On Pileated Woodpeckers As birds go, there’s no better song than that of the pileated woodpecker calling out to its mate. For the northeast, this is as exotic a bird call as we’re going to get. These birds are huge, approaching 20 inches in height. They feed on ants and beetle larvae in deciduous trees….
Jupiter Rising April 22nd and change is in the air. Spring is finally here. With it come the return of the peepers, buds on the trees and pollen. The puffiness in my eyes betray the rise in pollen counts. But I’ll accept the discomfort to push aside a stubborn winter. The night sky is changing…
Fish & Chips In my travels I have a few standbys that I order; salads, fish tacos and fish & chips. Sure, deep fried food isn’t the best option for my waistline, but sometimes you just need to spoil yourself. Salads get boring, fish tacos get messy, and I just don’t want to eat that…
Growing up on Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, I have an affinity for Mark Twain. As a kid I always thought of him as a Mississippi River guy. No wonder given his most memorable characters and the settings for his greatest work. But Mark Twain moved from Missouri to Hartford, Connecticut and spent summers at…
The last twenty years has seen an explosion in micro brewing. There was a time when I talked about starting a brewery myself, and sometimes I wonder what might have been. Some of the breweries from the late 1990’s have come and gone, others sold out to the mass market brewers, and a few have…
During the Revolutionary War, when it seemed like momentum had turned from the Continental Army to favor the British, a few things turned the tide. First, of course, was the support of the French in the war. Without the French its inconceivable that the Continental Army would have been victorious. But another huge factor was…
The Merritt Running from the New York border to the Housatonic River and opened 80 years ago this year, the Merritt Parkway has maintained a nostalgic charm even as the volume of cars traveling on it test its limits. Sure. I’m talking about a highway, but this one has personality. The Merritt was completed in…
Cod Tongue Newfoundland doesn’t waste time flirting with you – its beauty drops your jaw to your chest at first sight. The flight into St John’s reveals the rugged coastline and the rolling ocean swells that define it. Cape Spear is easy to find with its old lighthouse and its newer replacement reaching up to…
Sap Moon Tonight I watched the moon rising through the trees and illuminate the night. Sometimes the universe gives you just enough.
I read a great book called Geography of Genius that focuses on the tendency of communities of like-minded people to form and thrive, often changing the course of history. Essentially people feed off each other, and are inspired by the geniuses around them to do more in their own lives. Rome, Athens, Vienna, Edinburgh and…