Let’s move back in time to January in Cambodia. The hour is pre-dawn. I’m writing by lantern light outside my tent, which has been provided by the local community of Prey Veng. Here at our campsite, sounds are in transition from the unearthly, resonant songs … Continue readingThe Road to Prey Veng
Angkor Wat in the early morning (Photos by Narca) Angkor Wat is, to my mind, one of the true wonders of the ancient world, on a par with Egypt’s and Greece’s antiquities and Peru’s Machu Picchu. For our first three days in Cambodia, Alan, Jim, … Continue readingTemple-trekking at Angkor Wat
Our birding trip in Cambodia was organized by the Sam Veasna Center for Wildlife Conservation, based in Siem Reap (the city close to the famed temples of Angkor Wat). The center’s work in meshing ecotourism with village economies is the most impressive example I’ve ever … Continue readingCambodia: First, the Khmer Rouge’s Legacy
When there’s a long break in my blog posts, you can bet I’m on the road. We have just returned from nearly a month and a half in Southeast Asia––Cambodia, Thailand, and Singapore––and is there ever a lot to report! Here is a quick preview … Continue readingStay Tuned: Cambodia!
This year, again, Alan and I joined the national ritual of Christmas Bird Counts, once more participating in the back-to-back counts for Portal, Arizona, and the Peloncillo Mountains, New Mexico. The weather couldn’t have been finer, with temperatures rising into the high 60s and low … Continue readingCelebrating Our Local CBCs
Snowy Owl at Boundary Bay, Canada (Photos by Narca) Boundary Bay near Delta, Canada, is hosting a Snowy Owl fiesta this winter. Twenty-four of the superlative creatures were visible from one spot on the day that our friend Jim Shiflett asked me to grab my … Continue readingTwenty-four! Snowy Owls!
Arizona Sycamore against an impossibly blue Arizona sky (Photos by Narca) Fall comes late to southern Arizona. Up north, trees are bare by now and shrouded in ice. Here Indian Summer has drifted into fall, and shifted bit by bit into chilly winter, yet any venture out-of-doors … Continue readingImmersion
Yesterday the Chiricahua Gallery in Rodeo, New Mexico, opened its holiday show. We’ve come to the 25th year––the silver anniversary––of our art guild’s founding. We’ve been around for a quarter of the time that Arizona has been a state! The gallery is a not-for-profit cooperative … Continue readingCelebrating the Silver
Ordinarily, if Alan and I chase something it has feathers. This morning we rose early and headed up to the Interstate to watch the Union Pacific’s historic steam locomotive No. 844 chug from New Mexico into Arizona. At least “chug” was what I expected, but … Continue readingSteamin’ Along
What builds, what informs our sense of a place? Fresh from yesterday’s late-season rain, South Fork in the Chiricahua Mountains is entering autumn. Today I hike up the road, now inhabited by winter birds: the chittering small flocks of Chipping Sparrows, kinglets and titmice. The … Continue readingAutumn Comes