nature | nature
Jul.12.2009
The clouds in the notch between the Absarokas and the Crazies, where the Yellowstone River abruptly turns east, are mauve and pink when I leave the cabin. Jupiter shines directly overhead and Venus is bright and round above the saddle of Livingston Peak. The route I take is steep: first down and...
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Jul.07.2009
When I glanced out the window, a moose stood next to the picnic table. This isn't an unusual occurrence: the picnic table is in the middle of an old roadbed that originates in the meadow to the west. We've blocked the road with boulders to prevent vehicles from using it, but the path is still...
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Jul.06.2009
Open letter to Sue Cobb, author of THE EDGE OF EVEREST, (Stackpole Books, 1989)Am breathless, though @ sea level. Your book absolutely stunned me. In your straightforward way, you brought me right to your side on the mountain and let me peek into your soul. Often I would reread a paragraph, page,...
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Jul.02.2009
This summer I'm working on a novel that's set in the Crazy Mountains. The Crazies are a small but gorgeous range famous for impossibly blue lakes surrounded by rugged peaks, and meadows filled with every color and shape of wildflower imaginable: monkey flowers that mimic snapdragons, an orchid...
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Jun.26.2009
Yesterday, a friend was venting: "Those damn rabbits are ruining my garden! They don't just eat the plants -- they're devouring the flowers, the seeds, even the seed pack labels! The next rabbit that I see, so help me God if I don't smash its head in with a spade!"
I commiserated with...
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Jun.26.2009
My calendar is full, except for Wednesdays. I reserved that day for myself. I pack a light lunch and my mountain bike and drive into the National Forest somewhere where I will probably not see anyone else. Then I take a closed or unmaintained road and ride as far as I can. My day usually includes...
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Jun.22.2009
Just wanted to say hi, in the middle of our move, there has been some up and downs. I hope to get back to writing. So much work.
Hope every one has a good start to their summer. It is in the high 30's here, to hot to do much work out side, also to unpacked our vehicles. One more run back to...
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Jun.22.2009
Now that it's officially summer, I've got the urge to walk. Not just for a couple of miles or even ten or twenty, but to take off for days on end and hike to a place so remote that I won't see another human being the entire time I'm out. I never tell anyone where I'm going. I'm always afraid...
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Jun.20.2009
The Surinam toad is one nature's most unusual creatures. It's actually a frog, which spends its entire life cycle in tropical South American rivers and canals.
With its flattened body and triangular head, it can easily be mistaken for leafy debris while waiting patiently for a meal to swim by--...
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Jun.16.2009
The Gooseberry Family
You might not know this family, but Mrs. Gooseberry can cook. Mr. Gooseberry builds fabulous birdhouses and bonfires. The boy tells grand stories. All three living among flame colored birds and a stream in back, brisk and swollen with fish. In spring mushrooms hide in their...
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