It is fantastic to finally have a full day of sunshine again! When my brother came to visit he was concerned about the drought from the dry summer here, since he planned to hike and camp along a local river. He casually wished for rain, wanting the river to be […]

World Animal Day was started in 1931 by ecologists in Italy to raise awareness of endangered species, with the current emphasis on the welfare of animals around the world. October 4 was chosen as the feast day of Francis of Assisi who is the patron saint of animals, though the […]

My aunt was a nature photographer, and often emphasized the human element in her photos. Most of her hikes and travels were done with my uncle who would obligingly pose in her photos, most often in the foreground looking pensively off into her landscape. Perhaps it was a fashion of […]

There are not too many garden flowers that linger into October, but one of my favorites is wand flower. I planted this at my first home many years ago when I lived in central North Carolina, and have enjoyed it in many gardens since. In its native home in Mexico […]

The birth of impressionism had an unpromising start. The critic Louis Leroy coined the term impressionist in the title of his unflattering review of Monet’s painting ‘Impression, Sunrise’ which he concluded saying, “Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that seascape.” Impressionism was partly a response to photography, […]

I travel back and forth between the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina quite a bit. My navigation system assures me the drive should be only a bit over an hour, but I have never achieved that pace. I blame it on the scenic overlooks beckoning me to pull over […]

In terms of migratory drama, monarchs are the diminutive wildebeests of the sky. They are the only butterflies that make a two-way migration like birds. But no single butterfly makes the entire journey. Instead it is like a relay race, with four generations passing the butterfly baton in order to […]

In terms of migratory drama, monarchs are the diminutive wildebeests of the sky. They are the only butterflies that make a two-way migration like birds. But no single butterfly makes the entire journey. Instead it is like a relay race, with four generations passing the butterfly baton in order to […]

When three celestial objects are aligned, it is known as syzygy, which also is a good scrabble word if you have no vowels. Late last night into early this morning the earth threw a shadow as it came between the sun and moon. “But wait! There’s more!” Like a high-pressure […]