MOONING — 1) To wander about or pass time languidly and aimlessly. 2) To yearn or pine as if infatuated. 3) Slang, to expose one’s buttocks in public as a prank or disrespectful gesture. (The Free Dictionary) This week we experienced a rare lunar eclipse resulting in a blood moon — a red tint due […]
“Contact with nature in cities significantly reduces feelings of loneliness, according to a team of scientists … Loneliness is a major public health concern, their research shows, and can raise a person’s risk of death by 45% — more than air pollution, obesity or alcohol abuse.” ~ Damian Carrington It is well known that […]
“Hundreds of local projects to restore ecosystems on coastlines and mountains, in river valleys, forests, and grassy plains, have proved their worth in using restored nature to boost the resilience of millions of people to the ravages of onrushing climate change … Most are cheaper and more effective than any engineering alternatives, with more spinoff […]
It was usually apparent when you were nearing one of the farm ponds (we called them “tanks”) on the ranches we visited, hunted or fished when I was a kid. The ranchers ran cattle, usually semi-wild, and the pond was likely the only or nearest source of water. The cattle were drawn there and followed […]
In one of the most used and abused states in the nation, a small but growing number of conservationists have advanced a radical theory: Iowa is ripe for rewilding … “The solutions exist,” restoration ecologist Leland Searles said. “It’s a matter of allowing the solutions to happen.” ~ Stephen Robert Miller It’s spring and […]
“The 2020 analysis found that fences affect ecosystems on every scale, from decreasing insect abundance, because they give spiders ample places to build their webs, to impeding the long-distance migration of everything from wildebeests to mule deer. By concentrating animals more closely together than they might be in the wild, fences could increase disease transmission, […]
“We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a livable future. We have the tools and know-how required to limit warming. I am encouraged by climate action being taken in many countries.” ~ IPCC chair Hoesung Lee “It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C […]
People tend to see gardening as a hobby — an activity — but I think it’s primarily a relationship. Many gardeners speak of the importance of feeling part of something larger than themselves … This feeling of being part of the web of life. ~ Margaret Roach, quoting Dr. Sue Stuart-Smith The web of […]
I live on the edge of a metropolitan area. To the east are a couple of undeveloped mesas, some agricultural lands, and suburbs stretching the twenty miles or so into urban Denver. West, the mountains rise abruptly over two thousand feet in a couple of stages. The mountain face (Front Range) is mostly open, but […]
Gardening isn’t about plants, it’s about everything else: the soil, the insects, the birds, mammals and reptiles, and how you sit in this world. The plants are the final flourish, the gift of reciprocity from all the others. ~ Alys Fowler The weather seems to have turned from winter to the beginnings of spring. […]
Writes of Nature 