I hadn’t been to the ocean in many years. So on a short trip to Los Angeles I determined to visit the coast. After a day in downtown, I escaped to the beach in Santa Monica, arriving just as the sun started to set. As I walked toward the beach, […]

  Snow was always magical to me when I was a kid. When it snowed at night, my sister, brother and I would go downstairs in our house, close the curtain behind us, and turn on a dim outdoor patio light. The glint from the bulb illuminated the snowflakes falling […]

Now is the heart of winter. Here in North Carolina, January is the coldest month. The land and especially water, which covers nearly three quarters of the earth’s surface, are slow to heat and cool. The seasonal lag means the coldest weather at least in the northern hemisphere is often […]

In forests and gardens, winter here is a time of drab palettes and stillness. The whispering leaves have long fallen, forming a tawny carpet on the ground. The insect chorus has been silenced by the cold, and lingering birds must rely mostly on fruit to get through the winter. In […]

Though California is currently grabbing the weather headlines with El Nino, I am finding North Carolina is having a less publicized but very wet winter as well. Far from being discouraged, I am inspired by the new views this watery world provides. Generally my camera stays dry, but I end […]

As a new year starts, thoughts turn to the promise of fresh beginnings. The ancient Black Mountains here in North Carolina are usually cloaked in the thick foliage of hardwood trees. Now that the leaves have fallen, the contours of the land can be seen. What was hidden most of […]

For the second year, the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville has a special display called Winter Lights. Jerry Stripling, the former designer and manager for holiday decorations at Walt Disney World, retired and brought his magic here. Powered by a mile of extension cords, the energy efficient display of over […]

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa or whatever else you may celebrate! I hope you are all having a wonderful end of 2015! This bear delivered my holiday books for me. I can’t resist nature field guides, since identifying a plant or animal opens a new world of knowledge. He […]

With temperatures well above normal this month in much of the eastern US, there are still green leaves in New York City, cherry trees are blooming in Washington DC, and in my home turf of the southern Appalachian mountains, there are still a few dabs of color left in the […]