The natural world, life, and dogs.
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
My house was listed for sale on Tuesday morning. By Friday afternoon I had accepted an offer. It's enough to make one's head spin. In a good way. The sale is pending. There are a couple of hurdles to be jumped before closing, typical to most home sales (inspection and appraisal). I don't anticipate any… Continue reading Stress and Money
I continue pursuing emerging wildflowers as spring progresses in Idaho's mountains. I'm obsessed. I dream of a quiet man who explains nothing and defends nothing, but only knows where the rarest wildflowers are blooming, and who goes, and finds that he is smiling not by his own will.Wendell Berry A friend, Karen S, recently recommended… Continue reading Point of View
If I had to choose just one, I would say spring is my favorite season in the forest. The emerging wildflowers boldly shout, Wake up! Time to party! Sunflowers (arrowleaf balsomroot) covered in raindrops. After months of running through a winter landscape limited to white snow, brown tree trunks and green pine needles, my eyes… Continue reading Transitions
The Merriam-Webster definition of the term "non sequitur" is: a statement (such as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said. The perfect name for a comic strip by a political or editorial cartoonist. As a (former) attorney and (current) wordsmith, I love words and learning… Continue reading Non Sequitur
My web browser's default page is BBC.com. Every day when I surf news sites, I start with the BBC. This morning the BBC's front page shared the news that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth, had passed away. He was ninety-nine. I admit to a life-long fascination with the royal family.… Continue reading Prince Philip, Pilot
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?
As I type this post, I’m listening to music, streaming through my computer. One song – by Paul Winters – opens with the sound of several Canada geese honking. Normally, such wildlife sounds would be enough to excite Finn, waking him from his nap on a dog bed three feet behind me to jump up… Continue reading Fading into Silence
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
Among the far-too-many-to-list joys of running through the forest with my dogs off leash is watching them follow their natural curiosity, navigate obstacles, and solve problems. The joke among those of us who choose to live with Alaskan Malamutes is that when we ask them to do something, they look at us, thinking, Maybe. What's… Continue reading Dogged Determination
