Spring is happening, very slowly but surely. Purple mountain saxifrage has been blooming, salmonberry flowers appear, yellow violets are starting to flower. However, I have… Continue reading
The coolness with which I lunged for the fish, missed, gathered myself, swept the rod back, lunged again and netted the steelhead was inspiring. I… Continue reading
Kingfishers have captured the fancy of people for centuries. In Greek mythology, the gods caused a man to drown, leaving his lover, a woman named… Continue reading
Spring flowers have co-evolved with insect pollinators for a long time. The flowers require pollen delivery to set seed. To entice insects to visit and… Continue reading
The last part of March seemed to pass slowly, at least for those of use impatient for spring. Each of us has their own sequence… Continue reading
Just before the spring equinox, a friend and I went out on the Fish Creek Trail one morning on a low tide. We saw five… Continue reading
I doubled our money. Then lost the winnings. Then lost the initial bet. Just like that I turned our $100 into $200 then $0 in… Continue reading
February ground to a halt and March slowly geared up. Days were getting longer, but the tedious pseudo-spring weather prevailed — no longer really winter… Continue reading
While we are waiting (?patiently?) for spring to really get rolling, here are a few things to think about. • Sexual dimorphism in bird plumage:… Continue reading
I’ve spent almost all of my life searching for and evaluating fish. As a boy, I rode home from the river with wild silver salmon… Continue reading
When vertebrates moved onto land, long ago, some of them eventually became airborne, way after the insects did. There are three groups of vertebrates that… Continue reading
We’re all familiar with the major bones of a human body, although many folks don’t know their official names. Far less well-known are some small… Continue reading
She’s fine for about ten minutes. It’s a challenge so she’s game. She props herself up on her hands in the cobra pose, then on… Continue reading
Created as emergency access road for airport, it’s now a popular area for dog walking and birdwatching.
We have three small owls that share a lot of characteristics. They are the boreal owl (Aegolius funereus) of North America and Eurasia, known as… Continue reading
About 150 years ago, a few days after summer solstice, the gray skies above the Diomede Islands were heavy with smoke from whaling ships set… Continue reading
I almost didn’t watch the Super Bowl because I was tired of the Chiefs, indifferent toward the Eagles and am grossed out by the NFL… Continue reading
The center of a tree or shrub stem (from roots to trunk, branches, and twigs) is woody, composed of xylem cells that conduct water from… Continue reading
One day, late in January, a friend and I watched two Steller sea lions swimming near Pt. Louisa. One of them held a front flipper… Continue reading
