A Natural Break

Most evenings, if daylight permits, I head out back for thirty minutes of natural solitude. While mowers may hum in the distance or trucks ...

Italy, Earthquakes & Human Nature

After enduring two tragic earthquakes within a span of nine days, residents of northeastern Italy are both distraught and mystified. As emp...

The Arctic Fox

Mention Arctic land mammals and the image of large, well-insulated creatures comes to mind: polar bears, musk ox, caribou and the extinct wo...

Faith & Suffering

It seems very likely that religious beliefs first arose in early human clans (some 130,000 years ago) when gods were invoked to counter fear...

An Early July

On this Memorial Day weekend, July has made an early appearance in the Heartland. With afternoon highs in the 90s (F) and overnight lows in...

Midwest Mountain Lions

Having once inhabited most of the United States, mountains lions were extirpated from eastern and central portions of our country by the ear...

The Treetop Vocalist

Over the past month, loud vreeeps have echoed through our neighborhood on my morning walks to work. Their source is always difficult to lo...

Sediments, Fossils & Time

Amateur naturalists are often confused by the distribution of fossils across our globe, wondering why certain fossils (of dinosaurs, for exa...

River Relief

Those of us who frequently travel across the Great Plains or the Glaciated Plain of the Upper Midwest are usually glad to encounter river va...

Vulture Heaven at Eagle Bluffs

As a consequence of the lowest water levels that I have ever encountered at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, dead carp lined the central chan...

The Perspective of Geese

During our travels along the spectacular coast of Lake Superior this week, we encountered a pair of Canada geese, ushering their brood acros...

Superior's Northwest Coast

Just north of downtown Duluth, Interstate 35 ends and becomes Minnesota Route 61 that hugs the northwest coast of Lake Superior, all the way...

Western Lake Superior

Facing an off-week and yearning to get back to the North Country after our memorable journey across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, last Se...

Miracle Drugs

Ever since early man discovered natural herbs and resins that seemed to ease his common maladies, we humans have been hooked on drugs. In t...

The Eurasian Mountain Arc

Looking at a map of Earth, one sees a complex of mountain ranges from Southeast Asia to Spain. Almost all of these ranges are relatively yo...

The Mackenzie River

Rising at the west end of Great Slave Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories, the Mackenzie River flows northwestward for almost 1100 mi...

From Tropical Heat to Upslope Chill

After wilting in central Missouri over the last two days, enveloped in tropical heat and humidity, I arrived along the Colorado Front Range ...

Southern Soup

Hot, humid air has been flowing into Missouri for the past two days and will continue for at least another 24 hours. This muggy, southern s...

Unnatural Programs

What little television I used to watch was primarily devoted to science and nature, with a bit of news and sports on the side. Unfortunatel...

Wildlife of Afghanistan

Based on television images beamed to the world over the past few decades, Afghanistan appears to be a desolate region of rock and sand, a la...

Natural Afghanistan

For the past decade, Afghanistan has evoked images of war, political corruption and civil strife. It seems appropriate to shift gears and f...

Painted Buntings

I will never forget my first encounter with a painted bunting. George, my good friend and fellow birder, was visiting us in Wilmington, Nor...