Driving back through Time

Leaving Denver this morning, I headed east across the High Plains of eastern Colorado which have a veneer of late Tertiary sediments (about ...

The Nature of Landscape

To most people, landscape is merely the physical geography of a region, whether it be mountainous terrain, forest, grassland, desert, seasca...

The Nature of Education

During this era of budget cuts, rising tuition and widespread unemployment, there is increasing discussion regarding the necessity of a coll...

Washington's Eocene Coast

During the Eocene Period, some 50 million years ago, sediments collected across what is now western Washington. The majority of these depos...

Vacation Athletes

Many Americans, having spent most of the year overeating and relatively inactive, decide to get in shape on their vacation. We have all see...

Colorado's Beetle Blight

While massive forest fires grab headlines across the globe, the more widespread and insidious destruction of trees by beetle infestation is ...

Grizzlies in Colorado

Before white settlers and trappers reached the American West, grizzly bears were common throughout the western two-thirds of Colorado, from ...

Riding the Wind

Thanks to birthday gifts from our three children, my wife and I took our first hot-air balloon ride this morning. Launching northeast of Bo...

May in July

Were it not for the high temperatures and the season's first crop of prairie sunflowers, one would think it is May along the Front Range...

Crossing the Dome

Heading back to our Littleton, Colorado, farm, we left Columbia on another warm, humid morning. West of town, the Missouri River had spille...

Avian Pizza Party

In mid summer, my early morning walks to work are less interesting than during other seasons of the year. Even before sunrise, the steamy h...

The Nature of Justice

Unlike truth, which is absolute and universal, justice is not found in nature; rather, it is a concept that exists solely in the human mind....

A Dome of Drought

A persistent dome of high pressure has dominated the Southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley for the past several months, shunting stor...

Owls in a Steam Bath

Immersed in another heat wave, it was 82 degrees F at six this morning and the afternoon high is expected to reach 100 degrees. Combined wi...

The Joy of Flight

Most birds use their natural flight capability to move about, migrate, escape predators and attack prey; but some, at least for part of thei...

The Ground Cuckoo

Natives of Mexico and the Desert Southwest, greater roadrunners have spread eastward and northward over the past Century and now reside in C...

An Evening Kite Display

Stepping onto our back deck last evening, I caught site of three hawks circling in the distance. Initially assuming they were red-tails, I ...

The Nature of Haboobs

Haboobs are dense, atmospheric walls of dust or sand that are encountered in arid regions across the globe. Ironically, they usually develo...

The Masked Warbler

One of the most common and widespread warblers in North American, common yellowthroats breed from southeast Alaska to Newfoundland and from ...

Moose in Colorado

When 12 moose were transplanted to North Park from Utah, in March, 1978, there was a general consensus among State Wildlife officials that t...

Tropical Storm Dynamics

The development of a tropical storm is dependent upon three factors: warm ocean waters, hot, humid air at the surface and light upper-level ...

Humans & Heat

Native to the Tropics, we humans are better equipped to deal with heat than with the cold; indeed, given shade and adequate water, we can su...