Love, Intelligence and Sex — Musings on the Natural World, part 2 (326)

I asked Derrick Jensen whether he believed in God. “I believe in something,” he replied. “There is some animating force or something. Life is so complex and so extraordinary, and even our individual bodies are so extraordinary and complex.” He plies us with examples of … [Read more...]

Love, Intelligence and Art — Musings on the Natural World, part 1 (325)

Derrick Jensen reflects on the bird and frog songs he loves, and the richness of longtime relationships with natural places where one lives. By contrast, and especially in cities, our sensory input is largely mediated by machines (computers, television, radio, cars, etc.) … [Read more...]

Becalmed in Paradise

A few weeks ago we went sailing with friends at nearby Fern Ridge Reservoir. I looked forward to my first sailing outing, expecting it to be different from my family's waterskiing life on California's reservoirs. Here I would learn how to work with the wind and waves and … [Read more...]

The Light Returns: Solstice beside the Salish Sea

It is Christmas day. We are house-sitting with Carson the Cat in a Victorian house in Victoria, British Columbia. Yesterday we were moved by a delightful reading of Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by narrator Nelville Jones, a Victorian Welshman. Interwoven … [Read more...]

Rock Grottoes and Grand Vistas

Thanks to our Seattle friend Marita, we enjoyed a gentle 3 mile day hike around Naches Peak in the Mt. Rainier National forest. Rock grottoes sprinkled with tiny colorful wildflowers, sepia stone ridges with a trace of snow, lakes and ponds framed by dark green conifers. A … [Read more...]