Surprised by Light
After a busy day of dealing with car repairs and shopping for Thanksgiving food, I didn’t want to walk the dog in our nearby park. I really didn’t. (…)
Wren Independence Day
The house wrens nesting on our yurt porch chose this morning, the 4th of July, to shoo their young ones out of the nest.
My Gaelic Name
I revised my St. Patrick’s Day post from last year and posted it at Fictionaut. A commenter there bestowed on me the Gaelic version of Elizabeth….
Lessons From Dr. King on Haiti
It’s hard enough to comprehend the scale of disaster in Haiti. What’s harder is this: to stand by and watch hate, ignorance and greed breed on human suffering like maggots….
Grumpy Bears Unite
I feel like a grumpy, old bear this holiday season. I don’t want to put my energy into decking halls. I avoid shopping as much as possible. I have no idea what to get anybody, and the muzak playing everywhere makes me want to poke holes in my ear drums….
Celebrate the Solstice with Laughter
I began blogging a year ago by reflecting on the challenges of Balancing Work and Play. I still haven’t figured that out, but I know what helps with that and with surviving this dark season: humor….
Ice Patterns
Writing experts tell us to never, ever open a story with the weather. And while a brief comment on the weather can sometimes be an ice breaker, extended conversations about it more likely signal that both parties have run out of interesting things to say. That’s all changing now….
Wild Turkey: Species of the Week
Unlike my stepfather and his clan, numerous cousins, the son I spawned, and many friends; I don’t usually look at wild animals and think: meat. Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), indigenous to North America, have become a recent exception….
Scary Critters
I’m miles from town, so there will be no trick or treaters for me tonight. Instead, I’ve decided to mark the day by highlighting some posts I’ve written on creatures that tend to be maligned, misunderstood and caricatured on Halloween….
Autumn Color in Northeast Oregon
Series of photographs of trees turning color in mountains of Northeastern Oregon.
Quaking Aspen: Species of the Week
This time of year, I’m one of many throughout the West enthralled by – and worried about – one of our most striking fall color trees: Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides ). Utah and Colorado have acres and acres of aspens. In northeast Oregon, we have smaller groves dotting the more prevalent bunchgrass slopes and ponderosa [...]
Birthday Rattlesnake
I’ve been reviewing some photos I took this summer and found one that makes my day….
Mystery Eggs Hatched
The eggs hidden in the rusty tool box have hatched. Hatchlings hoping the camera will feed them. Haven’t been able to spot the parents yet. If anyone knows what species this is, please leave a comment and let me know. Perhaps they’ll develop some more identifiable features before they fledge.
Pacific Tree Frog: Species of the Week
Right on schedule for the spring equinox, Pseudacris regilla arrived several days ago in my backyard pond here in Portland, Oregon. I haven’t seen him yet, but I hear him every night inviting females to join him in his half wine barrel.
Balancing Work and Play
It’s snowing here in Portland, Oregon, and I’m wondering whether or not to start a blog. Django – my eighty-two pound, chocolate, standard poodle- doesn’t care. He’s been hinting at other activities all day with barks, yawns, groans, hopeful looks, nudges, playbows. I’ve been ignoring him to work on this fledgling website, respond to a literary journal interested in one of my essays, send another essay on its first submissions round, eat lunch, answer phone calls, wash dishes, read some blogs to see if I really want to become one of millions sharing the minutiae of everyday life….
