tales from the wild metropolis
Early Thursday morning, a sound came blasting through dreams and memory to my sleeping brain. It’s been years—decades even—since I lived in Tornado Alley, where April brings showers, The Wizard of Oz on television, and being hustled into the basement at all hours of the day and night. But when the emergency siren wailed just... Continue Reading →
This week’s focus on the holidays of two major religions, not to mention some events in my own life, had me thinking about endings that actually turn out to be the start of something new and unexpected. My spiritual vocabulary is more deeply rooted in the biological than the Biblical, so when I think of... Continue Reading →
Obviously, she hasn’t looked at the calendar recently or Mother Nature would know the vernal equinox has come and gone, and there should not be tiny snowflakes drifting past my window on this grizzled April morning. It’s enough to make a gal want to hibernate a while longer. Crawling back into my quilted den, thoughts... Continue Reading →
Racing past a nearby pond, I mistook the bird for an art installation. I realized my error quickly enough once I downshifted. Then again, there’s just something so painterly about a great blue heron (Ardea herodias). The graceful, sinuous lines; the aqueous blues and grays; the plumage, evocative as a brush stroke. The unhurried disposition... Continue Reading →
Gazing blearily through coffee steam, a ghostly figure wafting through the early morning haze caught Lisa’s eye. “At first, it was just a ginger-orange and white shadow, and I thought, “Oh, no… another stray cat.” The specter became more substantial as it moved closer. “I saw that it wasn’t a cat after all. It stopped... Continue Reading →
Stepping onto the sidewalk for a pre-breakfast stroll with Dash, my terrier, I saw a shimmering calligraphy on the concrete up ahead. Now, I live in a large apartment community in a college town so I’ve learned that it’s important to watch where you step on Monday mornings, but this didn’t look like party residue.... Continue Reading →
Walking near the central drill field on campus earlier this week, I happened upon the beginning of a mid-afternoon performance to celebrate the arrival of spring. The American Robin Ballet Company had taken their places on the lawn, dark taupe cloaks and carmine waistcoats vivid against the peridot-and-buff turf. They appeared frozen in place, waiting... Continue Reading →
My mole Tboy (that’s spy, not insectivore) tells me Valentine’s Day has had its intended effect on the wood frog population in southwestern Virginia. On February 18th the first early-bird male appeared at a nearby pond, floating patiently and quietly. Four days later, 50 guys had found their way to the gene pool and were... Continue Reading →
Next-Door Nature 