At 6000 feet, spring does not necessarily arrive in accordance with meteorological or astronomical predictions. It does not appear suddenly, but approaches stealthily. A green shoot here, a pink blossom there, an emerald sheen on the lawn, emerging tree buds that suffuse aspens in a hue of red, and cottonwoods in a tinge of gold. … Continue reading Spring’s Blue Ribbon
Behind us lies autumn and its attendant allure. Before us, springtime, full of new promise and novel prospects, filled with life renewed, reborn. Despite subtle signs of spring, vernal equinox is yet to come. The hibernal months might hold more darkness than light, bring illness and even eternal sleep to dear friends and family. Bemoaned … Continue reading Ice Art
Renewed contact with relatives in Stuttgart in recent years has been enriching not only on a personal level, but has enabled me to combine family visits with those of natural enclaves. A few sites in particular have stolen my heart. Like a siren, they beckon me to return and like Odysseus, I am unable to … Continue reading Stuttgart’s Green Sides-Part 1
For as long as I can remember, I have seldom needed an alarm clock. I typically awake on my own, without having my dreams disrupted by bothersome beeping. While human sleep and wake cycles result from nature and nurture, in birds these patterns are inborn. I vaguely recollect learning about a ”bird clock” many years … Continue reading Robinsong
Not far from my childhood home in Germany’s region of Rhine Hesse, an epochal encounter sounded the final death knell of the Dark Ages: Martin Luther’s courageous, if foolhardy appearance before Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in April 1521, at what was called the Diet of Worms. It … Continue reading A Much Celebrated Man
tanja britton 