Paw Prints
On this day of global action for climate change, I’m once again too busy on the land — preparing garlic beds, planting cover crops, taking stock of what we need to do to manage our ponderosa pine forests and weed-infested pastures — to participate in group events (…)
Bushy-Tailed Woodrat: Species of the Week
Tomorrow, we drive to NE Oregon to spend a week or so in our yurt (and a few other places). The creature I fear most on this trip is not the cougar, wolf or porcupine. It’s much smaller. Most females and the younger males of the species could fit into the palm of my hand….
American Pika: Species of the Week
The calls and whistles (listen below) of the American pika (Ochotona princeps) are one of the delights of hiking into remote alpine areas — and such a refreshing escape from the noise of daily news, courtroom dramas, and political debates. Now the tiny rabbit relative may unwittingly generate press releases, research reports and legal briefs higher than its hay piles….
Irrawaddy Dolphin: Species of the Week
Polar bears: they get all the climate change attention. So this week as negotiators meet in Copenhagen, the Wildlife Conservation Society highlighted “unsung species” that are just as vulnerable to climate change. This isn’t to diminish the grave situation for the world’ biggest bear but to make sure we don’t lose sight of less familiar – and less popular – animals….
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….
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 [...]
Revolutionary Potatoes
Like many who follow environmental and sustainable agriculture news, I woke this morning to tweets and retweets of a Michael Pollan quote: “A vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a beef eater in a Prius!” I’m not vegan or vegetarian and suspect the statement glosses over vast differences in the way [...]
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.
