Hurricane Paloma

The development of a hurricane requires warm ocean water, a hot, humid environment and light, upper-level winds. During the peak of the Atl...

Winter Songsters

Once the summer residents head south and cold, gray weather invades the Heartland, the sound of birdsong nearly disappears until late Februa...

Pinwheel on the Plains

A potent winter storm has been lumbering across the Northern Plains over the past two days. Like a giant pinwheel, the central low pressure...

The Nature of Racism

Man evolved in East Africa about 125,000 years ago and, for the first 70,000 years of our existence, virtually all humans were dark-skinned;...

Nature and the Election

As an Independent, I am a social liberal and a fiscal conservative. But, as an environmentalist, I usually support the Democrats and, in thi...

Mid Plate Earthquakes

Most earthquakes originate along the edge of the tectonic plates where compression, friction or subduction occur. Other common sites are al...

Smithville Lake

Smithville Lake is a large reservoir north of Kansas City, Missouri. Stretching north to south above the east wall of the Missouri River Val...

November in Missouri

Despite its reputation for cold, gray, blustery days, November offers its fair share of pleasant weather in Missouri. In most years, the wa...

The Halloween Hunters

As if on cue, the distinctive call of a barred owl pierced the predawn darkness this Halloween morning. Owls, after all, are the quintessen...

Pleistocene Land Bridges

During the Pleistocene "Ice Age," which began 2 million years ago, four major glaciations occurred, separated by warm interglacial...

Children and Conservation

Children are the hope of mankind. They are the most compelling reason to end war, combat discrimination, eliminate suffering and foster fre...

Midwest Wind Tunnel

Northwest winds raked the Midwest yesterday afternoon and continued into the night. Produced by a strong pressure gradient between high pre...

Rifts, Geography and Time

Over its 4.6 billion-year history, the surface of our planet has been steadily changing; the size, shape and position of our oceans and cont...

The Big Chill

Yesterday's rain was the leading edge of a cold front that has pushed on to the southeast. High pressure behind the front has brought c...

Water Therapy

Water has a calming effect on most people. Waterscapes, from pounding surf to placid lakes to whitewater streams, are popular destinations ...

Human Nature

We humans, like other animals, are products of our genes and everything that we do in our lives is devoted, in some way, to their preservati...

Dusk on the Beach

One evening last week, my wife and I walked out to the beach to watch the sunset on the Gulf of Mexico. Though we missed the main event, a ...

Ghost Crabs

Residents of sandy beaches, ghost crabs live in burrows that they dig along the seaward edge of the dune line. These burrows are up to four...

A Feast at Low Tide

Yesterday morning, a low tide had doubled the width of the beach on Longboat Key. Broad sandflats spread toward the calm Gulf, cut by braid...

A Retreat to Summer

Just as the autumn colors are spreading and the first winter storm is pushing out of the Rockies, we'll be retreating to summer for the ...

Western Snow

The first major snowstorm of the season pushed into the Northern Rockies and Intermountain West, yesterday, dumping up to a foot of snow. W...

The Dow and the Hawk

Yesterday afternoon, I returned to my office, logged onto CNN and found that the Dow had dropped another 800 points. Preferring to ignore th...

The Ferocious Loner

Ferocious yet reclusive, wolverines inhabit the vast northern forests of Russia, Europe and North America; the North American subspecies, wh...

The Contrarian Bird

As the first hints of winter blow across North America, many birds begin their migration to southern climes. Those dependent on insects or ...

Heaven on Earth

Many religious zealots live to die. Their entire earthly existence is devoted to achieving eternal life and death is the portal to that rewa...

Insect Deadline

The insects of the Midwest are approaching their deadline. With the first freeze only a week or two away, they are busily ensuring the sur...

Unicorn of the Sea

Narwhals are toothed, Arctic cetaceans, best known for the prominent tusk of the adult male. The latter is actually an outward eruption of ...

October Marsh

The early October marsh is not your noisy, buggy wetland of late spring and summer. Gone are the colorful songbirds, flitting among the thi...

Roxborough State Park

One of the most scenic destinations along Colorado's Front Range is Roxborough State Park, on the southwest edge of Metro Denver. Encom...

Pokeweed

One of the more conspicuous plants in the early autumn landscape is pokeweed. Growing in small stands or as scattered, individual plants, t...

The Outdoors Month

October has arrived with its warm, sunny days and chilly nights. The oppressive heat and humidity of summer are now a distant memory and th...

Two-Plate Countries

The great majority of the countries on this planet lie completely upon their respective Continent's plate. However, there are some that...

Winter's First Jab

Thunderstorms are rumbling across Missouri this morning, the leading edge of a cold front that will bring us the first significant chill of ...

Tropical Canada

After forming in the Caribbean as a tropical depression, the storm that would become Hurricane Kyle brought heavy rains to Puerto Rico and t...

Hybrid Life Forms

Last evening, my wife asked me to look at something in the flower bed; it appeared to her that an animal had vomited on the bark mulch. With...

Natural Health

As a physician, I know that many medical problems are not preventable; genetic disorders, many infections, accidents and a variety of cancer...

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

As the last Pleistocene glacier, the Wisconsin, retreated into Canada, some 14,000 years ago, the Cuyahoga River and its tributaries began t...

The Fall Migration

Though we have just officially entered the autumn season, the fall migration of North American birds began back in July as the first shorebi...

