Category: Nature
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56 Years Along The Blue Trail: Then And Now
Like brave mountaineers, we weren’t bothered much by time. –Gordon Lightfoot It’s late August in the North Country. The green of the leaves and shrubs are looking tired. Some hints of the colors of autumn are emerging from the maples and oaks. Late summer flowers like Black-Eyed Susans and Ragweed are everywhere. The quarter moon…
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The Moth
There are stories told around the world about a strange figure referred to as The Mothman. These are compelling stories that are, it is claimed, substantiated by eye-witness accounts and news articles. A Hollywood film was made about the Mothman, which starred Richard Gere. It was a pretty good film. Apparently, the figure of the…
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Is This Really Happening?
It’s 5:01 pm on July 23. Thirty-two days ago was the summer solstice. It’s 64.9 F. I’m standing on the back deck of our house at Rainbow Lake. I’m chilled. I have a thin blanket over my shoulders like a cheap superhero. It’s one of those free “blanket” covers they give you on long distance…
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A Most Pecular Tree
I stood just outside the mossy rock wall of the churchyard. We were in a tiny English village with a name I would have to look up in my notebook. I was making it a point to stop and look inside these old Saxon and Norman churches whenever we passed one (and where there was…
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Slán
THE CLIFFS OF DOONEEN You may travel far far from your own native home Far away oer the mountains far away oer the foam But of all the fine places that I’ve ever seen, There’s none to compare with The Cliffs of Dooneen Take a view oer the water fine sights you’ll see there You’ll…
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The Silent Songs of the Burrens and the Rebel Songs of Galway
I stood at the edge of the famous Cliffs of Moher. Just a short drive from Shannon Airport, this site is one of the first stops for tourists. The last time I stood at this edge of Ireland where the Atlantic Ocean pounds silently far below us, at the base of rock faces that can…
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Beaver Lodge Available: No Cable Necessary
[You have to look close for the small blue-gray dish. Trust me, it’s there.] Beavers, as everyone who has studied their natural history can attest, are amazing in a variety of ways. The first thing that comes to mind is that they are considered “Natures Engineers” because they have the instinct to secure a…
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Postcard From The Bottom Of The Green Lagoon
I have only one thing to do and that’s to be the wave that I am and then sink back into the ocean. Sink back into the ocean. Sink back into the ocean. –Fiona Apple. Theme from “The Affair” I know where my body is at the moment. I’m sitting on the sandy floor…
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Postcard From Condado Beach
There are times in life when a person has a particular need. Nothing else is enough. Only that one singular need. If I were lost, ten miles from Badwater, in the center of Death Valley, that need would be water. For me, in the bleak months of Winter ’15, that need is simply warmth. Warmth.…
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The Pink Flamingos of the Pacific Northwest
I asked my daughter, Erin, about her opinion of pink flamingos. “They have their place,” she answered, without taking more than five seconds to think it over. That place was in a front yard, several blocks from her home in Orting, WA. My wife and I were walking back from a brief shopping trip to…
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