Who, me? A seasoned solo traveler? Filled with trepidation? And in anticipation of going to a place I’ve been twice before, loving it sufficiently that I’m returning, rather than exploring the undoubtedly many other magical spots located elsewhere in Costa Rica? Yup…
Tag: nature
Hammocks
Freed from the leaden tug of gravity that keeps me, thankfully, attached to the earth most of the time, I float and rock in my little nest, with maple leaves, blue skies, and the occasional bird occupying my field of vision…
Rural Paris
What were you doing in late July 2020, during that first pandemic summer? I was rowing. Here, a teaser from my forthcoming book: An American in Pandemic Paris. A Coming-of-Retirement-Age Memoir:
Hainewalde
Hainewalde (‘grove forest’ in German) is a picturesque farming village nestled in the foothills of the Zittau Mountains near the Polish-Czech border with Germany…
Father’s Day
He called me Macushla, after the 1912 song undoubtedly sung to him as a child by his Irish mother…
Choices
I don’t spend a lot of time wondering ‘what if’ but without question the aspect of being human I find most frustrating is that we can only physically live one life, pursue one life path, even if our imaginations offer a broad palette of possibilities…
The Lone Pelican
Sometimes incidental observations transport me to unexpected trains of thought. That’s what happened recently…
The Wise Bird
In 1893, Norwegian artist Gerhard Munthe made a watercolor design for a tapestry, one of many. His subject, The Wise Bird, illustrated a Norwegian legend about a king who sought advice from a Wise Bird living in the chestnut forest beside his castle instead of from his courtiers. Munthe pictured the king engaged in conversation with… Continue reading The Wise Bird
Cultural Misunderstanding
I’m fascinated by the jolts that occur when you assume you’ve understood something, but it turns out you didn’t…
Surprises
I shared the horror as Russia invaded Ukraine and also delighted in the discovery of a rare, natural work of art.