The natural world, life, and dogs.
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
Not long ago I received a USPS package. Inside were two pieces of concrete from a demolished road. Upper piece shows the underside, lower piece shows the road surface. Let me explain. I was recently hired by a friend, Brian, to edit an article he wrote for a collection that will become a book. I… Continue reading Concrete Memories
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
More foolishness fills our days following the previous post about spring, or more precisely, the "fool's spring" that tempts people living in the mountains into believing that winter is over. Fool's spring is a tease. But a delightful tease. If the past few days are representative of "fool's spring" in the mountains of Idaho, then… Continue reading A Fool in Love (with Nature)
Living in the mountains, one quickly learns that predicting weather in March is a fool's errand. For several weeks, the swings between winter and spring are wild and seemingly random. Nature teases with warm days of sunshine, melting the long winter's snow pack on the ground and inviting you to step outside without jacket, hat… Continue reading Fool’s Spring
Snow and icicles are winter's bonded pair. Icicles are beautiful. Ephemeral. Tough yet brittle. Marvels of nature's mixture of warm and cold, temporary sculptures tickling our senses while reminding us that nothing lasts forever. Winter giveth the fields, and the trees so old, their beards of icicles and snow.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow It's not only the… Continue reading Icicles
It has been a long while since Conall caught a vole in the yard, so his food bank for the local raven pair has been bare. I worried that the ravens had given up on us as I hadn't seen or heard them much recently. Now I realize that was mostly due to weather. We've… Continue reading Raven Check-in
