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Outdoor

Wisdom in desktop collection

Let’s take a tour of my desk at work! You’re thinking, “this is a strange topic and sounds boring.” Perhaps! You’ll have to read on to find out. But it was my turn to write the article and I forgot, and this is what my brain can do today. As a preface, I’ve worked at Audubon for a ...

Winter’s Peace

For each season of the year, there is an activity that embodies how that season makes me feel. Something small that happens naturally every year. In the spring, I open my window and take a deep breath, smelling that distinctive spring smell. In the summer, I walk into the refreshing shade of a ...

Gulls and other urban animals

If someone were to ask what animals you find near your home or in your neighborhood, what comes to mind? I live near a lake and with that comes a rotating batch of waterfowl and other birds. The geese and ducks fluctuate in number as the seasons change. The occasional osprey or hawk makes an ...

Driving while birding can be a dangerous pursuit

A blur of blue flashed out of the corner of my eye on a rural road in Pennsylvania: bluebird. A flash of white as motion disappears into the hemlocks: junco. A sand-brown explosion comes from the gravel on the side of the road: doves. These are the bird sightings that I don’t even think ...

Winter is a time to plan for new beginnings

I recently moved into a new house. Big changes like that bring turbulence to the routines of life, but things slowly start to settle into place again. Now it is starting to feel less strange and more comfortable, more like my own. In this time of settling down, I look around at my new space, ...

How we deal with the weather

Is there bad weather? People deal with the weather in many kinds of ways. Some people grumble. Others grouch about. Some are absurdly cheerful, no matter how cold and rainy it is. Some are simply practical about it. I would like to put myself in that practical category. I don’t like being ...