Novelist | Singer
Is this you? Born between WWII and 1990, some semblance of white middle class, educated beyond middle/high school, house owner, car owner (maybe multiple), steady job, possibly retirement plans in place. Then you–and I–hit the Sweet Spot. This is not intended to brag, shame, or judge. It could be a slap on the forehead, the…
Among my choicest green practices is the meditative task of hanging laundry. I do have a dryer, but use it only sparingly and in the winter, but my clothesline dangles laundry even in January if the weather is favorable. Even frozen clothes dry eventually. I was in high school before my parents bought a clothes…
I search out the plover mom and the chicks in the creek, just south of Good Harbor Beach, where tidal water fills and empties twice daily from the marsh. I almost step on them in my quest. They are huddled in a shallow trench that someone dug into the wet sand. The mom breaks and…
Extraordinary things can happen as long as we focus on doing little ordinary tasks every day. Trent Preszler—episode on CBS Sunday Morning I’m over 60 now, and at times I feel I haven’t accomplished much in life, particularly when I watch a show like CBS Sunday Morning and witness the incredible lives of notable individuals…
Last Day of March. Most of my garden has been cleaned. Only the edges of the driveway remain cocooned in last year’s leaves, a heavy blanket that resists the rake. Those shielding leaves take their job seriously, layering perfectly in alternate patterns, allowing the spring rain to percolate through. When the emerging shoots are finally…
Wild encounters are magical for those who love wild surroundings and their native residents. I often find myself talking to birds, deer, woodchucks and other animals as easily as chatting with someone in line at a supermarket. The craving for these experiences has led me to episodes which live in my brain like an old…
In 1968, an event occurred that shaped the rest of my life. My father took a Camp Director position at Camp Perkins in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho for the summer. We pulled our houseboat, The Tortoise with our 1964 Ford Galaxy all the way from southeastern Kansas to Idaho, across the Great Plains and…
I witnessed the death of a white pine today. And while most people have seen a tree fall, there is generally someone nearby brandishing a chainsaw. This was different. I had joined a Forest Bathing session—the practice of Shinrin-yoku born in Japan more than 30 years ago. The practice was created to address social issues…
Today, amid the busyness that is a normal job in a normal life, I escaped from my head long enough to remind myself how really good life is, and how we are given guardians and f riends when we most need them. It is January, and the time of year that I most think of…
I was recently in the Bahamas to escape at least part of the winter. I don’t mind winter, just the length of it, so even a bit of away is a bonus. We sail and fish, and I spend a great deal of time just sitting and looking and pondering the amazing world in which…