Sunday, December 11, 2011

Remember the Cicadas?

I was just thinking about the cicada event this summer. They were so prolific, so busy. And so beautiful. At one point I heard rumors that cicada wings were a valuable commodity, supposedly used to decorate tiny fairy figurines with crystalline wings. Or something to that effect. The anticipated eBay gold rush never came.

they emerged from holes in the ground ...


and filled the trees and sky ...


after leaving the husks of their former forms behind ....


Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Break the Fever!

There's just one way to break a bad case of cabin fever, and that's to get out of the cabin and on to the ground. Despite warnings of wet weather, I'll be heading to Peck Ranch Conservation Area and backpacking in to the Rocky Creek area north of Stegall Mountain.

Who's in? I'll be headed south on the OT near Rocky Falls at 8AM on Saturday, March 5. Join me for a trip to the top of Stegall Mountain, then down into the hollows for a deep-woods evening camp. There'll be plenty of grub and libation. Join me? Leave a reply and let me know to expect you. I'll leave the proverbial string out.


Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Jewels In the Night

If you're lucky enough to be in the bitter cold ice-bound midwest tonight, it will do you well to shed your cabin feverish state and go outside for a bit. The trees are covered with ice and the available ambient light illuminates them. To me, it's as if the goddess Gaia has chosen a unique moment in time to freeze the glory of evolutionary continuity and allow mere ascendents like me to grasp the crystalline reality of our beauty and fortunate majesty.

Go outside. There's not much of a moon - a mere sliver of a slice of light - but the stars are out tonight and the cold has dropped the moisture in the air as tiny fragments of snow. Clear. Cold. Quiet. Crystalline. Sacred. Yours. A delight of light. In the dark. Reach for it. Savor it. It's for you and you alone.

I love being here on this glorious planet. I can't very well thank the Great Clock Maker but I will thank you all for being here with me. It's just lovely.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Winter Ozark Float Trip

Gosh, I need to get out on a river! This time of year, the algae and sediment drop out of the Ozark streams, leaving it amazingly clear and blue. Every rock, every fish, every living thing in the stream is exposed to view. Mind you, it can be a bit chilly, especially if you go overboard. I always bring a fluffy sleeping bag packed in two layers of waterproof bags in case I dump and need to warm up. Just find a nice gravel bar, build a big driftwood fire, and crawl into that warm bag.

Big Piney, Little Piney, Gasconade, Courtois, Huzzah, Meramec, Current, Jacks Fork... take your pick. You won't be crowded out by hordes of drunken party-goers - for all their hubris and volume they just can't hang with the field hippies.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Gunsight Politics

Well, Sarah Palin's clearly shown what thoughtless and violent insinuation will precipitate. Gunsight politics. What did we expect, after all.

Ms. Palin, I'll see your gunsight analogy bet, and raise you. As a big game hunter there are a couple of approaches; hunting for trophies or hunting for meat.

As far as hunting Ms. Palin is concerned, I'd mount it - but I wouldn't eat it. She's just too bitter for my palate.