Is it going to rain, or is it not going to rain? Sometimes you just don't know, so we take it day by day, hour by hour, and hope for the best!

Saturday morning, you can explore the Nature Conservancy's little-known Queen's River Preserve in Exeter, on a guided walk led by naturalist Frances Topping, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. You'll see a wide variety of mosses, ferns, lichens, flowering plants and trees. If it rains, bring a raincoat! You won't melt, as our moms used to say. Fee is $5 for members, $7 for others, call 789-7497 for info or to register.

The awesome Rhode Island International Film Festival offers some choices for the green set (and you can stay warm and dry indoors!). Notable is a documentary telling the story of Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her reforestation work. You can catch it Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Prov Library on Empire Street (or Sunday at 5 at McMillan Hall at Brown -- or maybe both -- check with RIFF for updates before going!).

Also, a short film about the Cape Wind controversy, "The View and the Vision," (15 minutes), will be shown Saturday at 2:15 pm in the Bell Street Chapel. Click here for more info, schedules, and more choices from the Film Fest.

This weekend also is the Newport Jazz Festival -- you can get your tickets at a discount and help support the great work done every day by Clean Water Action! You can get your tickets from CWA for just $50, that's 20 bucks off, or even better, volunteer to help them out at the festival and get in for free. For more info contact Annie Costner at 331-6972 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

You can find lots more great ideas for all ages --  hikes, bike rides, farmers markets, kayak tours, and more -- in NNN's Community Calendar.

Six AmeriCorps jobs available, across the state, for various positions in the Bridges 4 Learning Collaborative (Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living, Providence; Connecting for Children & Families, Woonsocket; Cranston Community Learning Center; Traveling Theatre, Providence). For details, click on "More..."

School kids in Scituate have been stepping up to promote environmental living, working with teachers Shannon Donovan and Erica Cioe, and here's their latest accolade -- a work of art by sophomores Charlie Colvin and Sean Beard was selected for a national exhibit, to be shown August 25 to September 2 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

The exhibit of "refrigerator art" uses doors off of old fridges as a "canvas." Charlie and Sean created a mosiac that shows Beavertail Point with three wind turbines. The artwork will later return to RI and will be exhibited locally at various events. Congrats to Charlie and Sean!

It's been an abundant summer for our local farms, and if you're getting piles of fresh produce from your own backyard, or a farmers market or farm share, it can be a challenge to know what to do with it all!

Here are some delicious recipes to share, from Scratch Farm CSA member Ashley Paul, for cucumber soup and lemon basil ice cream. Just click on "More..." for the full details.

Learning our way around the night sky can be a challenge, especially with so much light pollution washing out the stars, but this time of year is a great time to get to know Jupiter. The planets are not fixed but move across our sky, and right now Jupiter is brilliant and bright, high in the Southeast sky early in the evening, and just about due South by 11 p.m.

With a good pair of binoculars, or a backyard telescope, you should be able to view Jupiter's four major moons, collectively called the Galilean satellites after the first person to observe them, using equipment of lesser quality than your own.

Next Tuesday, if the sky is clear, one of the year’s best and most observed meteor showers, the Perseids, should be at its peak. Ladd Observatory will be open, weather permitting. Go to Ladd's new Web site for more info.

The four Galilean moons in order of their growing distance from Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto. Photographed by Galilleo probe.

via: Francine Jackson, Ladd staff astronomer

What use is a beautiful urban bikeway, if nobody rides on it? The folks at the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council are working to help local kids enjoy their bike path, and to encourage that, they would love to have your old or unused bikes and bike gear, all kinds, all sizes, as long as it is in good condition (flat tires and other minor repairs are okay).

The WRWC  will host a Bike Rodeo, Saturday, August 23, 2 to 5 pm at Riverside Park in Olneyville, so if you can get your bikes to them before that, great!

Contact them at 861-9046 or send an This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more info.

So if you are trying to hang out closer to home this summer and keep a hold on what dollars you might have, think of it as a great opportunity to explore some of the nooks and crannies of our local region. There is sure to be lots that you haven't seen yet.

