The natural world, life, and dogs.
It seems I have landed in a particularly windy place here in Vermont. November and December have, so far, brought some magnificent wind storms. Gusts in the 30-40 mph range. Regularly. Will this continue through the rest of the winter months? Time will tell. I’m new here. One such wind storm came through last night.… Continue reading Wind
I've been writing. A lot. I'm working on The Wolf Book, but also... ...a Kindle Vella project. A series of stories. More on that in a future post. For now, I'll let my local landscape - and my dogs - provide the content for this post, illustrating how quickly the scenery changes in this "shoulder… Continue reading Cold Landscapes
No, I'm not angry. Rather, I'm gobsmacked by the beautiful array of reds nature puts on display in Vermont this time of year. And to think the autumn colors show is just getting started! Let me show you what I mean. I started noticing red started in the leaves carpeting a rail trail where Conall… Continue reading Seeing Red
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
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
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!
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
I love snow. Snow is a big reason I moved to Idaho's mountains. If precipitation is going to fall from the winter sky, I prefer it be in the form of snow rather than rain. Seattle has way too much rain and too little snow. I don't miss Seattle's rain. Snow is a state of… Continue reading Snow: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Nature, and more particularly the forest nearby, always envelope me in an embrace that soothes and heals. This time of year, my attention turns toward a particularly wondrous tree: the larch. The forest around me is primarily evergreens – firs and pines. Nice trees, all, but rather mundane in their...greenness. I don't see a lot… Continue reading Larch Trees: Autumn’s Last Hurrah
Wild Sensibility 