Nature's Advance Man

This morning, an eastern phoebe flitted across the restored prairie at Forum Nature Area, in Columbia. Moving through chilly, moist air unde...

Denial in Boston

Devout Catholics, like almost everyone else, favor efforts to minimize the need for abortion; eliminating unwanted pregnancies offers the mo...

Avian Drones

Driving back to spring, we left the wintery landscape of northeastern Ohio and headed WSW across the Glaciated Plain of the American Midwest...

The Seams of Life

Yesterday, facing another cold, gray, snowy day in northeastern Ohio, we opted for a visit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland...

Horned Grebes

This morning, a pair of horned grebes rippled the calm, gray waters of Sandy Lake, southeast of Kent.  While the landscape of northeastern O...

Spring Postponed

A broad atmospheric trough, dipping through much of the U.S., has put spring on hold for the next few days.  Allowing cold Canadian air to p...

Sports Heroes

In March, as coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament blankets the airwaves, we are reminded that, more than any other field of human ende...

Dramatic Route to the Rockies

Back in the early 80s, when we lived in Arkansas, we usually took a southern route to the Rocky Mountains.  After following I-40 through Okl...

The Maumee Torrent

Toward the end of the Pleistocene, a lobe of the Wisconsin Glacier pushed southwestward into northeast Indiana.  Its maximum extent was reac...

Cambrian Rock Exposures

Unlike strata from the other Paleozoic Periods, Cambrian rock exposures are relatively rare throughout the United States.  Deposited from 54...

Pure March

Classic March weather has settled across the American Heartland this week.  Chilly, humid air, gray, breezy skies and intermittent rain, som...

Singles Day at Eagle Bluffs

Yesterday, enveloped in chilly air and shrouded by a low overcast, Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, on the Missouri River floodplain, was loa...

The Nature of Discrimination

This week, a Conservative U.S. Senator reversed his position on gay marriage.  The reason?  His son announced that he is gay. The Senator...

Detour to Wilson Lake

On my frequent trips between Colorado and Missouri, I often take short detours or side trips that offer relief from the monotony of the Inte...

Arctic Ice

As one might expect, the extent of ice cover on the Arctic Ocean waxes and wanes with the seasons, reaching its annual maximum in March.  Of...

The Uncompahgre Plateau

At the beginning of the Miocene Period, some 25 million years ago (MYA), the Colorado River and its tributaries were cutting their way throu...

The Desert Hawk

Zone-tailed hawks inhabit the Desert Southwest, from Southern California to southwest Texas, and range southward through Mexico, Central Ame...

The Nature of Comets

Comets are small astronomical bodies composed of rock, ice and frozen gases; they range in size from 1000 meters to 30 miles or more in diam...

Upslope Slop in Colorado

As predicted, a typical upslope snowstorm is underway in Metro Denver.  Most common in March and April, these storms develop when the centra...

March on the South Platte

Yesterday's sunny, mild weather sent me down to South Platte Park for a hike along the river.  Since the valley ponds and lakes are begi...

River Connections

Rivers connect us with distant ecosystems, sculpt our landscape and provide vital water and nutrients to areas far from their source.  In ef...

Australia's Largest River System

Most of Earth's Continents are known for their major river systems; there is the Amazon Basin of South America, the Mississippi Watershe...

Snow-stressed Snow Geese

Heading west this morning, I saw numerous flocks of snow geese between Columbia, Missouri, and Lawrence, Kansas; most were not heading north...

Sparrow Month in the Heartland

Like small sandpipers and Empidonax flycatchers, sparrows are often difficult to identify, especially for the beginning birdwatcher.  Across...

The Nature of Sinkholes

The unfolding tragedy in southwest Florida demonstrates the unpredictable nature of sinkholes, which can swallow roads and buildings as they...

March & Wednesday

Since many humans live for weekends, Wednesday, often referred to as hump day, represents the last hurdle before our downhill slide toward b...