One cool place to visit in Boston is The Harvard Museum of Natural History, and right now you can catch the final weeks of its multi-media exhibit, Nests & Eggs. The exhibit, which closes on August 24th, explores the myriad ways that birds nurture and protect their young, from egg to hatchling. Unique specimens -- some on exhibit for the first time -- plus still and video photography, original illustrations, and hands-on experiences make Nests & Eggs a delight for all ages.

"This exhibit inspires visitors to look more closely at the world around them, to see and think about the familiar in new ways," says Elisabeth Werby, executive director of the museum. Hey, that's the same thing we try to do here at NNN!

Go to the museum Web site for directions and more info. 

NNN editor Mary Grady is away on assignment this week, and there just wasn't a chance to keep up with our usual daily posts and Thursday newsletter. Next week we will get back to normal!

For today, if you are looking for ideas for things to do this weekend, check out our NNN Community Calendar, which is always updated every day by a slew of contributors. You can find more listings at the Projo Green page, and at the Save The Bay Web site.

We'll be back next week! Meanwhile, take some time to explore our archives and all our content, via the navigation links across the top of the page and the categories in the left sidebar. Happy summering! 

The Newport and Providence Green Drinks groups will join for a summer celebration on Wednesday, July 30, at Narragansett Town Beach, 5 to 8 pm. The site is the North Beach Clubhouse (also known as the Canochet Beach Clubhouse), 79 Boston Neck Roa (Route 1A). Click here for a google map.

The Town of Narragansett is hosting this special Green Drinks event. Thanks to the Narragansett Parks and Recreation for providing the beautiful venue (as they did last August), with its expansive deck right on the Town of Narragansett beach.  This will be a great time to bring friends and family and enjoy our coast. Lifeguards will be on duty till 6pm so enjoy the surf!

Special thanks to the Management of McLaughlin &Moran, located in Cranston, for graciously donating the fine beverages. Thanks also to Trio (opened just a few months ago in Narragansett by Newport Harbor Corp.), for providing delicious bites.

Green Drinks on the beach starts at 5pm. If you would like to arrive before 6, just park in the lot south of the Clubhouse parking lot. If coming after 6, the clubhouse parking lot is closest to the venue.

For more info, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Could July be over already? Yes it could! So if you are behind on beach time and outdoor adventures, time to get going.

Looks like more unsettled weather on the way for the next few days. Be sure to check for cancellations, changes, or rain dates before you head out to any events.

You have plenty of options for getting outside. Start out tonight with an urban adventure -- in  Prov, you can catch a Concert under the Elms with Pendragon, at the John Brown House Museum. Follow it up with Alfred Hitchcock's classic The Birds -- which explores, in its own way, the relationship between humans and nature -- free and outdoors, starting about 8:30 on the big wall outside Tazza Cafe. Down in Bristol, Audubon is showing episodes of the classic "Flipper" TV show outdoors on a big screen, bring a picnic blanket and the whole family (there's room indoors if the rains come). 

A big annual event coming up this weekend is Save The Bay's swim across the Bay. They are still looking for volunteers, if you can lend a hand on Saturday morning. You might think this is not really a spectator event, but just stop by to watch and cheer, and you might get caught up in the excitement -- and maybe get inspired to try the swim yourself next time!

Saturday morning, you can explore beautiful Rome Point in North Kingstown, on a historical tour offered by the town library. Or for a quintessential RI experience, check out the Blessing of the Fleet, Saturday at noon in Galilee. Saturday night, another great picnic & family event in Little Compton, where the Ocean State Summer Pops Orchestra plays for free on the Town Commons. Or head to Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly, for music and fireworks Saturday night in honor of the governor's Bay Day. Click here for more about Bay Day -- free parking at state beaches on Sunday, and more.

Check NNN's Community Calendar for more details on the above events, and for more ideas for things to do! You'll find farmers' markets, hikes and boat tours, and events for kids. The calendar is updated daily, so check back often.

Coming up soon... Next Tuesday, the 29th, free jazz on the lawn at Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown. Wednesday, the 30th, the special Newport-Prov Green Drinks event at Narragansett Beach, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for details.  And the next Wednesday, August 6th, the great RI Local Food Fest at Castle Hill in Newport. Get out there and enjoy our Rhode Island summer!