The natural world, life, and dogs.
Coyote mating season typically runs from January through March, peaking in February. Coyotes become more active and territorial, and in my experience, far more vocal with their barks, yips, and howls. My Alaskan Malamutes pay attention. Listening intently. Then respond with their own loud howls! When I lived in the Seattle area, my two female… Continue reading Song Dogs
Every Alaskan Malamute I’ve lived with has had a sense of humor. It’s always subtle, but living with them, you learn to recognize it. Toward humans, their humor is usually seen in how they express defiance (or what I interpret as stubbornness, one of their well-known traits) by “talking back” when you ask them to… Continue reading Malamute Humor
Not long after I moved back to Idaho in December 2024, a new neighbor briefly introduced herself from her truck when she saw me walking Conall on our road. The next time that neighbor saw me, she stopped to explain that an older couple living nearby had a 27-year-old Arabian stallion in a small barn… Continue reading The Horse: A Lesson on Letting Go
One of the hardest parts of leaving Idaho for Vermont in 2021 was believing I would never again visit any of the cairns I built in the Payette National Forest to memorialize the lives of Maia and Meadow, my two Alaskan Malamutes who helped me explore wild forest places after we moved to Idaho in… Continue reading The Magic Remains
I got a decent night’s sleep last night (rare lately because of nerve pain in my left leg), Conall ate his breakfast (also rare lately due to his aging), and the morning was cool and gorgeous, so off he, Chann, and I went for a walk on a nearby country road in the valley. As… Continue reading My Rookie Mistake
The natural world never ceases to fascinate me. The more I see, and learn, the more amazing I find the intricate interplay between plants and animals. Today I learned something about mimicry. My last post was about toxic toads. On this morning’s run with Conall I saw two other toxic animals: monarch butterfly and milkweed… Continue reading Natural World Mimicry
Chann the puppy is a whirlwind of energy, except when he’s napping so he can grow (while mentally plotting more shenanigans). At his second vet visit on August 11th he weighed 19 lbs, more than double his weight when he arrived July 8th. Even weeds can't keep up with that level of growth. Conall adores… Continue reading My Hero
It has been a long, cold, snowy winter in Vermont. Still is, in fact, even though the calendar says March 31st. I hoped winter would be a good time to write my book. It has been, in some ways. But I learned something about myself: I do most of my writing in the afternoon and… Continue reading More Book Progress
Twice this month, while walking with my dogs through the woods on the neighbors' acreage, we heard wildlife warning calls: Stay away! In both instances, the calls came from a few yards off the path, well into the trees. I couldn't see the animal issuing the call, but the first one I recognized, a call… Continue reading Wildlife Warning Calls
Finn stands still at the foot of my bed. I gently place my right arm under his belly, my left against his chest and between his two front legs. As soon as I lift and his feet leave the floor, his body goes stiff. He doesn’t struggle or resist. He trusts me, knows that the… Continue reading Dogs on the Bed
Wild Sensibility 