An Outside Chance

october’s glow

PHOTO POST It’s the time of year when the afternoon sun feels as warm as summer – and then darkness sets in when the evening has barely begun. One last ray of light steals into the secluded cove where mallards are settling for the night. Just minutes of subdued light remain as a Great Blue … Read More

summer’s flight

PHOTO POST In the shadowy woods autumn has already arrived, while sunshine on the marsh still reflects summer’s heat. The striped berries of Starry False Solomon’s Seal – if that’s too much of a mouthful, just say Smilacina stellata – make good food for birds, mice, and perhaps for a plump-cheeked chipmunk. Migratory birds are … Read More

putting your best foot forward

PHOTO POST If you were a beautiful Mallard you’d probably be happy to stand on a pair of coral-orange webbed feet … and perhaps you’d take care to keep them clean. A mallard’s webbed feet are great for swimming along the surface of a pond. But if you eat by beating fish at their own … Read More

The Hundred Years’ War for Safe Streets

Also published on Resilience.org Should safety standards for new vehicles take into account the safety only of the inside passengers, or also the safety of others on the streets? When economic circumstances force large numbers of people who can’t afford cars to move into suburbs, should traffic policy on suburban streets still prioritize the unimpeded … Read More

gazing into the reeds

PHOTO POST On an evening in late April as I walked along the road, my eye was drawn to a bird swimming across the marsh in a peculiar, herky-jerky fashion. When I zoomed in with my camera and saw the distinctive black and white markings plus the brilliant red beak, it was clear that this … Read More

Transition to a Low-Energy Future

One project has taken the lion’s share of my work time for the past year, and it has been a project close to my heart. As long-time readers will have noted, my writings frequently concern the intersection between energy and economics. I was honored and grateful, therefore, to be asked to serve as guest editor … Read More

watching the web

PHOTO POST The onrushing summer engulfs us with new blooms, hot winds, welcome rains, and a procession of insects that each play their role in the march of seasons. Milkweed leaves, above, may soon be eaten to shreds by monarch caterpillars. Meanwhile a Black & Yellow Mud Dauber Wasp uses the vantage point to look … Read More

regarding the ways of the marsh

PHOTO POST A long period of hot dry weather has hastened the fullness of summer in the marsh. Where you and I might see a smelly mess, many creatures are seeing a fertile, fecund, bountiful bouquet of life. The dropping water levels have exposed squishy mudflats – great dining areas for pipers including the Killdeer. … Read More

Climate change, citizenship, and the global caste system

Also published on Resilience.org Suppose humanity survives through the 21st century. Our descendants may shudder to realize their own grandparents blithely accepted, perhaps even praised, a rigid caste system that offered rich opportunities to a minority while consigning the vast majority to a brutal struggle for mere existence. This week hundreds of millions of people … Read More

pairings

PHOTO POST If you want to see some scary exotic creatures on the hunt, you could buy yourself a camera with a lens as long as its price tag, then book an even more expensive safari to the far side of the world. Or, you could pick up a half-decent magnifying glass, lie down in … Read More

keeping watch

PHOTO POST From the least of the sandpipers to the greatest of the owls, today’s post is all birds. Even while they’re out looking for food – whether seeds, bugs or fish – the birds around the marshes also need to look out for other birds who are looking for food. There’s always a chance that … Read More

bloomin’ weeds

PHOTO POST Full disclosure: not all the plants pictured here are wildflowers strictly speaking. Some have been introduced to the area, have escaped from gardens, and now roam the countryside, feral. The Wood Anemone at the top of the post grows across North America, including local meadows and at the edges of some marshes. A … Read More