The natural world, life, and dogs.
One recent morning, as the boys and I were finishing our two-mile perambulation through the fields and woods across the road, I noticed a Monarch butterfly leave the maple trees alongside our path and begin its effortless dance through the air, in search of nectar. Then another Monarch departed from the maples just ahead of… Continue reading Poetic Fliers: Monarch Butterflies
No, Woolly Bears aren't large, furry mammals like black, brown, panda, or polar bears. The Woolly Bears I'm referring to are insects. They're the adorably fuzzy black-with-rust-band caterpillars that appear throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico every autumn, usually in September. I remember being delighted spotting them as a child growing up… Continue reading Woolly Bears: A Sign of Autumn
Maybe, like me, you endured school essay assignments where you had to compare and contrast something. Who knew that skill could end up being a useful blogging tool? Each day as I explore my new environment in Vermont, I can’t help but compare what I experience here to what I knew for the first 48… Continue reading Reinvention, Part Three: Comparing and Contrasting
The past month has brought lots of bird activity to my little patch of earth. Most of the through-migrating birds (geese, cranes, many songbirds) have flown by on their way north. Those birds calling this area home - some year round, some just during their breeding season - are engaging in the annual spring rites… Continue reading Birds of a Feather…
I love the gentle surprises the forest offers me when I'm paying attention. Even better when it's one of my dogs that alerts me to the surprise. When I see something new, unusual, and/or intriguing, I take photos or record video/audio if I can, and back home, start researching to learn more. A couple days… Continue reading A Dusky Grouse Encounter
The morning of May 12th I awoke to the smell of smoke in the air, that pleasant sitting-around-a-campfire smell. At daybreak, I could also see it, hovering over the ground like a thin, dirty-white veil, wrapping my house and everything on the valley slope as it slowly rose to meet the forest. The feature photo… Continue reading Spring in the Forest: Blooms and Burns
I've read that ravens and crows often show appreciation to people who feed them by gifting bright or shiny objects, leaving them where the human(s) will find them. Pretty rocks, buttons, beads, earrings, sticks. My evolving fascination with the raven pair that consider my house, yard and field their territory has led me to do… Continue reading A Gift from the Ravens?
Baby steps. I'm learning that's what it takes to get ravens to trust me. I'm good with that. I’m growing inordinately fond of the raven pair that have been enjoying the voles Conall catches, along with the occasional marrow bone I toss over the fence after the boys are done with them. I find these… Continue reading Building Trust with Ravens
It hardly looks like spring here in Idaho's mountains. The ground is still covered in well over a foot of snow. Many in more temperate climates are already greeting crocuses and daffodils, and cherry trees are blossoming. She turned to the sunlightAnd shook her yellow head,And whispered to her neighbor:“Winter is dead.”A. A. Milne Not… Continue reading Happy Spring Equinox!
When grappling with major life events, or facing life-altering decisions, some of us often seek - and see - signs. Signs from the universe that help us make sense of loss, or allow us to see a door opening, an obscure path beckoning. Signs which we can interpret to mean we're not alone, or that… Continue reading Sentimental Signs
Wild Sensibility 