalist Amy Martin nearly died four years ago from a severely broken neck. She learned to walk again by hiking natural trails. Those hikes are an integral part of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth. Hear her inspiring story woven with rhapsodic passages from the book.

Learn how a little knowledge about natural history and ecology can transform your perception of North Texas nature. Astounding color photos bring alive peak experiences from the 25 featured hiking adventures through hardwood bottomland forests and Eastern Cross Timbers, soaring limestone escarpments, lush wetlands, and rare remnants of Blackland and Fort Worth Prairies.

Wild DFW is Martin’s way of facilitating others to find the healing power of nature and the natural wonder she felt as a child. Get to know a diverse community of volunteers working for nature.

Photo of Sunset Cove at Ray Roberts Lake State Park by Denise Thompson.