Back in July, as I sat before the butterfly enclosure in my family room, waiting to see if maggots would emerge from a twitching monarch caterpillar clinging to the screen at the top of the cage, two thoughts occurred to me: 1) is the caterpillar suffering? And 2) is this what obsession looks like? Here in … Continue reading Meddling with Monarchs

The rains we’ve been waiting for, yearning for, have finally arrived in our part of Tennessee, and the sugar-maple leaves are falling now in great clots. Rain is falling and leaves are falling and my youngest son, like his brothers, has received his Selective Service card in the mail, and today I have returned to … Continue reading Nevermore

It’s October, when your birthday always seems to fall on the most splendid day of the year. Even if it’s a work day, you must find some time to set aside your small whirring machines and your contentions. Maybe there is a creek that all summer has been still and dry and now is wet … Continue reading Recompense