Author: Mike Dunn
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The Struggles of Forest Birds
How completely the life of a bird revolves about its nest, its home! In the case of the wood thrush, its life and joy seem to mount higher and higher as the nest prospers. ~John Burroughs, essay on Wood Thrush, 1871 On a walk in the woods last week, I spotted a small bird that… Read more…
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Roaming the River of Life
A river is the most human and companionable of all inanimate things. It has a life, a character, a voice of its own, and is as full of good fellowship as a sugar maple is of sap. It can talk in various tones, loud or low, and of many subjects grave and gay…For real company… Read more…
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Bristly Night Crawler
Be not preoccupied with looking. Go not to the object; let it come to you. ~Henry David Thoreau The other night, the object of interest and I met on the walkway, me barely avoiding stepping on it as I carried in some stuff from my car after dark. Luckily, the light of the walkway lights… Read more…
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The Bobbing Rock
You only need to sit still long enough in some attractive spot in the woods that all its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns. ~Henry David Thoreau In my last post I mentioned the incredible bird life at Elk Knob State Park seen in a recent backpacking trip. The gurgling stream next to… Read more…
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A New Favorite
Our minds, as well as our bodies, have need of the out-of-doors. Our spirits, too, need simple things, elemental things, the sun and the wind and the rain, moonlight and starlight, sunrise and mist and mossy forest trails, the perfumes of dawn and the smell of fresh-turned earth and the ancient music of wind among… Read more…
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Destination Damascus
The longer I live the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world… I have loved the feel of the grass under my feet, and the sound of the running streams by my side. The hum of the wind in the treetops has always been good music to me… ~John… Read more…
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Meals on Wings
They are a peculiarly honest and sociable little bird…they are considerable company for the wood chopper. ~Henry David Thoreau on chickadees Of course, Thoreau was speaking of Black-capped Chickadees, found throughout much of the northern half of the United States and down into the Carolinas in the higher elevation mountains. This week I have been… Read more…
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Sky Flowers
What did the tree learn from the earth to be able to talk with the sky? ~Pablo Neruda Last week while walking in the woods, I stopped to pick up a flower. I can imagine if you did not know, the flower would be a puzzle, lying there on its side, with no others growing… Read more…
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Love is in the Air
There is no remedy for love but to love more. ~Henry David Thoreau Snipe Fly love that is…and actually, most of it is on the ground or low vegetation. A few days ago I posted something about a cool insect I discovered in the yard, a Golden-backed Snipe Fly. Yesterday, when I walked outside, I… Read more…
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The Vine That Isn’t
There’s so much for you to see outdoors. The one requirement, you have to be there to see it. ~Greg Dodge As the sun came up Tuesday morning I walked out to the gate at the driveway to listen to the bird songs and have a look around. As I was walking back to the… Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 