Category Archives: Nature
Sing Blackbird Sing
Last month I posted about migrating flocks of grackles and blackbirds. Hundreds of them landed, turning the lawn from green to black as they hungrily searched for seeds between grass blades. When they flew away, a solitary blackbird still lay … Continue reading
Finding Harmony
We have a similar birth date and the same hometown, but otherwise I have nothing in common with Charles III, except a passion for nature that grew out of childhood and has never faded. I am no apologist for monarchy, … Continue reading
Blackbird Migration
It is mid-February after the coldest weeks I can remember in south-east Virginia. Our summer visitors are still wintering in balmier latitudes; they won’t fly north for another month, but some locals are on the move.A cloud of Common Grackles … Continue reading
The Chill of ICE
I dash from the porch and promptly do battle with ice,Stagger to join rows of bundled-up neighbors, gentle as mice,They stamp frozen feet and wave with woolly mittsSlogans on floppy placards, too chill to move lips,And dream of springtime to … Continue reading
The Afterlife of a Beekeeper – an ode
I lost my beekeeper buddy a week ago and wondered how to leave a tribute for her. This is my timid offering, celebrating the continuity of life. The brood snuggled down against the dark,Since she sealed hive boxes tight as … Continue reading







