Author Archives: Roger Gosden

About Roger Gosden

A British/ Canadian/ American scientist specializing in reproduction & embryology whose career spanned from Cambridge to Cornell's Weill Medical College in NYC. Married to Lucinda Veeck, the embryologist for the first successful IVF team in America. They retired to Virginia, where he became a master naturalist and writer affiliated with William & Mary. He also writes on Substack at What’s Hot in Fertility? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Gosden

The Naturalist Spirit

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Roger Gosden

Does any vocation have a more open and welcoming door than natural history? To be a naturalist, you don’t need a high school diploma or a university degree; there is neither an age barrier nor a physical fitness test. Plenty … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged Ann Frank, Charles Darwin, Environmentalism, koinonia, naturalist, Patriarch Bartholomew, Pope Francis, Rachel Carson, Robert Gifford, Virginia Master Naturalists, William Wordsworth | 2 Comments

Virginia Nature Journal for March

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Roger Gosden

The poem was inspired by thousands of wild daffodils blooming in woods around Ullswater in the Lake District of England in the spring of 1802. I imagine Wordsworth on horseback in a tightly-fitting frock coat, pantaloons and hessian boots, while … Continue reading →

Posted in Seasons in Virginia | Tagged Daffodils, I wondered lonely as a cloud, phenology, Project Budburst, William Wordsworth | 1 Comment

The Bard of Beckenham

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Roger Gosden

Gordon Burness was born in London on May 7, 1928. When he died in the same city aged 86 he left no large footprint in history, but those close to him knew that a remarkable man had passed. He had … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir | Tagged Albino badger, poetry anthology | 1 Comment

Virginia Nature Journal for February

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Roger Gosden

We had exceptionally chill temperatures and heavy snow throughout February up and down the East Coast this year. Cold air that normally hangs over the north-west was pushed down to the Plains by the jet-stream, leaving Alaska feeling relatively balmy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Seasons in Virginia | Tagged February, Trees, wildlife | Comments Off

The Soda File

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Roger Gosden

“Which boy can tell me about sodium?” “Please, sir.” One of the little crawlers in the front row of the class shot his arm up, revealing a neatly-ironed white sleeve. “It’s salt, sir.” “WRONG!” the teacher roared. He thumped his … Continue reading →