Natural World – Fake Flamenco

Fish in Tree? Can that Be?

3 silly signs we saw. Yesterday, Eagle and I went on a bike ride to a park nearby. For me, this was a grand achievement. My ankle has healed enough to pedal, hurrah! As we traveled along the bike path, we saw the funniest sign, if taken out of context: We’d never seen a tree […]

Mexico, Natural World, Spanish Culture and Language, The Americas

7 Reasons You’ll Love Desserto Cactus Fabric

What if you could make an animal-friendly leather-like fabric that was breathable and environmentally sustainable? Mexican inventors Adrián López Velarde (auto industry) and Marte Cázarez (fashion industry) have discovered a way to make this dream come true. Move over pleather, there’s a new textile in town. They’ve invented a breathable, natural vegan material made from […]

Chile, En español, Natural World, Spanish Culture and Language, travel

View of the Montañas from Here

The year we lived in Santiago, Chile, this view greeted our eyes daily from our sixth floor efficiency apartment. The Andes Mountain range was our astonishingly beautiful silent companion. Locals called her affectionately, La Cordillera*. The embracing arms of Mother Earth, named Pachamama, were a steadfast constant, a geological marvel, and a cardinal point. When […]

Natural World, Sports, The Americas, writing

Shining, Sparkling Snow Round Tenney Lagoon

Shining, Sparkling Snow Bright day, 0ºC my feet dream of skates, snowshoes, skis. Winter calls out love me, you– today in my glory and I’ll dazzle your eyes and soul. Dark eyelashes shield me from sun mirrored snow twice the light of a summer day. Enamored, clothed in layers, I don the boots with metal […]

Natural World

Rescue Planet Earth

We’re wading into the topic slowly, first calling it global warming, then calling it climate change. But are those terms really urgent enough? Delayed action won’t prevent ice caps from melting, oceans rising, and Australia burning. The phrase we use must convey the dire consequences of doing nothing and the fundamental baseline shift required of […]

Argentina, Chile, Natural World, The Americas

10 Peeks at a Fairyland of Snow

Tuesday morning we woke up, looked out the window, and what did we see? Our landscape was transformed overnight into a winter wonderland. Each tree carried a canopy of fluff. The temperatures had dropped below zero freezing the precipitation. Say, have I ever mentioned that we talk about the weather a lot in the Midwest? […]