Between any two trees, there is a doorway leading to a new way of life.~ John Muir ~ Trees are among the most powerful beings on the planet. Solid and magnificent, they cover and hold together a third of Earth’s surface. Their cooling, oxygen-laden breath insures the existence of the rest of life. They are […]
The majesty of trees: celebrating the Season of Creation Read More »
To the degree that we are able to draw closer to Nature, to heal this broken primal relationship, our lives — mind, body, and spirit — take on a harmony, a grace, a wholeness, and an endlessly resourceful, gentle, and indomitable power.~ Peter London ~ For the past year and a half, I have been
Drawing closer to nature Read More »
Last June I was distracted by the joy of seeing my son, Luke, and my daughter-in-law, Genevieve, get married on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Oregon. That wedding was an immediate family affair, so this June our families gathered en masse — 60 of us! — to celebrate. Which means I’ve been a
I’ve begun to wonder if I am addicted to a forest where I often walk. My area is full of great hikes, including one out my door. But time and again, I choose to drive through my town to the trailhead of another hike. I start down the path and am immediately happy. The combination
Designing for happiness Read More »
I had never been a fan of cactus. Prickly, tough-skinned, ungainly. Leaves so attenuated they’ve become sharp-tipped spines. Interesting shapes, perhaps. Fascinating as examples of environmental adaptation, thriving from western Canada to Patagonia. But nothing to love. Things have changed. When I first came to the southern California desert and hiked in the spare open
My first post on The Soul of the Earth was on March 30, 2015. That was the Monday before Easter and this past Monday I finished a heavenly week in the same place I was nine years ago: the Anza Borrego Desert. To celebrate this Easter, I thought I would send a bouquet of the
I have a special interest in the removal of the Klamath River dams: my grandfather helped build them. Now I celebratethe freedom of the river and the Salmon Kingdom that it’s part of.
The Klamath River dams: reweaving a river Read More »
While my songlines stretched out once again in 2023, I’m ending the year where I started: in “a world of emerald fluff.” As soon as the late autumn rains fall in the forests I live among, the vast swaths of moss, dormant in the long dry season, uncurl, fluff out, and turn a vivid green.
Songlines 2023: a year of new beauties Read More »
Fierce and blunt, caring and empathic, Laudate Deum is a cry from the heart of a man who cares deeply about Earth and all her manifestations.
Laudate Deum: a cry of the heart Read More »
I am a native of the northeastern United States, where spectacular fall color is the rule. After a few years of living in the profound all-year green of coastal northern California, I asked a friend where to go to find color. To the eastern Sierra Nevada, she said, so off we went. It was glorious. This yearly gold rush is a gift of many forces meeting — every one of them a wonder in itself.
The California gold rush Read More »