Fishing | Pateros, WA | August 2019
These pelicans cock their bills to scoop up — and gulp down — lunch as it swims by. I’ve observed that many restaurant patrons also strike a stance before plunging into a meal. Some scan intensely for unwanted ingredients (an onion slice, sprinkled parsley or ubiquitous bacon). Some have a fork ready to enforce a no-mingling ban among food items. Some turn their plates so (more…)
Ice | Twisp, WA | August 2019
I grew up in south Louisiana certain that ice should be the main ingredient in any glass of sweet tea or Coca-Cola. The heat, humidity and conversational habits demanded we sip something cold — icy cold — while we sat in the shade to analyze the latest Saints game. The tea or soda was mere flavoring. In my early travels northward, I noticed immediately that the amount of ice in a glass was inversely proportional to the distance from my hometown. Half a glass in Memphis. One-eighth of a glass in Chicago. A measly four cubes in NYC. Imagine my horror upon discovering that (more…)
Forest | Republic, WA | August 2019
One indicator of a quality life is being surrounded by trees too numerous to count. A great sweep of forest soothes like an ocean view but with more warp and woof — a textured weave of wonder. One recent evening on Sherman Pass (our state’s highest), I overheard a mother tell her two young boys to listen for forest spirits. Sure enough, a murmur rose on the far mountainside as a breeze stirred the trees. Then a roar as (more…)
Yellow Jacket | Twisp, WA | August 2019
We often face barriers that keep us from favorite activities, work goals or even survival needs. We can break down these challenges and tackle each small piece step-by-step. Or, as this insect decided, we can scout a new route around the obstacle. The yellow jacket wisely abandoned attempts to smash or gnaw through this grimy window pane. Instead, it found (more…)
Green and Red | East Wenatchee, WA | August 2019
Yes, I sometimes arrange vegetables into curvy designs. Don’t you? “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way — things I had no words for,” said American artist Georgia O’Keeffe (d. 1986). She’s known, of course, for her erotic paintings of flowers. But she also dished up (more…)
Fish Ladder | Wenatchee, WA | August 2019
The struggles of salmon to get home and have babies are monumental. On the Columbia River, predators (including fisher folk), ship traffic and hydro dams top the list of challenges. Yet, from a (smug) human perspective, the spawning parents seem to have adapted well to climbing fish ladders. They leap a (more…)
Hives | Twisp, WA | August 2019
Some bee colonies create a buzz you can feel in your bones. It’s a sub-aural phenomenon, more vibration than sound, that pulses from certain types of hive architecture and hidden nests. For me, that buzz isn’t the joyful bzzt-bzzt of bee busy-ness. It’s more of a gut warning to stay alert and be ready to act. I feel that same judder now when I (more…)
Antique Dolls | Spokane, WA | August 2019
What sparks dread? I had a friend in college who shivered at the glowing tip of any extinguished candle wick. “Spook eye,” he said. A co-worker in New Orleans never walked through alleys. “Something’s in there,” she whispered as we avoided a shortcut to lunch. “Something bad.” Dolls in quantity unnerve me. Sure, they’re (more…)
Charred Trunk | Blewett Pass, WA | August 2019
Wildfire bad; wildfire good. Forests razed; forests reborn. Homes burned; home-building booms. Fire’s balance between awful and awesome continues to be veiled in smoke. No response suits every situation. Arguments for extinguishing, igniting, controlling, observing the worst blazes all have merit. What we know for (more…)
Sheep | Moses Lake, WA | August 2019
The mainstay of American values isn’t a Trump rally or Independence Day celebration. It’s the county fair. That’s where an extraordinary mix of people — farmers, housewives, entrepreneurs, artists, performers — put their passions on display. They unabashedly exclaim: Here’s the prettiest flower I’ve grown, the tastiest cookies I’ve baked, the best LEGO model I’ve made. The 4-H kids with animals are the most intense. Their critters must meet not only present-day standards of health and hygiene, but also follow two centuries of (more…)
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