The first rays of light glow through the trees; ferns and vine maples dripping with the memory of rain from the night. Silence gives way to birdsong, joyous, and free, a celebration that the light again returned. Part of me wants to sing with them, to celebrate as they do. The tree frogs’ croak quieted […]
A good story has a way of getting inside you. It can reveal something about where you are in life. Stories also give us a cultural context and sense of continuity. They teach us how to live. In many Native cultures there are stories of the First People, or the Ancestors, that show how people […]
The North Star Points True North Knowing how to find the North Star in the northern hemisphere is one of the most basic survival skills. Those of us in the north are fortunate to have the North Star as a handy survival tool for determining direction without a compass. Visible from the surface of the […]
Flint and steel is a primitive fire-making technique dating back into the Iron Age when steel was first available for this simple and quite effective way to ignite fire. It was frequently used until more recent years, when matches were invented, making the flint and steel method obsolete. Yet there are many reasons why flint […]
If I am in a wandering mood, I often head up the old road, into the valley above my Sit Spot. It has just enough human traffic in the summer to keep the mud puddles in good shape. In the winter it is used by snowmobiles. It’s about 3/4 of a mile of great four-season […]
Have you ever wondered how to tell what the wind speed is? Below is a useful scale that you can use simply through your observations. This can be really handy if you are trying to keep track of the weather on a regular basis. The Beaufort Scale can be used to help estimate the wind […]
Sometimes the smallest thing can be the biggest problem. One of these tiny problems comes in the form of insects—specifically stings. Even if you are not severely allergic to bee or insect stings, it can still be an annoyance with some people experiencing swelling and itching of the site. Whether you are at home in […]
Listening to birds and watching bird behavior allows us to become aware of animal activity, to sneak up on wildlife or unsuspecting friends, and to enhance our senses. In my year at Wilderness Awareness School’s Immersion program, in Duvall, Washington, I explored the school’s teachings about birds, bird watching, and awareness. Here I’ll share some […]
Bird Language is a big passion of mine, so I’m always keeping my eyes and ears open for mysterious bird alarms on the landscape. It’s always really exciting on those occasions when I hear an alarm, especially when I can use that to predict exactly where an animal is, what that animal is likely to […]
A Redstart gleams glossy black and is gone. Kinglets trickle past me, their high calls scattering south. Bird migration is in full swing. The birds may be finding their way by seeing the magnetic fields of the earth by virtue of magnetite crystals in their brains, internal compasses that let them perceive magnetism as we […]