Waterspouts on the Great Lakes

Yesterday's outbreak of waterspouts across Lakes Erie and Ontario developed along a cold front that was moving over the warm lake waters...

Prairie Blazing Star

Following a two week hiatus, we returned to the Forum Nature Area, in Columbia, Missouri, to find brilliant purple spikes rising from the re...

Western Kingbird Highway

As we returned to Missouri yesterday, low, gray clouds shrouded the Great Plains and we knifed through banks of dense fog, drizzle and chill...

Colorado's Monsoon Season

The Southwest Monsoon generally begins in June as high pressure over the Southern Plains and low pressure near the upper Baja Peninsula comb...

Guest Nature Photos

Take only photos and leave only footprints .  That motto of the conservation movement expresses the sentiment that we can enjoy nature witho...

The Outlet Mall Ouzel

Returning from Vail yesterday afternoon, my wife spotted an outlet mall in Dillon and wanted to do a bit of shopping.  While she perused the...

Hiking down to Vail

Taking a break from work on our Littleton, Colorado, farm, we headed up to Vail this morning for a bit of hiking, lunch and window shopping....

Retirement & Relationships

Ask a middle aged couple to enumerate the difficult stages of marriage and they will likely mention the "what have I done" weeks t...

Moonrise over Thunderstorms

Last evening, massive storms blossomed east of Denver, their thunderheads lit by the setting sun.  Rising 50,000 feet into the atmosphere, t...

Gulls vs. Humans

An article on the ESPN website today reports that the San Francisco Giants and their fans have been dealing with gull invasions since the ne...

Stable Flies

Scraping and painting an old barn has never been one of my favorite activities and the presence of stable flies has made that chore even les...

A Brief History of Racism

When humans evolved in Africa, 130,000 years ago, we were dark-skinned, tropical hominids; for the first 80,000 years of our history, there ...

The Evolution of Cats

While I am not fond of domestic cats, I must express my admiration for the hunting prowess of those strict carnivores.  Today, 37 species of...

The Nature of Arthritis

Arthritis is the inflammation of one or more joints.  Inflammation occurs in the synovium (the lining of the joint) and is usually accompani...

Common Chicory

By mid summer, the landscape of the American Heartland is dominated by various shades of green.  While suburban yards and urban parks are fe...

A Word to Old Friends

We humans, even those of us who enjoy periods of solitude, are social creatures.  Once we learn to communicate, we begin to establish relati...

Australia's Devonian Reef

The Kimberley Plateau of Australia, which forms the northwest corner of that Continent, is composed of ancient Precambrian rock.  During the...

Reboarding Verne's Nautilus

Fifty years ago this summer, as I approached the ripe old age of 13, I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea , by Jules Verne.  Hoping to reliv...

Scolded by a Stranger

Having missed my morning walk yesterday, I opted for an afternoon stroll despite the heat and humidity.  I chose the MKT trail, a shaded old...

Collared Dove in Columbia

The call was very familiar.  I have been hearing it on the barrier islands off Sarasota, Florida, since we purchased a condo there in 2003. ...

Mid Summer Dusk

Dusk is especially welcome after a long, hot summer day and it triggers activity in a wide range of suburban wildlife.  Last evening, firefl...

The Nature of Divides

A hydrologic divide is the line of high ground that separates the watersheds of two streams; any given divide can be subdivided into the con...

The Secretive Shrub Bird

Though fairly common throughout the eastern and south-central U.S. during the warmer months, white-eyed vireos prefer shrubby habitat where ...

Bookend Highs

For the past week, high pressure domes over the Desert Southwest and off the Southeast Coast, separated by a deep low pressure trough throug...

Threats to our Freedom

Today we celebrate the birthday of the United States and honor those who established and have protected the freedoms that we enjoy.  Despite...

The Nature of Ticks

Ticks are external parasitic organisms that feed solely on the blood of birds, mammals and some reptiles.  Not insects, ticks are arachnids ...

From Refuge to Park

A couple of years ago, our central Missouri city bought a farm south of town, setting it aside as a nature and fishing preserve.  A trail wa...

The Global Egret

Cattle egrets evolved on the vast savannas of East Africa where they followed herds of elephants, water buffalo and other herbivores, feasti...