A Handsome Visitor

Over the past few days, a chipping sparrow has visited our Littleton, Colorado, farm.  Easily identified by their slender form, bright rusty...

Reassurance from SeaWorld

Facing a public backlash arising from a trainer's tragic death and accusations stemming from a highly publicized documentary, SeaWorld h...

Flycatcher Days on the Farm

Flycatchers generally arrive on our Littleton, Colorado, farm in late April or early May.  Western wood pewees (summer residents) and willow...

Exotic Bird of the Southern Plains

Birders who travel across the Southern Plains will usually observe a wide variety of raptors and grassland songbirds; in spring and fall, th...

Earthquake in Nepal

Unlike many earthquakes, which develop along hidden faults beneath oceans or featureless plains, today's magnitude 7.8 quake in Nepal is...

Andes Volcanism

The eruption of the Calbuco Volcano in southern Chile this week is that peak's first significant activity since 1972 and the most recent...

A Riot of Life

In late April, wetlands across the Temperate Zone of North America harbor a riot of sound and color; the Garth Wetlands, in north Columbia, ...

Noisy Intruders

By late April, some songbirds, such as robins and mourning doves, are already nesting.  Their parental activity will soon be mimicked by sum...

The Preacher Returns

The preacher has returned to our central Missouri neighborhood.  Dressed in his cinnamon-brown suit, he chooses a conspicuous location to de...

Railing at Eagle Bluffs

By late April, waterfowl migrations are beginning to wind down at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, in central Missouri.  Nevertheless, there ...

Cedar-Apple Rust

Yesterday, after a steady morning rain, my wife called me outside to look at strange, gelatinous growths in our eastern red cedar trees.  Br...

A Welcome Invasion

I have returned to central Missouri just in time for the annual invasion of summer and migrant songbirds, which should unfold over the next ...

Travel by Radar

Heading east on the High Plains yesterday afternoon, we knew that our journey involved some risk.  After all, the massive spring storm that ...

Detour to Scenic Terrain

Planning to head back toward Missouri today, we learned that Interstate 70 was closed east of Denver due to dense fog and multiple accidents...

Colorado Spring Breaks

Contrary to the image in the minds of Americans from other States and, perhaps, the citizens of other countries, Front Range cities are not ...

Wild Plum

By mid April, stands of wild plum are readily observed along the Colorado Front Range.  Their clusters of white flowers, appearing before th...

The Hardy Lilac

Lilac shrubs, renowned for their beauty and fragrance, are blooming on our Littleton farm, a couple weeks ahead of schedule; two weeks of su...

Compost Bin West

A year after constructing a compost bin for our Missouri property, I have begun to build a larger one for our Littleton, Colorado, farm.  Wh...

A Tradition of Exclusion

The 79th Masters Tournament begins today at Augusta National Golf Club, in Georgia.  Many Americans will tune in, attracted by the regular a...

Squirrel Siesta

On the south side of our Littleton farmhouse is a large catalpa tree, its massive branches extending in all directions.  Every day, just aft...

Bullsnake Bravado

On my visit to Waterton Canyon yesterday, I took a side trail down to the South Platte, hoping to spot a dipper.  My effort was in vain but,...

Eastern Phoebe at Waterton Canyon

At the base of Waterton Canyon, southwest of Denver, groves of cottonwood trees and a rich understory of shrubs and junipers line the South ...

The War on Diplomacy

Now that a framework for the Nuclear Deal with Iran has been released, militarists on all sides have condemned it; in their minds, enemies a...

Blood Moon over the Rockies

Looking west from our Littleton farm this morning, I saw a darkened, reddish moon with a bright, bluish rim along its top edge; the time was...

April in the Foothills

April is an excellent month to visit the Montane Forest of the Front Range foothills.  Composed of open ponderosa pine parklands (on sunny, ...

The Laramie Basin

North of Ft. Collins, Colorado, US 287 angles northwest, climbing into the Front Range foothills.  It then turns northward, passing through ...

A Failure to Evolve

We humans have inhabited Earth for at least 130,000 years.  In the course of our history we have spread across the planet, established vibra...