Natural World

Recently, Mary Webster, a longtime pal and resident of Central Oregon—and whale of a fine photographer—sent me images of Sauvie Island, located on the Columbia River, north of Portland. It has a beautiful wildlife management area on it, operated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, nestled in amongst several hundred acres of private […]

Way back in the mid-’50s I was living in the old George A. Jones house in Bend located on Dean and Lily Hollinshead’s place. My great pal and superb helper in punishing raptor killers, Oregon State Police Officer Avon Mayfield, called me and asked if I would go with him to collect a bobcat held […]

Two weeks ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the first part of its most recent climate change assessment. The physical science basis of Sixth Assessment Report painted a grim picture of all that we are doing to our planet—including that the fact that planet is warming faster than we thought and that our […]

Have you ever found an injured wild animal and wondered what to do or who to call? Maybe wondered about deer-proof plants or wildlife-friendly fencing? Well, now your go-to source is the wildlife rescue and education folks at Think Wild. “We’ve come a long way in the last couple of years,” said Sally Compton, executive […]

Well, our move to Eugene has opened up a new challenge for us: an invasion of tiny ants. And, oh boy, have they moved in! There are nearly 1,000 species of ants in North America. They range in size from tiny specks to as big as a AAA battery. And they’re ubiquitous—they’re everywhere! My wife […]

Well, good people, the heat is upon us. We’ve been warned it was coming, and here it is. The impact(s) of Climate Change we can feel and touch. When we go out driving in our infernal internal combustion engine-powered vehicles, we are a big part of the situation that’s bringing the heat. Like the coal-burning […]

Ahh, summertime in Central Oregon—days that seem to stretch on forever, dusk walks around town as the sun dips below the Three Sisters, and then there’s the diving flight of common nighthawks. These unusual birds are fascinating on so many fronts, from their nesting behavior to their diving displays to their annual migration. Let’s take […]