At just under a mile high, Hurricane Ridge experiences both the strong winds it is named for and the possibility of snow pretty much any time of year. Looking closely, the rock that forms the Olympic Mountains developed under the sea, with marine fossils on top of the peaks. […]

I am currently in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for my second visit this month. I have been here on and off the past couple weeks, with highly intermittent Internet access. After becoming used to the lack of Instagram and email, I am enjoying being immersed in the moment […]

I am named for my father’s sister, Ruth Happel Smiley, who for most of her life worked on the gardens at Mohonk Mountain House in upstate NY. I am very much her namesake, as her love of gardening, nature and photography inspired my own interests. However, I don’t have the […]

April is the peak of wildflower bloom where I live. The earliest spring ephemerals have already come and gone, braving late snows and bitter winds. They have been replaced with a steady succession now at its riotous peak, with dozens of species forming a colorful display as varied and beautiful […]

  I had joined Instagram for quite a while but only made my first post almost exactly a year ago, in support of a friend with ALS. I met Gary shortly after moving to Tennessee, and shared his enthusiasm for hiking and the outdoors. He amazed me with stories about […]

  After returning from Texas I took a short trip to South Carolina, finding spring had arrived there before me. I was thrilled to find this tree in full bloom, its sweet fragrance filling the air. It took me back to my childhood, and a magnificent saucer magnolia planted in […]

Many years ago driving across the country I caught a glimpse of a whooping crane on migration. Ever since then, I have wanted to get a better look at this endangered bird. I decided this was the year, and am just back from the 20th annual Port Aransas whooping crane […]

  When I studied monkeys and tropical rainforests, I missed the four seasons. True, for a naturalist, there is little to compare with the riot of jungle life. But having grown up with the rhythm of change, it was strange adjusting to places that had only two seasons – dry […]

February is winter’s battleground, a month reluctantly moving toward spring. As the days grow longer, the sun gets stronger, but at night temperatures plunge and the forest returns to winter. For weeks now, snow falls, and melts, and falls again. Just last week on an unusually warm day I heard […]