On one of our favorite walks, the slightest breeze brings the sounds of a flowing mountain spring. But thirsty as we may be, we no longer bother looking for moving water. It’s actually the flutter of aspen leaves set trembling by air currents passing by. Depending upon the speed of the air, the sound can […]
According to our seven-year-old neighbor, the correct name for an oak is acorn tree. After all, he reasons, if the parent of a peach is a peach tree, of a lemon is a lemon tree, why would the parent of an acorn be called an oak? He has a point. We wouldn’t even attempt to […]
Where do you look for wildlife? It depends on what you want to see. No one expects to find an alligator in a desert arroyo or a manatee in a mountain lake. But it’s surprising how many don’t notice that even small changes in surroundings can mean major changes in the creatures that live there. […]
Sitting on our desktop there’s a weathered twist of wood that we like to think is American chestnut. We found it near the top of a North Carolina peak and carried it, sodden and heavy with the remnants of winter, all the way down to the motorhome. In spite of the fact that one of […]
When we think of palm trees, we imagine tropical beaches and pineapples, and dancing girls shaking their hips to the rhythm of drums. Palms belong in Hawaii or Bali, or at least in the Florida Keys. In California, however, native fan palms are surrounded by desert. Sound like a contradiction in terms? These California fan […]
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