Just a few days ago it was 67 degrees here! Here, as in cold upstate NY here. It actually felt hot outside, and people were walking around in shorts and tee shirts. I know this is supposed to be from El Nino, but it’s just downright weird. So weird that I can’t even fully enjoy the balmy temperatures. It’s the middle of January for pete’s sake! It’s supposed to be in the teens with lots of white stuff on the … Read More
Last night the wolves called my name.
Not the name I now carry,
but the one I was known by,
a million winters ago.
How they knew it was me I am not sure,
for I knew it not myself,
but part of me knew,
and part of me answered,
“Come, my brothers, let us run together,
Let us weave the patches of moonlight
into a story, written on
the fresh fallen snow.
For the world in sunlight to know… Read More
I needed to get a tool out of the garage to finish a project I was working on. As I turned on the light, there was a bat flying low and circling around the garage. Then it starting flying around the light. I quickly opened the garage door, waved my arms and yelled, “No, not the light! Go to the dark! Go to the dark!”
Guess it’s all a matter of perspective…… Read More
Twice a day, for the past few weeks, the Canadian Geese have been flying overhead from the fields to the lake and back again, as they work to store up food.
Morning and evening, hundreds of them decorate the sky like fluid strands of necklaces. There are so many of them that I can hear the concussion of their wings beating the air like drums. They honk in chorus, flying in formation, getting ready to sing their way south.
The … Read More
I love to hike in the woods. Before Cait was born, Kiera-1 and I’d take off and be gone the whole day– I’d pack a lunch, bring a book to read, carry some water, and we’d be set — just her and me in the middle of nature. There was nothing I loved more.
The first time I tried to take Cait hiking with me, she was just four. It was an abysmal failure. I’d made the mistake of forcing … Read More
The wild turkeys are back — for the first time in several years!
When we first moved here fifteen years ago, they beat a regular path through our property. Then the coyotes moved in. I thought that was the end of them. I’m so happy that they’ve made a comeback! And that they’re once again part of our little wild kingdom.… Read More
Cait has been pretty lucky with her teachers so far; they’ve all been good for her. This year is her luckiest yet. She has a teacher who loves the outdoors as much as she loves teaching kids. Every year, this teacher takes her class to the Nature Trails as part of her science unit. She uses nature to help bring science alive.
Today, for the second of several trips, Cait’s class spent an hour hiking through the woods, observing and … Read More
Like dogs, I find that people fall into two main categories–those who look down and those who look up. By down I mean looking at what’s in front of us–the earthly things. By up I mean looking at what’s up in the sky–the vision of things happening overhead.
Like Graidy, who, as part bird dog, instinctively looks up to find movement (as contrasted by Kiera, my herder, who instinctively looks down and around for movement) I’ve always been drawn to … Read More
