By Elizabeth Enslin on February 19, 2010
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….
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Posted in Recent, Species of the Week, Yurt Living | Tagged archaeology, climate change, Homesteading, mammals, wild
By Elizabeth Enslin on February 7, 2010
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….
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Posted in Recent, Species of the Week | Tagged climate change, endangered species, mammals
By Elizabeth Enslin on December 13, 2009
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….
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Posted in Recent, Species of the Week | Tagged climate change, oceans
By Elizabeth Enslin on December 9, 2009
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….
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Posted in Humor, Recent, Seasons and Rituals | Tagged climate change, Humor, nature, photography, Writing
By Elizabeth Enslin on October 27, 2009
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
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Posted in Around the Northwest, Seasons and Rituals, Species of the Week, Wild Plants | Tagged beauty, climate change, land stewardship
By Elizabeth Enslin on October 24, 2009
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 meat
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Posted in Sustainable Food, Sustainable Gardening | Tagged climate change, Sustainable Gardening
By Elizabeth Enslin on October 15, 2009
A wordle-inspired poem that also muses on climate change for Blog Action Day.
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Posted in Poetry, Recent | Tagged climate change, patience, photography, Poetry, rhythm
By Elizabeth Enslin on March 20, 2009
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.
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Posted in Around the Northwest, Biodiversity, Seasons and Rituals, Species of the Week, Wildlife Encounters | Tagged climate change, frogs, nature, nostalgia, ponds, wild
By Elizabeth Enslin on December 20, 2008
An Oneida story - “Who Speaks for Wolf?” – explains why human societies need interpreters and spokespeople for wolves and others who can’t speak for themselves. Not everyone has to agree with those who take on this task, but society needs them at the table.
Pacific Ocean at Ka La’e, Hawaii, southernmost tip of U.S.
Oregon State University
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Posted in Following the News | Tagged books, climate change, inspiration, nature, Obama, oceans, solace, stories
Fringe Magazine
High Desert Journal
In the Mist
Opium Magazine
Oregon Literary Review
The Smoking Poet
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