Nature, environment, and a little philosophy
A late summer outing to Santa Rosa Island Water, wind and sunlight are the prevailing elements out here among California's Channel Islands. All is scoured, bleached, or blue. Look at aerials of the outlying islands, Santa Rosa and San Miguel. Can you see the long, parallel dunes stretching across the islands like filaments? The dunes …
Blue I knew it would be bright but I didn't think it would be blue. Electric! From the cliffs, my first sight of the crashing surf was such a shock I gasped. On the beach, I hopped about behind Eric and watched the ground light up beneath his feet. Water splashed around us like blue …
Last winter, after eight rainless years, California's drought finally ended. In San Diego, it rained what felt like every week, for several months. The hills flushed green then orange with poppies, the desert bloomed, the reservoirs refilled, the rivers flowed. We learnt that there were waterfalls in the mountains. In early March, in an extraordinary …
September 2019 - Autumn gold in the Eastern Sierras, a snow white Desolation Wilderness, the cerulean feathers of a jay, the cobalt lake. Wildfolk in order of appearance: Canada geese (Branta canadensis) , a well-nourished golden-mantled ground squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis), a Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), a red-breasted nuthatch (Sitta canadensis), a mountain chickadee (Poecile gambeli), …
The San Diego River is full of trash. In an effort to keep it under control, the San Diego River Park Foundation organizes clean-ups two or three times each week. I lend a hand as often as I can. Most days, removing trash from the river means clearing abandoned homeless encampments. Some sites, representing whole communities, …
Continue reading "In San Diego, Rescuing our River After the Rain"
We traveled for a year. Then, in July 2017, Eric and I returned to my village in the French Alps, my "original place". The following is a journal entry that I recently unearthed, which I composed about a week after our return. It captures acute feelings of confusion and longing. Closing the chapter on traveling was …
Stars, like salt. 