Honoring Creativity · Pondering Possibilities · Sharing Knowledge · Valuing Usefulness
If only there were “Here Thanks To Nature” tags attached to everything everywhere as a reminder that our very lives are utterly and completely dependent on nature — not technology…
… Read more...I would feel more optimistic
about a bright future for
This mother mule deer in Arizona, doting and attentive just a week before, warns her young buck away. Why?
It turns out she is pregnant with a new fawn, and that she’s taught the year-old buck all she can about … Read more...
Dinosaur webs?
When we think of what is possible…
we tend to be limited —
by our knowledge
by our perspective
by our experiences
by our curiosity
and by our imagination.
So why ponder dinosaur webs? It was something I … Read more...
I love to read around the internet and frequently come across engaging, funny or insightful news and superb storytelling that are “must shares.” Since I often find them through twitter (sorry, not a facebooker) I just automatically “tweet” or “retweet” … Read more...
Back in October, I experienced a bit of a surprise as I was weeding our rock-wall shelves. Perhaps more surprising to some may be my reaction to what happened – a true indication of just what a nature nerd I … Read more...
News to ponder that you may have missed:
When someone says “holiday vacation travel” what comes to mind?
Do you envision new sights and familiar haunts? Do you remember the hustle bustle, … Read more...
At night I’ve been known to stare into the quiet darkness beyond our windows, so different from the fierce sunlight of the day and its illumination. And I wonder: what really happens out there, after the sun slithers behind the … Read more...
It’s no secret that I love my job. Becoming a reptile keeper at the Knoxville Zoo last year was a dream come true. Incredible things happen there every day, and I’m so honored to be a part of it.
We … Read more...
I’ve been on a bit of a scavenger hunt lately for the majestic Crested Saguaros.
It all started about a year ago when I realized that the misshapen form I saw on a distant hill (from my kitchen window) was … Read more...
Mighty Saguaro bones. I didn’t realize, until I was culling through my photo library, that I appear to have a fascination with decaying saguaros. It seems my camera gravitates toward them, capturing their unique personalities, even in death.
There is … Read more...
"introspective character-driven women's fiction with smart writing"
I first discovered Sonja Yoerg when her nonfiction book about animal intelligence, CLEVER AS A FOX, popped up on Goodreads (“How interesting!” said the animal lover in me). I was fascinated by … Read more...
Those of us who feasted on a diet of Looney Tunes and Doritos each Saturday morning as children probably grew up thinking that those funny desert plants zipping past the roadrunner and coyote were all pretty much the same: deep … Read more...
When we think of fresh fruits and vegetables, we immediately think “healthy.” And not about actually feeling better. We think more about all the work — storing, cleaning, chopping, slicing, cooking that it takes to prepare them, and less about … Read more...
The first few times it happened in 2008, it was a mystery. We’d awake to the hummingbird feeder completely drained each morning, nectar splashed against the window.
So we set up our Cudde camera. And what we suspected was true:… Read more...
Desert dwellers are accustomed to the monsoon season and the rain it ushers in, a glass of water raised to cracked, thirsty lips.
We also know that with rain, the normally dry riverbed near our home begins to ebb and … Read more...
My goal yesterday, when I set out with my friend and hiking buddy Kathy, was to show her a secret hot spring in the middle of the desert (shared with me earlier by buddy Roxanne).
The plan was to drive … Read more...
About a month ago I was able to see the wild horses of Corolla, North Carolina for the first time. What a sight they are to watch in their natural habitat.
Our guide told us that the wild horses came … Read more...
This morning, as I am concluding my daily jog, I come up over a little hill – pushing myself to finish strong as I run faster on that last stretch of desert earth. My shoes are crunching away, I’m breathing … Read more...
As bipedal, thinking creatures, we seem to crave order. Predictability and patterns alleviate apprehension for most and help us get from point A to point B.
If you look at the natural world, it seems to yearn for the … Read more...
In 2012 the world lost something unique. I wanted take a minute to remember Lonesome George.
He was the last of his kind, the sole representative of the Pinta Island subspecies of Galapagos tortoise. A $10,000 reward was offered to … Read more...
Sometimes you only think you’re taking one for the team.
It’s Spring Break. I know. Technically, it’s not even Spring. I don’t get to make these decisions. When given an entire week of nothing, I’ve learned it’s good to plan … Read more...
"…think Hitchcock’s PSYCHO meets THE BIRDS with flashes of humor -- and spiders."
I have a rather compulsive habit of downloading books to my e-reader, so it was no surprise when I SPIDER joined the masses on my kindle after … Read more...
Can there be such a thing as cow boredom?
I have a special fondness for cows. My grandparents were dairy farmers, so as a child I had ample opportunity to watch cows’ inaction. And no, that is not a typo. … Read more...