Category: Nature
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Reality Check: 66% Of The Road Trip Is Behind Us
[Organ Pipe Cactus] We are roughly two-thirds of the way through our long and event-filled road trip. As I write this, I’m sitting in a Starbucks, about 263 dusty, windy and empty miles from Tucson. According to my four weather apps on my iPhone, it’s going to be nearly 80 F today. We need warmth.…
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I Heard The Secrets Of The Grackle’s Song
[Image: Google search] A short time ago, perhaps a week, maybe more, I spent a few days in Austin, Texas. We were visiting with a gentleman, William, that I had met during a writers workshop in Westport, New York in October, 2012. He has been a good friend and faithful follower of my blogs since…
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Mix Mesquite, Sage, Fire, Oil And A Dash Of White-Line Fever
You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst. You shall wander far in safety, though you do not know the way. –From Be Not Alone, a hymn commonly sung at funerals. Words by John Michael Talbot. “Somewhere on a desert highway, she rides a Harley-Davidson…her long blonde hair flying in…
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My Moonlight Sonata
“Moonlight becomes you, it goes with your hair. You certainly know the right thing to wear…” –Popular song For many years, the Full Moon has fascinated me. In the North Country, in the death-like silence of the mid-winter, and the snow on the ground is seven inches deep, and bending the branches of the cedar…
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Dark Roads And Distant Lights
So much of Florida is simply and without question, beautiful. The beaches come to mind. The wetlands of the Everglades are near the top of the list. The seemingly endless forests of the Ocala National Forest are a reminder of what Florida once looked like before Disney, Developers and Big Sugar got their hands on…
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To Let: Site # 143/ A Farewell To The Sunshine State
[As I write this post, Site #143 is occupied] On December 30, 2015, around noon, the radio in our red Ford Escape will begin to emit static. It will crackle and hiss as my favorite country music station fades in strength. Fort Myers will be receding, falling away into the south…into the muggy soupy haze.…
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Holiday Lights On Holiday Nights: A Visit To The Edison/Ford Estates
[The Banyan tree with a bronze of Edison standing guard] We arrived about thirty-five minutes before sunset. Heading for the admission window, we passed the largest Banyan tree in Florida. There was a family on the path in front of us. I heard the mother: “Isn’t that amazing that this is one tree?” “Not really,”…
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A Day For A Splash Of Rum
The Ancient Mariner is home from his lonely voyage. He’s waiting beside the tavern door to tell his tale. The Old Man is back from the Sea…did he win the fight with the great fish? The story of my journey to being a sailor is over…for now. I have completed the final task which was…
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So Near Yet So Far Away/The Three Hour Tour
You’ve been waiting. Waiting by your warm hearths sipping an extra strong egg nog. You’ve posted your last holiday cards and only two remaining items are on your “to do” list. You have to figure out who is going to get the re-gift this year. But, what you’re really waiting for is the next chapter…
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The Old Man And The Sea
My father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light, He slept with a mermaid one fine night. Out of the union there came three, A walrus, and a porpoise and a little old me…” –An Old Sea Shanty I’m sure that you think differently of me now. Now that you’re thinking of me as a…
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