Below are some of my writings on wildlife, in the form of essays and memoir. Pieces that are found elsewhere online will only show a snippet followed by a link to the website where it was first published
Fade into Autumn
The dying brilliance of a fallen flower slowly wilting, reminder of impending autumn, even as the thermometer denies that possibility. High above, life-lined to its tree, a surviving comrade provides nourishment for a late migrating hummingbird.
Read the full piece at Cosmic Daffodil ‘Natura’ E-book collection
Too little, too much, never just right
You arrive home to southwest New Mexico, having been dust stormed in Oregon, and snowed and rained into submission in Wyoming, barely escaping before floods blew out monstrous chunks of land along the Yellowstone River. Still, there were warm, sunny days in Idaho and Colorado.
Read the full piece at Still Point Arts Quarterly
A Whale Alone
A few lights shine in the tent we use as our base of operations. They are far enough away to ignore. The only sound is Alex’s breathing; a sharp whoosh when his head clears the water, his blowhole snapping open, forcing air out, followed by a gentle inhalation, ending with a soft slap as it closes before he sinks underwater again.
Read the full piece at Split Rock Review
The Pursuit of Fish
We stop along the Denali Highway. Here, in Rock Creek, are Arctic grayling. Ian can’t resist. He casts, the spinning of his reel intrudes on the stream’s mumblings and the quiet conversations of birds in the trees overhead. I relax on the bank.
Backyard Invasion
- This piece first appeared in ‘Loon Magic and other night sounds’, published by Outrider Press, in affiliation with the Tallgrass Writer’s Guild.
Nestled in my favorite chair on the deck, I listen to the handful of birds not quite ready to give up on this warm summer night. A towhee commands ‘drink your tea, drink your tea’ from low in the bushes at the edge of the yard. A hermit thrush sings, his echoing vibrato calling from the forest. It is one of my favorite summer sounds.