I had so much fun talking with @rlmaizes.bsky.social for this piece!

Butterflies in my yard today: tiger swallowtail, cabbage white, least skipper, common checkered skipper. Also two bumblebees. That's Denver Colorado in early July. (Still no painted ladies, which is strange and ominous)

I love how this first line in @coloradoreview.bsky.social 's summer issue takes us on a journey

Just back from Banff, Canada, which felt like the Realm of Rocks in the same way that when I first visited Yellowstone at age 16 it felt (compared to Ohio) like the Realm of Wild Beasts--like this was their place, and we were just visiting. Simplistic, probably, but it still feels true

Sprawl is having its moment as a possible solution to the housing crisis. But this is narrow, linear thinking applied to complex systems. The side effects of sprawl are as bad if not worse than the problems it would solve.

When modern people started farming, they built with what was available locally in abundance, mostly with renewable or reusable materials. Clay, wood, straw, stone. We did this for thousands of years. 1/2 foto: maris mezulis

#ArtDD2025 Herring gull Never understood why people don't like gulls; there again, I've never had a chip nicked by one!😄 Orig 📷 by @danjbrown97.bsky.social with thanks. @saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @mayfieldbirder.bsky.social

Your yard isn’t yours. It belongs to the foxes at night, the birds in the morning, the squirrels in the afternoon, and the gophers whenever they feel like it. Moral of the story: You’re just a tenant in nature’s world. #natureisboss #rewild #coexist #treadlightly #earnyourkeep #shareresources #wild

One place our government could save a lot of money is the billions given to Elon Musk's companies every year. abcnews.go.com/US/musk-work...

Late last year I go the chance to talk with Linnea Harris at the Colorado Review about my essay published in their Fall/Winter issue--seriously, SUCH a great journal to work with. coloradoreview.colostate.edu/2025/02/a-co...

I'm going to force rhubarb this year--my first attempt. Is it too early? Is my setup too half-assed? I'll find out!

What I'm reading, January 2025 edition: two Aussie novels and @dannymlavery.bsky.social 's Women's Hotel.

“9. Take every opportunity to participate in civic life. Linger in and enjoy good parks, places, and streets every day, not just during special events. Your very presence and engagement adds life, vitality, and safety to a place, and helps them be more enjoyable for everyone.” #NewYearsResolutions

One of my favorite childhood authors and one no one else around me (in the US) knew about!

So this week Elise & I hosted a small gingerbread gathering, and @cottomanempire.bsky.social created… an EDIBLE WILDLIFE OVERPASS. Check out those migrating animal-cracker bison! The crushed Oreo asphalt of the road! The flawless curvature of the gingerbread bridge! A true #roadecology masterpiece.

For those among us nerdy enough, please enjoy these images of the plain plaster at Sutton Scarsdale Hall, Derbyshire. Interesting to see various methods, the use of additional materials and the layers 🤩 🤓

This from @pekkatahkola.bsky.social winter-cycling ambassador of Oulu: "Metsokangas elementary school in the far suburbs of Oulu. It was -31°C in the morning. Just 1 of 4 parking lots for students. It's not about the cold, it's the safe infrastructure & excellent maintenance. No rocket science."

When the going gets cold, the Finns keep cycling. Illuminated bike paths on compacted and textured snow in Oulu, #Finland. Thanks to @harrivaarala.bsky.social for the video!

This isn't new to the world, but it's new to me and blew my little mind this morning: some African elephants are rapidly evolving to not have tusks because of ivory poaching 😟 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

My essay "Rooted" got selected for Creative Nonfiction's anthology The Final Issue (creativenonfiction.org). I'm a little in awe of the company it's keeping.

I kept hoping Totoro's cat bus would arrive. Instead it was just the (very slow) E train.

Fascinating, hopeful case: legally enforceable rights just granted to the Snohomish River watershed in Everett City, Washington State. “Voters in Everett…enshrined the watershed’s rights to exist, regenerate and flourish.” insideclimatenews.org/news/0512202...

Mindblowing presentation last night by USFWS’s Kristin Salamack: temporary fencing deployed in southeastern Colorado during fall mating season successfully funneled tarantulas (& the occasional burrowing owl) into preexisting culverts. That’s right: it’s America’s first SPIDER WILDLIFE CROSSING. 🤯

"You assholes, you’re the reason that every fucking new car is blinding the shit out of everyone.” I really like the rhetorical choices made by Nate here.

When Richard III's skeleton was found under a parking lot in England in 2012, it was an exciting enough discovery for the general public, but a game-changer for Yvonne Morley-Chisholm.

To say: my profile pic is a LiDAR image showing the river-ghosts—historical meanders—of the Lower Mississippi. Water, wandering, wilfully. It’s by Daniel Coe, who has deep-mapped the pasts of many rivers. See more of his work at dancoecarto.com/work & below. What wild, wondrous beings rivers are.

A silver skull-shaped watch case that opens to reveal the watch dial (the jaw can be lowered to reveal the dial) The watch is decorated at the back with a memento mori scene of two skeletons, a winged hourglass and a table with crucifix and candles. c.1600 (Sold at Christies in 2017) #skystorians

"Wisdom sits in places, the Apache say. So what happens when we mow it all down?" Thrilled beyond measure to have my essay "Geography of Forgetting" published in the Colorado Review this fall: coloradoreview.colostate.edu/features/geo...

One of the great tragedies of history is that Maarten van Nieuwenhove had a face born to wear an oversized Metallica tshirt that smelled of weed but was forced to live in the 15th century

give this writer every. single. award.

Apparently I was stalking bears on my hike yesterday (that crinkly foot bottom!)