The Unseen

On a visit to the Great Lakes Science Center, in Cleveland, we watched an Omni-Max production of National Geographic's Mysteries of the ...

Forensics in the Snow

On another walk around the frozen suburban lake, we came across the carcass of a ring-billed gull.  Recognizable only by a wing and head, mu...

Swans on the Little Miami

On a short walk along the Little Miami River yesterday, I was surprised to encounter five swans, mingling with a flock of Canada geese; the ...

Crunch Time

On this sunny, cold day in southwestern Ohio, my wife and I opted for a hike around a suburban lake.  Due to recent snows and frigid nights,...

Morning Snows in Missouri

We left for Ohio this morning under clear, frigid skies; the temperature in Columbia was 5 degrees F.  Prepared for an unexciting journey ac...

The Giuliani Syndrome

Hailed as "America's Mayor" after demonstrating calm and decisive leadership following the tragic events of 9-11, Rudy Giulian...

Pity for the Birds

It's that time of year when severe cold and heavy snow cause many humans to pity the wildlife, especially those cute little birds.  Of c...

Closet Agnostics

It seems to me that any intelligent human with even a modest science education would dismiss the simple stories and beliefs of organized rel...

Toward an Arctic Wall

Heading east on the Great Plains yesterday afternoon, we encountered a dense cloud bank that stretched across the eastern horizon.  It had t...

The Stone Age

Simply put, the Stone Age stretches from the first documented use of stone tools by human ancestors to the advent of bronze metallurgy (the ...

The Healing Power of Nature

In the movie Wild (based on a memoir), a young woman hikes the Pacific Crest Trail in an effort to face her poor life choices, brought on b...

Minke Whales

Relatively common and widespread, minkes are small baleen whales that are represented by three species: the northern (true) minke, a circump...

Snowstorms: Boston vs. Denver

Boston and Denver are known to be snowy cities; the annual average snowfall in Boston is 44 inches while Denver's average exceeds 57 inc...

An Early Drumroll

After a few days of spring-like weather along the Colorado Front Range, the first tentative drumming of the flickers has begun, at times acc...

Random Death

The tragic death of CBS correspondent Bob Simon in a car accident last evening reminds us that death is often random and unforeseen.  Over t...

The Yampa River

The Yampa River, 250 miles in length, rises along the west flank of the Park Range, flowing north to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and then t...

West of Salina

Driving west through Kansas on Interstate 70, one enters the Flint Hills west of Topeka.  The highway undulates across this uplifted plateau...

The Nature of Life

Life might be defined as the capacity to conduct respiration and to use the energy from that process to construct and repair the structural ...

Standoff on Philips Lake

On this mild February afternoon, most of Philips Lake, south of Columbia, remained frozen but a large flock of Canada geese, joined by a few...

God & Atrocities

At the White House Prayer Breakfast this morning, an affront to the separation of Church and State that has been held annually since 1953, P...

Eagle Reunion at Eagle Bluffs

Granted a mild, sunny day in the middle of winter, I visited Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, on the Missouri River floodplain, yesterday mor...

Public Health & Politicians

As measles spreads across the country, fueled by a large population of unvaccinated children, politicians are loathe to take a firm stand re...

Lessons from Groundhog Day

While I have never been enamored with the spectacle of Groundhog Day, an annual rite giving credence to the forecasting ability of a hiberna...

February Snow

Here in central Missouri, February dawned with a thin coat of wet snow on the lawns and trees.  By mid morning, a light drizzle was falling,...