In this season of pandemic, while we humans – hundreds of millions (billions?) of us – adapt to sheltering-in-place, self-isolation and quarantines, we have a unique opportunity to share the best of ourselves. Without lengthy commutes or events outside the home as part of our daily schedules, we have much more time at our disposal: […]

Ever heard of a “news desert”? It’s what happens when a county loses all of its newspapers – a reality for 200 American counties (12% of the USA). In less than twenty years, we’ve lost a quarter of our local newspapers. When we lose our local news, civic engagement decreases precipitously, and we collectively forget […]

Just when you thought it was safe to go birdwatching…guess again. Early morning walks in nature preserves home to feline (and other) predators can take sudden turns – and unwary hikers may find themselves in rather precarious situations. Such was the case when I went on a birding tour in the Nepali Western Terai. The […]

Question: What do an airplane crash, a Nez Perce mound, a Nepali leopard, an insectivorous bat, and terrestrial ecological food webs have in common? Answer: each one forms the basis of a story that different sets of literary editors chose to represent their best published works (for a given year) by nominating the essay for […]

Come join me in Bali! (Underwater, in the northwest corner of Bali, to be exact.) Where wily critters commit outrageous acts, both visible and invisible to the naked eye. The air is tinged with salt, the light gauzy as the Balinese sun opens its eyelids. A kingfisher shrieks, swoops, perches with quarry. Omnivorous deer graze […]

Poetry brings us together, slows us down, blows our minds like fluffy puffs of dandelion becoming airborne and dancing off in all directions. In Mendocino county, poets gather in art galleries and hotel lobbies, after-hours in restaurants, and in friends’ living rooms. If we are lucky, poet/DJ/educator Dan Roberts shows up with his recording equipment […]