As usual, I opened the door to Mom’s apartment, where I am staying, and found the local newspaper on the floor outside. Today, the newspaper headline shrieked: “Vote Delayed on Troubled Health Care Bill”. For once, some good news. I have insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and I love it. The system is…
Hey, we were here first. Now, this gray-haired Annie Oakley tries to push us around. No one sent her the memo. We are young bulls taking a summer break from college and gainfully employed as the lawn mowers and picnic table maintenance crew for the campground. In fact, we are under contract with the NFS…
Just this morning I was bragging about this easy, low-stress job.Then, a few hours later, one of our campers goes missing. I met him and his wife on my rounds last night. They sleep in a tent, and I estimate their age at around mid-80s. Anyway, they drove up to a trailhead above us…
December! How did that happen? The usual seasonal holiday cues missed me in my Florida forest. So, the only thing significant about December this year is that my volunteer gig ends next week. Yes, time has passed too quickly. I will always remember the fascinating creatures I encountered. Every day, I watched animal movements and…
I love to collect bones, feathers, and junk while hiking. In other ecosystems, I find small bits of bone, and an occasional feather. Human detritus along my trails includes sunglasses, a flip-flop, and shotgun shells. In ND, bones litter the prairies and I can spot them easily. Here are my prizes from this summer. Snake…
We set out on a stunning late fall day to go fishing, heading west in search of a small lake that Don has not been to in 50+ years. He has childhood memories of catching bullheads, a local catfish and wanted to share the experience with me. As always, the deal is, you clean em,…
A lovely blue sky this morning, and the winter scene has melted away. A heat wave–50 degree days–replaces yesterday’s cold air blast. Still, my little fireplace warms my feet and disperses the early morning chill. At lunch yesterday, I drive out to a nearby lake/park. My goal is to walk, enjoy the winter scene, and scout…
Sometimes people who name mountains choose a descriptive and/or dominant attribute. Consider the Rocky Mountains, which are rocky. The Smoky Mountains, with their smoke-like fog. The Snowy Range—a small range within the Rockies—appears snow covered every month of the year. At other times, the mountain names seem arbitrary—like the White Mountains, which are not…
While on my sabbatical I read several articles about birds whose populations are getting out of control and/or thriving in places where they never could before. One article talked about Ravens now living in the Nevada desert because they can nest on the cross-country electrical lines, telephone poles and other man-made structures. This morning, I…
I have said before that I have a wild life jinx. When I am looking for interesting critters, everything takes off, or a rare species dives into the thick brush, or a purple-eyed peeper flies off just as I come around the corner. I experience the same jinx here. In an area with abundant wildlife,…