If I asked you to name the defining feature of a frog, you might say its ability to jump. Most frogs hop spectacularly, landing their jumps deftly on their forelimbs with precision. But not all frogs. The pumpkin toadlet, a tiny, Tic-Tac sized, orange-colored frog with scrawny...
Early in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, readers are introduced to a character named Queequeg. A native of the fictional island of Rokovoko – a land described as remote from civilization – Queequeg made the choice to leave the comfort of his island home and explore the...
I spent a long time before a conference call yesterday thinking about the things I would say. I reminded myself to mention some recent relevant research, thought about some questions I wanted to ask and considered the position I thought we should take. I was...
Last week, we stayed in an Airbnb in Colorado. The owner approached the rental experience from an overly helpful perspective. In the kitchen, for example, the knife block on the counter was labeled, “Purchased from Bed Bath and Beyond in 2019. Steak knives are only for cutting...
A white paper flier was taped to our front door. I removed it and read the bold, green letters from the landscape maintenance company’s ad: “Things your lawn is trying to tell you." The list was quite long, including many ominous messages a yard might be...
The girls raced through the sand, faster and faster toward the surf. It was partially the hot sand and partially their enthusiasm to get to the tide pools that made their feet move so quickly. Ella and Emma had two small nets, the kind used in...
Emma celebrated her birthday at a water park with several of her friends from school. My job was to be the Holder of All Things. I sat in a chair, my lap filled with water bottles and goggles and hats and sunscreen. I loved watching...
My daughter Ella disliked my recent blog about the quail. Strongly disliked. She was already upset because of the actual event (discovering the baby quail were eaten by a hawk) and she could not fathom why I would add to the sadness by choosing to revisit...
When I went in to say good night, Emma was in bed, playing with an old compass she had found in the garage. I sat on the edge of the bed, talking with her about her day as she fiddled with the compass. We were having...
For the past several weeks, a family of quail have been living in a bush in our front yard. The family is made up of parents and seven tiny baby birds the size of ping pong balls. Quail are beautiful creatures and look like they...