tales from the wild metropolis
It isn't easy being green. Kermit the Frog said it, so you know it has to be true. He's always seemed a reluctant celebrity, so my guess is that being the most famous Muppet-amphibian on the planet isn't always a picnic. I wonder whether life would be a little less stressful if, like some of... Continue Reading →
Maybe Bobby McFerrin was a house wren (Troglodytes aedon) in a previous life. This thought popped into my mind when, after listening to On Being's Krista Tippett interview the singer, I went out for a walk with my canine companion. We hadn't made it too far down the sunny trail when we were suddenly drenched... Continue Reading →
I don't live far from the eclipse's Path of Totality, but I decided to stay put just the same. I didn't even order eclipse glasses. I know there will be plenty of great video to watch throughout the day, and since my sweetheart is a talented professional videographer, I feel like I've got that angle... Continue Reading →
Supermarket tabloids love just-like-us features so they pay paparazzi top dollar to catch somebodies acting like nobodies. Today I'm focused on the Towhees. They like to keep a low profile but I'm a pro and I know how to find them. First Rule of Papping: Ya can't tell the players without a scorecard! It also... Continue Reading →
Terrier-boy transformed into a velociraptor before my very eyes! We were walking along, minding our own business, when a momentary ruffling of leaves on the side of the pavement captured Dash's attention and instinct took over... head periscopes right... ears swivel forward, nostrils flare... field of vision narrows, eyes become lasers... muscles tense into compressed... Continue Reading →
But never met this Fellow, Attended or alone, Without a tighter Breathing, and Zero at the Bone. Unlike Emily Dickinson, ophiophobia isn't an issue for me. I like snakes and know them to be upstanding ecosystem citizens... umm, ok, upstanding probably isn't the best descriptor for creatures without legs but you get my drift. Of... Continue Reading →
Identifying songbirds by their calls is not my forte. Sure, I can distinguish most common backyard residents with distinctive voices, including mourning doves (Coo.... coo, coo), Carolina chickadees (Fee-bee-fee-bay or chickadee-dee-dee), American robins (Cheerily, cheer-up, cheer-up! Cheerily, cheer-up!!), red-winged blackbirds (Conk-la-ree!), and the northern cardinal (Birdie, birdie, birdie! Cheer, cheer, cheer! — no wonder the... Continue Reading →
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) aren't usually considered an urban wildlife species but I'd come a long way and wanted to see them while I was in South Africa. The built environment just doesn't have the amenities Earth's largest living terrestrial mammal needs to feel at home. Africa's elephants prefer dense forests, woodlands, deserts, and even... Continue Reading →
Next-Door Nature 