The natural world, life, and dogs.
While living in Idaho, for years I wanted to add solar panels to my roof but didn’t have the financial resources to do so. Selling that house and moving to Vermont improved my financial situation. Living through my first Vermont winter with less-than-ideal heating options in my new house lit a fire under my butt… Continue reading Solar Power: Feels So Good
A month ago I wrote about how an injury prevented me from running and forced me to slow way down throughout the spring and early summer. Even walking was painful for a long time. Today, I'd say I'm almost back to normal, resuming running regularly, mostly pain-free. Yay! The irony, though, is even though I… Continue reading Slowing Way Down = Seeing Even More
The photo memories dished up by Amazon – via my Kindle Fire – and Facebook in my newsfeed are often bittersweet. Every June I’m reminded of the passing of my Alaskan Malamute Maia at age 14 in 2013, and then six weeks later in July, my Alaskan Malamute Meadow, age twelve. Oh, the girls. So… Continue reading A New Cairn for the Girls
It has been over a year since I last shared some of the photos my dogs bombed. Since then, we moved to Vermont. The landscape is so different than Idaho's, as are many of the wildflowers and plants I try to photograph. The one constant is my dogs' faces, feet, or entire bodies moving through… Continue reading Dog Photobombs X – August through December 2021
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
Ah, May. You do deliver the spring goods. After a long winter, Vermont is once again vibrantly green and lush with new growth. So... sensual. Wildflowers are shyly appearing. Trees are leafing out, full of songbirds announcing each day's opening and closing. Fields are exploding with grass, dandelions, and clover, giving the bees sustenance. The… Continue reading Green and Flowery
This post's title and content refers to the old European meaning of May Day. A festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Traditions often include gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral garlands, crowning a May Queen (sometimes with… Continue reading May Day
There are two types of shadows. There are the figurative shadows that are meant to control people by casting fear, disharmony, and darkness: war; disinformation; control; violence. Then there are the literal shadows of nature that mix with sunlight to tickle the eye and elevate one's mood. Nature's shadows remind us that defiance can take… Continue reading Shadows
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
It’s a rainy, dark and cold Saturday evening in Vermont. I’ve built a fire in the wood stove and poured myself a glass of wine. I’m in a nostalgic mood. I’ve been thinking about how, in two ways, I manage to bring a little bit of Kansas with me wherever I go: a desk, and… Continue reading Kansas to Vermont
Wild Sensibility 