tales from the wild metropolis
[In honor of (and with apologies to) Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss.] On February the fourth, 'neath skies colored gray, In the dimming light, at the end of the day, He was walking, the sights and smells thrilling, When Dashiell the terrier heard a low trilling. Life is better with a little Next-Door Nature—click the... Continue Reading →
One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy. Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret, Never to be told. Eight for a wish, Nine for a kiss, Ten for a bird, You must not miss.* One... I'll concede to the prognosticating poet who wrote this traditional... Continue Reading →
On frosty mornings, Mercury is uncharacteristically slow to leave that snug thermometer bulb... and I can't say I blame him. I've been in no hurry to leave my own cozy bed since Winter hit town back in early November. However, my terrier and personal trainer, Dashiell Riprock, is stubbornly insistent about our regularly scheduled morning... Continue Reading →
My wire fox terrier and I were walking along a favorite path on a cool autumn morning. Stopping to investigate a patch of tall plants clinging to the steep sides of a ridge that used to carry Virginia Anthracite Coal and Rail Company trains, I leaned in to get a closer look at the bright... Continue Reading →
Arrrggghhh! I can NOT get that song out of my head!! I don't know where I heard it, maybe the grocery store's Music to Inspire Endcap Impulse Purchases station. It's familiar but definitely not a favorite. I have eclectic musical tastes that span eras and genres, so why is it that my cranial jukebox defaults... Continue Reading →
Everyone has their own personal markers of summer—the flash of a firefly, the pulsing hum of cicadas, the aroma of freshly cut grass... I'm sure you have a favorite. To my mind, nothing says summer quite as definitively as the sight of chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagic) foraging overhead. These small, sleek birds have belonged to... Continue Reading →
As the most literal of helicopter parents, a ruby-throated hummingbird mom (RTH, Archilochus colubris) takes hovering to a whole new competitive level. In the case of this feathered sprite (2.8 - 3.5" long, including bill, and just over 1/10 of an ounce), though, the word "hover" has more to do with the ability to fly... Continue Reading →
They say necessity is the mother of invention — I guess that's why spiders found a clever way to order in, long before Kroger and Amazon began to lug customer's grub. Not even a Costco cart is big enough to satisfy arachnid appetites but spiders rule when it comes to home food delivery. You see,... Continue Reading →
Next-Door Nature 