Red Sky in Morning

Looking from my office window at dawn, the western sky has a reddish glow. The billowing clouds of an approaching cold front have caught the...

Sugar Creek Conservation Area

A few miles south of Kirksville, Missouri, Sugar Creek has carved a network of ridges and valleys from the surrounding Glaciated Plain. The ...

A Natural Mistake

We have a large number of New Mexico locusts on our farm in Littleton, Colorado. These small trees are adorned with fragrant, purple flowers...

Morning Chill

For the first time since May, there is a chill in the air this morning. The longer nights are beginning to take a toll and a potent cold fro...

An Evening at Eagle Bluffs

Since my wife was hosting her book club friends last evening, I had two choices: either stick around to serve the wine and cheese or find so...

The Nature of Good & Evil

The behavior of most animals is governed purely by instinct and their actions cannot be judged as good or evil. We humans, on the other hand...

Pakistan's Catastrophic Flooding

For the past 50 million years, the Indian subcontinent, which includes the territory of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, has been colliding w...

The Root of Intolerance

The recent political firestorm and public turmoil related to building a mosque in the vicinity of Ground Zero is just the latest manifestati...

The Latham Wetlands

At 8:30 this morning, I was sitting in my pickup on a graveled road in Weld County, Colorado. To the west, Long's Peak rose into a flat ...

Orthopteran Season

Working around the farm this week, I am constantly reminded that August is the season of Orthopterans. Whether I'm wandering through the...

Unexpected Company

Arriving at our Littleton, Colorado, farm, I was greeted by the sight of a young mule deer, browsing on fallen pears in our front yard. Over...

Crossing the Missouri Watershed

The vast watershed of the Missouri River extends from the Continental Divide of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado to the mid Mississippi Valley;...

The Worst Weather in History

We hear the reports every season. The worst flooding that has ever occurred in Iowa. The most intense heat wave ever to envelop Russia. The ...

Sixty Earth-Years

As of today, I have spent sixty years on this magnificent planet. While I don't feel any different than I did at forty, each decade make...

Ladybird Beetles

Ladybird beetles, represented by many species across the globe, are a favorite of children and gardeners alike; their small size and colorfu...

The Cycle of Obesity

With rare exceptions, obesity is not a genetic trait; on the other hand, it is usually familial. During childhood, we are molded by the life...

The Aurora Borealis

This week, an intense solar storm produced an aurora borealis that extended well south of the Arctic Circle. Commonly known as the northern ...

Under the Dome

By mid summer, a ridge of high pressure develops over the south-central United States. Within this dome, the air sinks, compresses and heats...

The Art of Stillness

As one who could never sit still for long periods of time, I under-stand the restless feeling that some experience when they attempt to obse...

August & February

August and February, which follow the persistent heat of July and the deep freeze of January, are not beloved months; on the surface, they a...