The Journey

For over twenty years I visited Tucson without knowing scientists consider it part of the Sky Island Region. I saw a desert valley of windswept browns and muted greens; a skyline defined by ragged, seemingly impregnable mountains. I did not consider it a place I might...

McClendon property north of the Kalamazoo River I have a dream that one day I can hike the trails threading through the parabolic dunes of the Saugatuck State Park and photograph life from the highest peak of a forested backdune to the clear, clean riverbed of the...

I remember his grandfatherly smile, his warm, welcoming handshake, his words of deep, personal encouragement when he heard I was writing about the Great Lakes. He made me feel as if I was a critical member of the team.  “A fanatic is one who won’t change his mind...

I am tempted to bury my head in a good novel, to plunk my feet in the sand and enjoy the summer breeze tiptoeing across the lake. But the crisis which shut down faucets in Ohio affects me too . . . and I suspect every person reading this blog.  It is a reminder...

Lake Michigan CrossingJuly 16, 2014Frankfort, MI to Sturgeon Bay, WI Wind in the face.Mid-lake water temperature33.6 degrees.No sun.No flies.No fog.No fingers.Frozenbut safe.A good day.

“So what did you learn?” I ask Brandi, the tall, striking 20 year-old daughter of my cousin. She has just returned from a school-sponsored semester living outside Cape Town, South Africa. Her job experiences were divided between working with elementary school children...

“I will not hurt you, little one,” I say softly to the dark eyes peering at me above the rippling water. The wet, whiskered nose is in the air, the small round ears flattened to the sides of its head. Most of the long, chocolate-colored body is submerged as it glides...

I stand alone at the trailhead, surveying the caution signs. I can almost feel the claws of the cougar slicing my shoulders; hear the swarm of killer African bees swirling about my face. Fear. Pain. Death.  For over two years I have stumbled in uncertainty and...

When one pauses to notice the Mockingbird spinning cartwheels above his throne atop the palo verde; hears the deep-throated gurgle of a Cactus Wren, the high-pitched call of the Gila Woodpecker, the mournful song of a lonely Roadrunner, or the rapturous serenade of a...

Are you looking for a Mother’s Day gift for a woman who lets out a whoop of joy at the first sighting of wildflowers? Who kneels to greet every unique, colorful face bursting through the frozen earth? Who’s raking the last remnants of snow and crusty oak leaves from...

When the exuberance of springupstages the desert’s preferencefor dusty grays, browns and milky greens,know I will be late for cocktails.

The man approached the microphone in a jam-packed public hearing of the International Joint Commission (IJC) last September holding a jar of what looked like grungy split pea soup. “This is the water that came out of my faucet last week just before the city shut down...