Nature & Natural World
Nature Creeps In
Recently, I looked up from writing at my desk and spotted a cardinal pecking at the dirt in my yard–a bold movement of color on the dark mulch and earth. The site captivated me.
Charles Burchfield: Nature & the City
A Christmas or two ago, my wife gave me a copy of Blistering Visions: Charles E. Burchfield’s Sublime American Landscape, a catalog accompanying a 2016 exhibition commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Burchfield Penny Art Center in Buffalo, New York.
Crossing the Empire State
Last week, a minor emergency prompted a last-minute change to an already postponed family visit to Western New York State. Not wanting to call off my long-awaited and now necessary trip, I purchased a round-trip ticket from New York to Rochester on Amtrak’s Empire Service line.
No Need to Go Far
Several years ago, Melody Warnick wrote This is Where You Belong, a book urging readers to slow down and appreciate their lives right where they are. According to Warnick, your life isn’t waiting to begin in a distant city or a rural hamlet. Discover what makes your community, neighborhood, or city interesting. You might be…
Plants & America: A July 4th Reflection
Every summer, near the Fourth of July, I try to read a history of the American Revolution or a biography of a founding father. This period has long captivated my imagination: Enlightenment thinkers led a young nation discovering its identity.
Trees Grow in Brooklyn
Last week, I ventured from my cozy nest in Jersey City to Brooklyn, the epicenter of the contemporary creative world in New York. I didn’t seek out live music, funky cafes, eclectic bookshops, or farm-to-table restaurants. I rode the subway to Brooklyn to enjoy nature. Yes, nature.
Oases in the City: Looking to One Future
While deep in my research at the New York Public Library on a undisclosed topic, I recently came across the 1923 edition of New York Walk Book, a hiking guide for the metropolitan area. The book provides itineraries, guides, and maps for both urban flaneurs and nature lovers. This wonderful volume inflamed my imagination.
The Passing of Winter
On the first day of spring last week, I stood in my small urban backyard and listened to hidden birds sing. Daffodil shoots peaked from beneath the soil. Yet, the wind still carried a chill touch.
A Quiet Moment (in New York?)
After a late winter snowstorm a week or so ago, I walked along Central Park and paused to admire the landscape art of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux. For a moment, the world seemed quiet and calm. I felt a closeness to nature and forgot the everyday thoughts and worries haunting my mind. Those…
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