tales from the wild metropolis
Sometimes you just need a change of scenery. Most years, snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus*) are homebodies, satisfied to stay put in the sweeping, flat, treeless tundra, even as calendar pages flip past the holidays and into a new tax season. Most of their snowbird neighbors take off each winter to visit second homes in warmer... Continue Reading →
Which season comes to mind when you read these words? parched desiccated shriveled arid sere If you’re a wild thing, the answer may well be winter. Sure, the heat of summer can make any body feel dry as dust. But wild animals, especially those species who can tolerate living near people, usually have an easier... Continue Reading →
Hard landings. Anyone who’s a frequent flyer has experienced a few. Always disconcerting, occasionally dangerous. My most memorable touchdown was a trip from College Station, Texas, into Albuquerque on an Embraer ERJ-XXX. I forget which number, but it was one of those 3-seats-across models. One by one, passengers ducked through the doorway and tried to... Continue Reading →
The holidays are well behind us now. Shorter days and Jack Frost nipping at your nose have lost their novelty. It’s the start of a more serious season, filled with snowplows, tire chains, and 10-pound sacks of litter that will never feel a kitty’s caress. In many parts of the northern hemisphere, it’s a long... Continue Reading →
Old Man Winter finally blew into my town earlier this week. I like sleeping with the window slightly open and he slipped silently past the softly snoring mini-blind sentry, fanning out across the bedroom carpet as a layer of gelid air ready to catch my bare feet off guard as they carelessly kicked back toasty... Continue Reading →
. At first, I didn't believe it. I certainly wasn't expecting it, and it seemed too good to be true. But there it was, in black-and-white. Steph at Ink Chromatography nominated Next-Door Nature for a Liebster Blog Award! As Steph explained it on her blog, the Liebster Award "celebrates up-and-coming... Continue Reading →
The holiday soundtrack, which retailers now begin to cue up before the Thanksgiving dinner plates have been cleared from the table, has a limited playlist. Even though the variety of artists covering these tunes is diverse, it doesn't take long for the music to become little more than background noise. However, there’s one tune that... Continue Reading →
Grab forty winks. Saw logs. For a species that’s habitually short on shut-eye, we humans sure have come up with myriad ways to talk about it. We also spend a lot of time and money studying sleep, or the lack thereof. Yet, in spite of decades of inquiry, researchers still don’t have a good fix... Continue Reading →
Next-Door Nature 