The March Hare is my favorite Lewis Carroll character, first introduced to the reader at the Mad Hatter’s tea party in “Through the Looking-Glass”. Carroll drew on a rich vein of folklore surrounding this creature which is so iconic with the English countryside. To me, the March Hare seems more philosophical than mad, questioning conventional […]
At the Lakes of Killarney, a local woman told me to look out for a water spirit, known in Irish as a “luchorpán,” meaning a “wee creature”. These spirits over many centuries became the mischievous household fairy said to haunt cellars and drink heavily, called leprechauns. Wishing you safety and peace on this St. Patrick’s […]
The last white-tailed sea eagle in Britain was shot by hunters in 1918, but the story doesn’t end there. A Scottish conservation team brought them back via “rewilding”, a purposeful restoration of an eco-system destroyed by humans. Now they’re a protected species in Scotland. Chicks were taken from a donor population in Norway and flown […]
All Passion Spent Vita Sacksville-West and Sissinghurst Castle Garden To my knowledge, there is only one internationally famous and glorious garden that was created by a married couple, who were in fact living underground gay lives. That place is Sissinghurst; the pair, Vita Sacksville-West and Sir Harold Nicolson. It’s only a few hours from London’s […]
The weird but wonderful Malaysian (left) and tawny (right ) frogmouths, both masters of camouflage, related to nightjars. Only by sheer luck, my guide spotted the tawnies. They’re known in Australia as the nocturnal vacuum cleaners of insect pests. In the daytime, they perch motionless on a tree branch.
My Journey to Southern Spain I rented a mini Fiat at the Madrid airport. Armed with a map, I drove off on my own to Andalusia in the southernmost part of Spain. First destination, Granada. Even before the quintessential Muslim paradise garden, the Alhambra, my first day in Grenada was earmarked for the homes of […]
I was well over forty when I saw my first wild swan. I was crossing a stone bridge in Cambridge, England, and below me were a pair of mute swans gliding past, the water rippling in their wake. Their bright orange bills were topped with a bulbous black knob. After that, I seemingly found them […]
Great art and music resonate differently with each person. A certain sound or visual world can touch your very being, rich with meaning and emotion, melding with your personality, gender identity, ethnicity, heritage, memories, relationships, even shared life experiences with the artist or composer. Frida Kahlo and her self-portraits resonate with me. I can identify […]
I’ve often wondered why we humans thought up religion, which has benefited us with social adhesion, ethical ideas, solace, great music and art, but it has a lot to answer for. Religion plays a conspicuous role in intolerance, authoritarianism, violence, oppression of women and minorities, and war. Before the modern global mega-faiths, there were the […]
Millions of children for well more than a century know the opening line of this magical story: “Once upon a time there were four little rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter.” The author, Beatrix Potter, was a gifted, original artist. Her books interwove the wild and human world in a unique […]
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