Category Archives: wilderness

Things That Helped Ease 2020

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”

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”

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”

The feather

Dear Bird, I found your feather today on my walk Lying against the crisp brown late-summer grass. I wonder: Did you pluck it purposefully from your skin, Because it had lost its usefulness? Or was it torn from your wing in a dispute With another raptor? Did it shake loose in a tussle With yourContinue reading “The feather”