The few moments of violent winds in a summer storm thrashing branches in wide arches across the lawn left a baby cardinal dashed and sprawled upon the concrete walkway. It was the family's second unsuccessful attempt to raise a family in what appeared to be...
I was the first person to see my second son. When I first saw him I could not yet tell if he was a he or a she. This was in Africa a long time before sonograms. Yet I was not the first to know...
I looked out my window just in time to see three very chatty crows walking down the center of my street. Whatever they were talking about must have been fascinating because they were paying no heed to traffic. I'm not sure if they were complaining...
Recently while kneeling in a prayer circle, instead of rehearsing what I was going to say when it was my turn, I decided to really listen to what the others were saying. Gradually it occurred to me that this prayer circle was a strange ritual. ...
It was like something from "The Twilight Zone." It could not have been more carefully scripted in a book. This morning while eating breakfast my wife and I noticed an increased red squirrel population on the patio. Apparently a new family had just left the...
Our motorcycle helmets are stored high on a shelf in the garage. It has been a few years since we wore them but I was still surprised when I took one down and was instantly showered with birdseed. "Oh, no," I thought. "A mouse has...
I'm sitting here looking at a full-page magazine ad for a watch. It stirs the soul. The man pictured wearing the watch is ruggedly handsome with three days growth of beard. He is wearing a wet suit and is grimacing as he peers into the...
My wife was standing in a line at a customer service desk. There were two people behind the counter. One woman was helping someone when the other looked up and said, "I'm not ignoring you. I'm leaving." I think that is a form of ignoring. ...
Within the next few days the Massachusetts highway department will need to cut down a beautiful white birch tree that is leaning more and more over the road. It has not been bowed down by ice or by some boy climbing. It has just decided...
I watched a very messy nuthatch this evening. As day was coming to an early ending there was a host of sparrows and squirrels enjoying a rainstorm of birdseed. I don't know what kind of seed the nuthatch was looking for but he was whipping...