Hello. I am Gloria, the author of The Nature Whisperer. Nature has been my faithful muse throughout my life, as a young girl, a wife and mother, a teacher, a professor, and a grandmother. I find guiding light in nature’s heavenly works with help from enlightened souls. This journey breathes life into my words. I hope you find them helpful.
In one of my posts, Following the Sun and Other Journeys, I refer to my nomadic life. I have lived and loved in four different states: Colorado, California, Florida and my home state of New Jersey, with one foot in the Pine Barrens and the other at the Jersey Shore. The mountains in Vail, Colorado still call to me. My daughter Lauren, who was born at St. Luke’s Hospital in Denver, often speaks of the sweet pine that freshens the Vail Valley air, where she enjoyed summer classes at the Vail Nature Center and learned to ski in the winter. Upholding the family tradition, my grandsons and their mother climb Vail Mountain every time we are lucky to visit. In California, we lived in Lake Arrowhead, the “Jewel of Southern California”. It sits high atop the San Bernardino Mountains among giant redwoods and sugar pines that seem to reach the sky. As a young girl, I read of magical forests in dreamy fairytales. The first time I saw Lake Arrowhead, my visions of magical forests came to life. Our winter home in Florida is a playland for seniors and we soak in every minute of neighborly fun. I am continually learning about the various kinds of palms and tropical plants for our garden in Florida.
Finally, Southern New Jersey is home, where I spend easy beachball summers and brilliant autumns, when nature unabashedly peacocks her splendid colors. New Jersey is farms, family, seashores, lakes, bridges and lush green pinelands. New Jersey is where it all began, when Ernesto and Assunta Trionfo farmed the land over 100 years ago. They bore two sons and six daughters, one of whom was my mother, Antoinette. I don’t think the little girl in me ever recovered from leaving the farm, that happy hub of busy life, to live in our own little brick house in another town. Perhaps that’s when my nomadic nature was born. The farm is still Trionfo-owned and operated, growing leeks, cilantro and parsley.
Welcome to Gloria's Nature Whisperer 