Dogs and Nature

As a dog owner for most of my life, I certainly appreciate the affection that humans have for their dogs. Domesticated 12,000 years ago, do...

A Hint of Color

Driving down to the Lake of the Ozarks today, the fading greens of the September landscape were still dominant, broken only by the yellow of...

Georg Steller

To naturalists, the name "Steller" evokes images of northern forests, rocky shorelines and cold Pacific waters. Born in Germany, G...

Colorado Gold

While gold nuggets brought prospectors and settlers to Colorado in the mid 1800s, gold leaves are what bring back many visitors each year. P...

The Early Ducks

Blue-winged teal and their western cousins, the cinnamon teal, are the first North American waterfowl to begin their autumn migration. By l...

Salmon Farms

On our last day in Vancouver, an article in the Globe and Mail explored the controversy surrounding salmon farming in British Columbia. Ini...

Science and Legend

During our visit to Vancouver Island, we took a boat tour of the Broken Islands National Park, south of Ucluelet. Though marketed as a wildl...

Birding the Island

Despite the spectacular scenery, fair weather, varied habitats and interesting mammals, my birding experience on Vancouver Island was somewh...

Vancouver Island

Like the many other exotic terrains that, collectively, make up the western portion of North America, Vancouver Island drifted in on oceanic...

Earth from the Air

A trip to British Columbia kept me away from my blog for the past week but, as do most vacations, gave me plenty of topics to discuss. Flyin...

Red Banners of Fall

Among the earliest of fall colors are the bright, orange-red banners of the sumac, which often begin to brighten the landscape by late Augus...

Shifting Pressure

Since the massive earthquake off northwestern Sumatra triggered a deadly tsunami in December, 2004, a series of 20 or more major quakes have...

Davisdale

As I have discussed in previous blogs, I prefer conservation areas and other naturalized preserves to the people-friendly environment of nat...

A Deluge of Records

Several decades ago, we received our weather reports from a local radio or TV celebrity. On occasion, after an especially hot day or frigid ...

Fall Arrives

Though the autumn equinox is still almost two weeks away, fall has arrived in Columbia. Yesterday, after a mild morning, steady north winds...

Garter Snakes

Well known to naturalists and gardeners, garter snakes are the most common and widespread snakes in North America. Represented by fours spec...

Sierra Madre Monarchs

American naturalists have long recognized that monarch butterflies migrate southward in the fall but they had no idea whether they wintered ...

Cuckoos

Despite their value to gardeners, fruit growers and arborists, cuckoos are unknown to most Americans; only birders and naturalists are famil...

Lunar Seasons

Current scientific evidence suggests that the moon formed 4.5 billion years ago when a small planet collided with the Earth. This collision ...

Craig's Crime

The recent political turmoil surrounding Senator Larry Craig of Idaho highlights the hypocrisy that pervades our Government and our society....

A Record Setting Trio

When Felix slammed into Nicaragua and Honduras yesterday, it was the first time in recorded weather history that two category 5 hurricanes m...

Twilight Spectacle

Those of us who have been wildlife watchers for many years usually know what to anticipate when we head outdoors at any given time of year. ...

Harvestmen

Often called daddy longlegs or haymakers, harvestmen are most often encountered in late summer or early fall. Most hatch from eggs in the sp...

Purple and Gold

In early September, the fields and prairies of the Midwest are adorned with patches of purple and gold. Ironweed, blazing star and late thi...

Following Summer

Just as the first wave of autumn air has moved into Missouri, the nighthawks are drifting southward, bound for a winter in the Tropics. Dep...