A Belated Thanks to Jack Gottschang

We humans tend to look back on our lives, identifying individuals who, for better or for worse, had a significant influence on the career ch...

Commercialized Nature

On our recent visit to Lookout Mountain, in Tennessee, my wife and I decided to visit Ruby Falls and Rock City, two heavily advertised touri...

Naturalists & Vacations

We naturalists enjoy immersing ourselves in a wide variety of natural ecosystems.  Many of us prefer to explore those areas in solitude or p...

Thanks for Visiting

On this national day of Thanksgiving, it is appropriate that I express my gratitude to those who take the time to read and consider the vari...

In Memory of Helen

Like many (if not most) men, I was not overly close to my mother-in-law.  Nevertheless, she had a profound impact on my life, well beyond ou...

Memories of Canada

In September of 1973, I joined a group of friends for a canoe trip in Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, Canada.  That was my first excu...

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...

A Walk on the MKT

Determined to enjoy this spring-like afternoon, I headed to the MKT for a walk.  This rail-to-trail greenbelt follows a series of stream val...

Unexpected Raptors

On our recent trip to Ohio, following a monotonous, eight-hour drive across the flat Glaciated Plain, we turned north on I-71, angling towar...

Birding in Context

Though I have been a birder for more than 35 years, I have never been one to chase after rare birds or to plan my vacations to add species t...

The Unexpected

In the course of our daily lives, unexpected events tend to be of the negative variety, producing hardship and disruption; accidents, injuri...

Naturalist Philosophy

We naturalists may have our individual areas of expertise but our primary interest is in the diversity of life, the interdependence of plant...

Rewards of Ugly Weather

This morning dawned cold and gray in central Missouri and the threat of chilly rain or wet snow was beginning to douse our spring fever. Nev...

The Art of Stillness

As one who could never sit still for long periods of time, I under-stand the restless feeling that some experience when they attempt to obse...

Four Books

Over the past 50 years, I have read hundreds of books that have inspired and sustained my interest in the natural sciences. But, looking ba...

Road Trip

My high school history teacher and swimming coach was a bachelor who loved to take weekend excursions. On Friday evening or Saturday mornin...

Meeting Stan Freden

In 1980, as we returned from a ski trip to Utah, my wife and I were bumped from our flight and placed on another. Advised to grab any open ...

George

In my childhood, travel was an annual excursion on I-75 (either to Lake Erie or Florida) and nature was yard work, a trip to the zoo or thir...

J.T.'s Gaia

As a fan of James Taylor since the late sixties, I have found that his lyrics always capture the essence of human nature. And, as a natural...

Georg Steller

To naturalists, the name "Steller" evokes images of northern forests, rocky shorelines and cold Pacific waters. Born in Germany, G...