Before church on Sunday, a parishioner ran in and asked me, “Did you see the flock of robins in your yard?”Yes, I had. The day before, sometime between lunch and dinnertime, about a dozen robins arrived in my front yard. The berries on the tree that fed the Cedar Waxwings all winter was the lure.…
Well, I have to finish my story about the first camping trip before I can share all the wonderful birding adventures I have had since then. This place is unreal, and the bird peak is not really here. But first, a week ago, on my second night camping, I experienced 25-degree temps. I have a…
The northern migration along the central fly way is proceeding con gusto. I downloaded lists of which birds are in the area, which are moving on, and which are about to arrive. But, more fun than the lists: driving around Kidder County for a “look see”! Kidder County is a top ten North American birding…
Flying Cloud and Half-Moon Ride Again! My camper Half-Moon has been in the garage all winter. The garage ceiling is so tall that I can fully set up the camper. This has made getting ready to roll much easier. Been rounding up all the gear: dishes, food, clothes, electronics, reading material, chair, bedding, campfire…
Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese term that means “forest bathing.” Those who regularly sit out in nature claim that spending time in forests and other natural areas is a form of preventative medicine. How? Forest bathing reduces stress, which in turn promotes better health. Apparently the positive effects of forest bathing have a scientific explanation. Trees…
During my sabbatical trip last summer, I bought a zero-gravity lounge chair from Cabelas (Billings, MT). My other chair was uncomfortable, the bed in my camper was awful, and I ached from head-to-toe. I needed to solve those problems so I could sleep in the camper and lounge outdoors during the day, for 6 weeks.…
Some headlines from my morning news feed: “Coca-Cola is removing a chemical linked with fire retardants from all its drinks by the end of the year” “Dunkin’ Donuts to remove titanium dioxide from donuts” Yesterday I wrote about Ringling Brothers agreeing to eliminate elephants from its show. Truthfully, every day, I read encouraging stories about…
As a child I often visited my Dad in NYC. One of our favorite outings was to see the Ringling Brothers Circus at Madison Square Garden. I remember the lumbering elephants, foo-foo dogs, clowns in tiny cars and sparkly acrobats swinging on ropes and walking the tightrope. Tigers in cages! Bears in tutus! Hot dogs,…
A few weeks ago I felt bogged down in an endless, long, northern winter. I managed to escape to Denver for 4 days but encountered a snow storm the last day and flew home to minus 20 degrees. My Denver sweet-ums Cooked a favorite dinner: Cuban pork, yellow rice, and black beans In an…