Otter Encounter

Otter Encounter

This stretch along the Russian River, just over the hill from Riverfront Park, at times seems like a river otter highway. It’s a rare occasion when I don’t see an otter or two while I’m here. When I least expect it there they are, but always  from a distance. My...
Eagle Encounter

Eagle Encounter

My most memorable moments in nature have been those that were the least expected. A case in point was on a secluded beach along the Russian River today. To get to this secluded spot Carol and I had to hike about 45 minutes from the parking lot at Riverfront Park. It...
Mockingbird Music

Mockingbird Music

The Northern Mockingbird is so entertaining. From sunrise to sunset it sings incessantly and I have no idea what its actual voice sounds like. Its palette of sounds is seemingly endless: chirps, trills, whistles, peeps, coos and everything in between. You see the...
Hidden Nature Revealed.

Hidden Nature Revealed.

I stood before the large picture window in our kitchen this morning and watched a Coopers Hawk systematically devour a small bird. Bit by bit he picked it apart until there was nothing left but a few feathers fluttering in the breeze. This window looks out upon our...
Beach Meditations

Beach Meditations

The beach is a place where a man can feel he’s the only soul in the world that’s real. Pete Townsend Driftwood…bleached bones. Tibia, fibia, a random scattering offered up by the sea, come to rest here. Finger bones, toe bones, skeletal remains of once living things....
Wonders At Our Doorstep

Wonders At Our Doorstep

One of the benefits of retirement, besides the obvious one of not having to go to work every day and deal with the trials and tribulations of a regular job, has been getting to spend more time with my wife Carol. Over the past year Carol and I have made it a point to...