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 →
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 →
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans throw out 34 million tons of food each year—an average of 93 thousand tons per day, and some experts estimate the amount triples on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Food for thought, while making another trip to the garbage can following our national day of feasting. Waste not,... Continue Reading →
Could there be a holiday more representative of the true nature of American culture than Thanksgiving? Considered the least commercial of our national holidays, yet the true theme of the day is consumption. Family, food, and football are all available in quantities large enough to cause a bit of indigestion. Moreover, the entire event is... Continue Reading →
Sometimes you just need to shut out the world for a while, you know? If you can’t relate, I know the eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) certainly can. Whether the threat is carnivores or towers of cardboard boxes and a demanding career, there are times when nothing beats a little self-imposed solitary confinement. Carrying... Continue Reading →
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. An astute observation by the Bard, but a bit misleading. Had Will but ventured beyond the Globe Theater’s door he may have realized that humans aren’t the only animals who have acting chops. I’m not talking about critters who pose in front... Continue Reading →
Look at your feet. You are standing in the sky. When we think of the sky we tend to look up, but the sky actually begins at the earth. ~ Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses I got tangled up in pieces of the sky this morning. Not on purpose, mind you.... Continue Reading →
Next-Door Nature 