How to Get Close to Birds
Think back to when you were interested in befriending another kid in high school.
Easy By Nature
Exploration and insights into re-wilding your yard, neighborhood, and spirit.
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I Bargained up my New Book Designer
I bargained up my new book designer.
Steady Ground
What a small dark berry taught me about bringing the birds back
A Garden Becoming a Bird
A Cardinal came close while I was picking peaches, and completely ignored me
Learning to See in the Dark
Two instruments have shaped everything we know about night migration, and both of them miss most of what crosses. A new way of watching is beginning to change that.
Searching for Safe Ground
I pull up behind a line of cars and park in a gravel lot by Lake Evergreen, my kayak in tow.
The Widening Net
As the Martin House slides down the pole, the air fills with a purple cloud, birds swirling above drenching us in liquid warbles and down-slurred whistles.
Through the Whole Plant
I bend and push a stem aside, and there, low in the shade, is a heavy cluster of ripe berries.
Exposed and Asking
The sunflower seeds rattle against steel and wood, an avian dinner bell.
The Price of Getting Close
You hear them before you see the water.
Travelers at Rest: A Morning on World Migratory Bird Day
I set up for a four-hour bird sit, hoping a crowd of kids would walk over from the festival to watch birds with me.
The Tree No One Planted
The tree no one planted
A Patch of Broken Light on Dark Water
On being considered by wild birds
On the Boardwalk at Magee Marsh
We approached Magee Marsh in a long line of slow-moving vehicles that came to a halt for no apparent reason.
Holding Their Names
We carry their names all winter:
The Soft Song
The asparagus spears snapped in my hands.
The Talking Tree
Graceful trees line the shallow riffling water of Sugar Creek — Black Walnut, Cottonwood, Mulberry.
Notice What Rises
The Quieter Side of Seeing
Bumblebees, Spring Wildflowers, and a Friend from Lebanon
Beauty Metabolizing Beauty
Dark Water
We sense there is some sort of spirit that loves birds and the animals and the ants — perhaps the same one who gave a radiance to you in your mother’s womb.
The Kettle
Even a wild boar