Outdooors – Things I've Learned Along The Way

Roses for Remembrance

In the park

the child says:

watch me.

It will not count

unless

you see.

– D. Nurske

Hope

Every winter seems impossible. Clouds draped over the sun, Naked trees, howling winds… Yet still, the blossoms come.

The year 2020 will go down in history as a tough one for so many people. It seems like everyone I meet has a difficult story. Some people have lost jobs. Others have lost loved ones. Still others live alone and feel the loneliness and lack of in-person contact, while some people working at homeContinue reading “Things That Helped Ease 2020”

Favorite Season

I feel slightly guilty for having a favorite season. It feels a little like preferring one child over another. There are aspects of every season that I love — at least for a little while. The flushed heat of summer feels welcome in June, but by September, I’m ready for a change. The first snowContinue reading “Favorite Season”

Wish you were here

On my morning walk today, suspended between a storm front over the Sierras and a bank of gray clouds from the Pacific, I marveled at the sky. I wish you had been here to see the ever-changing landscape of the clouds painted by the wind, the sun slowly seeping over the darkness to the east.Continue reading “Wish you were here”

Life is not the same without alligators

California has an amazing amount of wildlife. Within blocks of my home, I have encountered coyotes, otters, skunks, possums, rabbits, squirrels, ducks, geese, herons, frogs, snakes and fish. A bit more distantly, people have found mountain lions in their backyards, bears strolling through the campus arboretum and deer eating their gardens. I delight in sightingsContinue reading “Life is not the same without alligators”

My Nature Manifesto

A colleague at work asked me if I had a manifesto. I replied “no” and asked why. She told me that a news article about a recent mass shooting California said the shooter did not leave behind a manifesto, as if that was unusual. “Is that a thing now? Are shooters supposed to have manifestos?Continue reading “My Nature Manifesto”

Autumn leaves

Today as I raked leaves in the front yard, my neighbor and his little girl came out of their house, the girl holding a giant bag nearly as big as she was. “I want red ones and yellow ones and orange ones…” she said. I knew exactly what they were doing. Fall has always beenContinue reading “Autumn leaves”

The nature of things

Words can’t explain it: Sky, tree, river, valley, mountain. I pen letters in packages Of three, four, five, six, seven, Yet they fail to adequately capture Wonder A universe that lies within Stars, soil, atoms, quarks, Things yet to be uncovered. But the insufficiency of language Will not prevent me From attempting to express TheContinue reading “The nature of things”

Coyote

Between dark and light, As the owl sings its melancholy melody, You appear. First formless, Then my eyes discern your shape, Gray against gray. I freeze. You still. Our gazes lock. I wonder at your lush tail, your vulpine visage. You size me up, ready for a challenge. Something wild and untamed moves within me.Continue reading “Coyote”