Hawks in Flocks

Most hawks are solitary creatures. They are seen in pairs during the breeding season and may gather in small groups at favored hunting grou...

Ocean Floor Topography

Looking out at the vast, blue ocean, one might assume that its floor is as flat and featureless as its surface. But, in fact, the ocean floo...

Staying Together

Since this is my 33rd Wedding Anniversary, it seems like a good time to revisit the subject of monogamy. As I have expressed in past blogs,...

The Scratchers

Many birds attract our attention with their colorful plumage; certain buntings, grosbeaks, tanagers, orioles and waders come to mind. Other...

Breeding Champs

There seem to be more meadow voles on our Littleton farm this year. Perhaps this is due to a better food crop following the copious rain an...

Cottonwood Cathedrals

On my frequent walks along the South Platte River, I often stop to enjoy the shady, peaceful environment of the cottonwood groves. Common al...

A Hornet Nest

Since my last visit to our Colorado farm, a gray, basketball-sized, turban-shaped globe has appeared in one of our apple trees; not to be mi...

Back on the Farm

It's good to be back at our Littleton, Colorado, farm, if only for a week. September is always a good time to visit and, since I was las...

The Yellowing

After days of heavy rain, there was nothing but brilliant sunshine on my trip to Colorado today; only the distant smoke of power plants and ...

Ike's Reign

Born two weeks ago, off the coast of Africa, Hurricane Ike ravaged several islands of the Caribbean before spinning into the Gulf of Mexico ...

Storm Surge

As hurricanes come ashore, they cause destruction via heavy rain, high winds and storm surge; the latter is often least appreciated by coast...

Earthquake Central

Looking at a map of the North Pacific, one finds that the Aleutian Chain of Alaska is continuous with other islands off the east coast of As...

A Balmy Flow

The same high pressure dome that is deflecting Hurricane Ike toward Texas is pulling warm, moist air into the Midwest. Unlike the cool, dry...

September in Colorado

Though October gets the nod in the Midwest, September is my favorite month in Colorado. Mild days and cool nights typify the weather and sn...

Harvest Loon

September is usually a good time to visit Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, southwest of Columbia. The songbird migration has begun, shorebird...

Hurricane Season

The Atlantic Hurricane Season begins on June 1 and ends by mid November; the second week in September generally represents the peak of hurri...

Man, Intelligence and Knowledge

When man first appeared, 125,000 years ago, he had the same intellectual capacity that we have today. Though, like any human trait, intelli...

Desert Formation

Deserts are generally defined as geographic regions that receive an annual average precipitation of 10 inches or less. Many factors combine...

Gustav Visits Missouri

After ravaging much of Louisiana, Hurricane Gustav, now a Tropical Depression is centered over southwest Arkansas. Its counter-clockwise ci...

Sheltowee Trace Trail

As summer gives way to the glorious season of fall, hikers across the country search for new adventures. One of the better trails in the eas...

Celebrity Coast

Everyone who's anyone in the American media has gathered along the Louisiana coast to stand in the wind and rain as Hurricane Gustav com...

Summer Doldrums

A visit to the Forum Nature Area this morning was a study in late summer doldrums. Following a coolish night, a heavy dew coated the vegeta...

Ahead of the Chill

Among the last of our summer residents to arrive, common nighthawks are also among the first to leave. Dependent solely on flying insects fo...

Gust Front

As a potent cold front pushed toward mid Missouri last evening, an arc of thunderstorms developed, moving southeastward at 30 mph or more. ...

Summer Revival

Though the college students are back in town and football starts this weekend, summer is not done with mid Missouri. High pressure, buildin...

The Political Taboo

As this political year continues to heat up, we will come to realize that Americans are willing to overlook many human frailties. A past hi...

The Buckeye Trail

Initially proposed as a trail from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, the Buckeye Trail loops through Ohio, connecting the varied geophysical regi...

Fay's Death Benefit

After meandering around Florida for the past week, Tropical Storm Fay, now a Tropical Depression, is about to be swept off her feet. A cold...

A View of Katahdin

Yesterday, our flight from Newfoundland took us just north of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and over the northern tip of Prince Edward Island. L...

The Postcard Province

My wife and I flew out of St. John's this morning after a week on the magnificent island of Newfoundland. It is truly impossible to rel...

The Gannets of Bird Rock

Cape St. Mary's juts into the Atlantic at the southwest corner of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula. Home to the second largest colon...

Water World

The magnificent landscape of Newfoundland has been molded by water and ice and, across its varied topography, waterscapes are ever present i...

A Piece of Arizona

On this water-logged island, adorned with numerous bays, lakes and bogs, it was a shock to encounter an isolated region of desert-like terr...

Gros Morne National Park

Named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, Gros Morne National Park stretches along the northwest coast of Newfoundland. Among its varie...

Crossing Newfoundland

Leaving St. John's in a pea-soup fog, we picked up the Trans Canada Highway and headed north, toward Gander. Along the way, the fog waxe...

Witless Bay

Located on the Atlantic Coast of southeast Newfoundland, Witless Bay is famous for its large colonies of sea birds, including 300,000 pair o...

Newfoundland

Guarding the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, Newfoundland, in combination with Labrador, is Canada's easternmost Province. Over the ne...

Active and Passive Margins

As discussed in a previous blog, the geographic Continents due not often correspond to the borders of their respective tectonic plates. Sin...