Nature As Being
The Confession
The Confession came to me during a time when it seemed clear that our country was on the brink of completely splitting between self-interest and compassion. It started as a huge dam bursting under the pressure of turbulent water. Gradually, I tamed it and my inner anxiety by observing the chaotic waters, until I started…
Read MoreGiant Upon The Plains
Extraordinary weather phenomena, such as tornadoes are clearly terrifying, especially out on the Great Plains where you can see them moving as colossal towers between earth and sky, unpredictable in their wild path, extemporaneously destroying what had seemed so certain and solid. I find in the terrible reality of the ever more forcible storms a…
Read MoreHoping for Rain
The summer of 2014 brought an onslaught of horrific wildfires. Surrounding me, nature obscured, and darkened, and the sky filled with smoldering ash. As the summer burned on, the severity of the fires was merciless. It was the first time I heard the phrase ‘Super Storm’. Now, the discussion of Global Warming was no longer…
Read MoreDean’s Passage
The loss of a family member in early spring allowed me to search for his essence in the vast and multi-layered landscape typical of Northern Idaho. As it swirls upward from the deep lake, to the grass, through the wooded cliffs, up the towering crags of the mountains, lifts into great castles of floating clouds…
Read MoreView Over Selle Valley
My home sits on the edge of a cliff 200 feet above the Selle Valley. In a ten-mile view, the Schweitzer Mountains are against the sky, revealing a huge granite bowl with a multi-faceted ski area. The world between here and there abounds with snow, the morning air is full of electricity, and the frost…
Read MoreApril Deluge
When winter rains take on increasingly torrential proportions, it’s fair to assume the spring season has begun. Seasonal springs, overflow, and gush from the mountainside. Enormous icicles cleave into deeply muddied ground and evergreens dump bucketfuls of water from their thick canopy of tightly woven needles. The level ground is riddled with overflowing puddles and…
Read MoreLast Light
“Last Light,” describes that time of year when the winter solstice has almost arrived. From my home above, the valley, the fields spread out in a dimmed coat of silver and at times, it seems only Jupiter holds a beacon to guide us into a gradual rekindling of the spirit through the longer nights.
Read MoreCold Snap
There are late autumnal mornings when the atmosphere freezes into a dry crispness. My breath crystallizes as soon as it leaves my lips. The folds in my jacket and jeans stiffen and make a light scratching sound. More importantly, the colors seem more vivid and the forms of the vegetation seem visually sharpened. My grandmother…
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