The constant gardener lives in an uneasy relationship with nature. Sometimes they are friends, sometimes allies, and at other times enemies.There is nothing natural about a traditional English cottage garden, however beautiful it may look. Nor is there anything natural
I have a door at home that hides a secret—not because it closes off a room; it usually stands open, its back pressed against a wall.One day I shared this secret with a friend who was mourning the loss of
There is no more tender moment in The Odyssey than when old Argos greets his master, who returns home in secret after two decades away at the Trojan War. You don’t have to be a dog lover to be moved
Curiosity can mean many things. It gives the brain an appetite for discovery. It helps wild animals survive. It sometimes gets them into trouble—after all, what happened to the proverbial cat? And in other creatures, including humans, curiosity can occasionally
The services of bees have been valued for millennia. In the early Middle Ages, they provided honey for sweetening, mead and beer, wax for candles, sealants, and much more. The only benefits never mentioned then are pollination services, the prime
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
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,
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
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
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