The Nature of Panic

Panic is the over-reaction to a threat, whether real or imagined.  Persons with anxiety disorders are most prone to this emotional condition...

09:31

A Damp August Chill

With plenty of monsoon moisture in place, a cold front dropped through Colorado overnight and its low pressure center moved into the High Pl...

14:46

Colorado's Monsoon Surge

Thanks to persistent high pressure over the central U.S., the Southwest Monsoon has surged over the past week, with bands of heavy rain and ...

07:15

Slogans & Intelligence

Slogans pervade human society, appearing on bumper stickers, on yard signs, in commercial ads and, especially during this election year, in ...

10:44

Sandbar Willow

Of the many species of vegetation found on the South Platte floodplain, sandbar willow is surely the most abundant and widespread.  This shr...

12:36

Rearranging California

Anyone interested in the geologic evolution of California is advised to read Assembling California by John McPhee, published in 1993, which...

07:45

Up to Lower Latham

This morning, I made my annual August trek to Lower Latham Reservoir, NNE of Denver and just southeast of Greeley.  The wetlands along the s...

16:17

Ice Buckets, Fun Runs & Charities

The ongoing Ice-Bucket Challenge, initiated to raise funds for ALS research, has been remarkably successful and one wonders if similar marke...

10:29

Arctic Sinkholes

Over the past few decades, climatologists have documented a gradual reduction in both the thickness and the expanse of Arctic sea ice, a res...

17:40

A Rim of Storms

As this week began, a dome of high pressure was building over the Central and Southern Plains of North America.  Within that dome, sinking a...

16:25

A Day for Dust Devils

As I crossed the Great Plains yesterday, intense heat, bright sunshine and calm conditions set the stage for dust devil formation and I enco...

12:28

Sorghum Season

Driving across the Great Plains today, I noticed that sorghum covered most of the crop fields, especially in central Kansas.  Native to nort...

17:55

After the Rain

Following a night of rain with intermittent thunderstorms, we headed down to the Forum Nature Area this morning.  A mild west breeze had dev...

08:30

Honeyvine Milkweed

Walking through our Missouri property yesterday, I noticed a number of vines climbing through one of our eastern redcedars.  As I started to...

05:10

Perseids & Fiddlers

On the past few nights, I went out back to observe the annual Perseid meteor shower, which generally peaks from August 11-14.  Produced by r...

06:45

Public vs. Private Persona

The recent suicide of Robin Williams shocked most of his fans but was not likely a surprise to his closest friends and family.  While the pu...

12:59

Flying Blind

On my way to a family gathering in northeastern Ohio, I changed planes at Midway International Airport in South Chicago. Before we took off ...

14:37

Love & Compatibility

Over the past few decades, numerous match-making websites have appeared on the internet and several are heavily advertised on radio and tele...

06:57

A Kansan Deluge

Heading back to Missouri today, I left Denver under sunny skies and enveloped in cool, dry air.  East of Oakley, Kansas, the air acquired a ...

19:09

Hummingbirds and Humans

When we bought our Littleton, Colorado, farm, that section of the Front Range urban corridor was still semi-rural.  Broad-tailed hummingbird...

08:16

Rivers of the Cascades

The rugged, volcanic Cascade Range stretches from southern British Columbia to northern California; it is bisected by the Columbia River, wh...

17:47

Sunday Morning Songbirds

On this mild, sunny morning along the Colorado Front Range, I headed down to Chatfield State Park for a hike south of the reservoir.  There,...

12:56

Rock Work on Clear Creek

Today, I participated in my first project with Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado .  The project involved trail restoration work along Clear Cr...

16:02

Earth's Mass Extinctions

During the course of life on Earth, which began 3.6 billion years ago, the diversity of species on our planet has been determined by a myria...

08:06