Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham
I don’t know what I expected from a sandy spit of coral thirty miles off the coast of Belize, but it wasn’t this! This lush thirteen-and-a-half-acre island is a vibrant, flourishing, diverse patch of nature. What a week! Atoll: A ring-shaped island, including a coral … Continue readingA Week on Glover’s Reef Atoll
A Glimpse into the Life of Caribbean Reef Octopus With headlamps and flashlights, we slowly step across sharp rocks along the edge of the eastern shoreline. It’s 7:30 pm, and the tide is out on Long Caye on Belize’s Glover’s Reef Atoll. Our guide shines … Continue readingTidepooling at Night
The Black Skimmer’s Latin name is Rynchops niger Ryn = Nose or Beak Chops = Cut off They leave a lasting impression – these comical, gregarious shorebirds. Black skimmers gather in large social colonies on flat, sandy Atlantic beaches. … Continue readingBlack Skimmers
I’d half expected the falls to be dry. It’s hardly rained in northwest Georgia this autumn. But nature always delights as she often reminds me. The tiered unnamed falls cascade in a soft veil to join the creek and meander among the fallen leaves. The … Continue readingCloudland Canyon Waterfalls
The first snow of the season was a few days ago. Just a couple of inches, not enough to bury the last of fall’s glory yet. Today will probably be the last of the frosty fall mushrooms and leaves. It’s been a prolific fungi season. … Continue readingA Frosty Fall Day
When I set out for Waterton National Park in Alberta, Canada, I imagined fall forests resplendent in golds, accented by oranges and reds. The smell of leaves composting into the earth and the peace of the earth quieting into winter. What I found was a … Continue readingWaterton Park and the 2017 Kenow Fire
I’ve only ever been charged by two species. The bear took only a few quick steps before stopping. The snowshoe hare, on the other hand, well, I was reminded of the killer bunny scene in Monty Python’s The Holy Grail. In 2014, on a trail … Continue readingSherman Peak Loop Trail
With varying degrees of hope, I commonly say that I’m going to find wild cats when I head into the wild with my camera. And so it was that I excitedly shared this cougar alert post from Waterton National Park just a few days before … Continue readingGhost Cat Revealed
If he’s wooing, he could use some pointers.It’s dusky at the end of the day as I’m driving to my home for the night. When the mountains meet the prairie, cattle ranches and fields artfully adorned with round bales of hay become the backdrop. So, … Continue readingWooing or Shooing? A Moose Encounter
I jogged up the hill at the back of our property to try to locate the source of this new, intimidating smoke plume when my phone alerted. Watch Duty: New Wildfire. “Go Now” evacuations for the two main roads into my neighborhood. I turn and … Continue readingWhen Fire Comes