The newest issue (September/October 2007) of Orion—my favorite environmental journal (well, besides Terrain.org perhaps)—is absolutely beautiful, and includes such writers as Sandra Steingraber, Mary Oliver, David James Duncan, Janisse Ray, Rebecca Solnit, and Robert Michael Pyle. And (joy of joys!) a little ‘ol poem by me: “Wild Mint.” The first person who correctly guesses the [...]

It may well be, though I’ve long been allegient to the third: Prisoner of Azkaban, directed by (Alfonso Cuarón). After being disappointed following Goblet of Fire—since Prisoner of Azkaban was so great and my expectations were, apparently, unrealistically high—I was a bit apprehensive entering this film. But director David Yates and the cast did a [...]

Last weekend my older daughter and I traveled with a group of MFA students and faculty, including Richard Shelton, author of the enjoyable Going Back to Bisbee, to Bisbee, Arizona. Along the way we trekked through the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Murray Springs Clovis Site, Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate, and the adobe [...]

A bit of good news for me: I won the Jack Huggins Award for the Study of Literature in the Southwest (or something like that, but it pays!) for my essay on jaguars and immigration on the Arizona-Sonora border, titled “Borderland Dreams: Tracking El Tigre in Southern Arizona and Beyond.” It’s out for review at [...]

A FOOD CHAIN RELEASE FROM METROFARM.COM We know what happens with the birds and the bees. But it is the Spring of dying bees, and this leads us to ask, “What happens when there are no bees?” This Saturday morning, March 24, at 9 am Pacific, the Food Chain with Michael Olson hosts Professors Eric [...]

Driving east from Tucson into New Mexico, we realized that the wildflowers we hoped to see haven’t bloomed yet. After lunch at Deming, we made our way to Rockhound State Park and nearby Spring Canyon, in the Chiricahua-like Florida Mountains. As the name implies, Rockhound is more known for geology—it is the only New Mexico [...]

The Organ Mountains are about the coolest Southwestern mountains I have seen, and when coupled with nearby White Sands and Mesilla (see below) make Las Cruses a location definitely worth returning to. In fact, I think we’re heading back that way in May or June; it’s only a bit over three hours from Tucson! Some [...]

This morning we left Las Cruses before sunrise for White Sands National Monument, making it just in time to catch the morning’s warm glow on gypsum dunes the color of snow: My youngest daughter made the trip with me, and was quite the trooper (not to mention climber). Here, recent rains have caused flooding, so [...]

Between the Rio Grande and Las Cruces, New Mexico, lies the town of Mesilla, centered around an authentic Mexican plaza where the Gadsden Purchase was signed. We enjoyed dinner on Wednesday evening and lunch the next day in the town that reminded me, in the evening especially, of Alamos, Sonora. A few photos: The plaza, [...]

‘Tis spring break here in the sunny Sonoran desert, and the girls and I are off to New Mexico for a couple days later this week: camping and photography. I think we’ll hit Rockhound State Park and White Sands National Monument, but that’s all we’ll have time for. We’re traveling with good friend Scott Calhoun [...]