The Secret Life of Trees

The Secret Life of Trees

I'm know I'm not the first to appreciate the metaphor of the tree, but every season I admire them more. I like their root-to-seed circle of life and the history we trace through the circles in their trunk. I admire their bend-don't-break attitude, their posture, and the dignified way they welcome strangers to nest on [...]

Searching for Aldo Leopold and his glorious cranes

Searching for Aldo Leopold and his glorious cranes

On a glorious autumn day, we went searching for Aldo Leopold, which initially alarmed the person who introduced him to our family. "Wait," Molly texted, when I alerted her to our plans."Are you looking for his grave?" It was a gross but seasonally reasonable question, with Halloween just days away and poor Mr. Leopold gone [...]

Go instead where there’s no path and leave a trail cam

Go instead where there’s no path and leave a trail cam

We've always known that the land was not ours. Brief, fascinating encounters with its true proprietors have taught us that. We've stood pinned under a porcupine's tree staring at quivering quills, unwilling to trust our Wikipedia-inspired knowledge of quill-throwing potential. We've been taunted gloriously by corn-veiled coyotes howling at the moon. We've seen snake skin, [...]