When calamity strikes, a gardener finds her way back to the basics.
Essays
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Spared from drought, for now, in New Mexico
Dry spells take a toll on landscapes and livestock, but are also hard on people.
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Rants from the Hill: Fall brings a new bird to the neighborhood
A Northern Mockingbird stops by, its varied song a reminder of October’s restless nature.
Posted inOctober 26, 2015: Clean Energy's Dirty Secret
In the Mojave, a new relationship with trash
A new arrival finds traces of what we discard and what we bury deep inside.
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Ranch Diaries: Remote ranching and vet care in the 21st century
When crisis hits, help comes in unconventional ways.
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
How to survive the bust
As oil prices plummet, a drill rig worker traces the effects among his brethren.
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Ranch Diaries: Why cowboy life is intense
We have other interests, like art and cooking, that take a backseat to the needs of our land and animals.
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Rants from the Hill: The aliens that make Nevada home
Military history, conspiracy theories and the landscape itself make Nevada ground zero for the bizarre and otherworldly.
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Anatomy of a flash flood
After a series of deaths, a writer considers his own close calls in canyons.
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Ranch Diaries: Is ranching a form of conservation?
Our cattle can help restore wildlife habitat, reduce fire fuels and sequester carbon, when used creatively.
Posted inSeptember 14, 2015: Close Ties in Big Landscapes
Notes from the road to bestsellerdom
An author’s promotional book tour includes incontinent owls and posh but uncomfortable luncheons.
Posted inSeptember 14, 2015: Close Ties in Big Landscapes
Claustrophilia: Do wide-open lands bring us closer together?
A writer finds that Colorado small-town life and Mongolian mishaps strengthen her human connections.
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Ranch Diaries: One dog can be worth three hands
A cowboy and a good canine or two can handle several hundred cattle.
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Rants from the Hill: Don’t fence me in
Marking our territory with wildlife-friendly fences.
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Bringing a long-lost artifact back to the Hopi
Iconic Western author Katie Lee journeys with a tribe’s spiritual talisman.
Posted inAugust 31, 2015: Unlocking the Methane Mystery
How movies have changed our expectations of the wild
Decades of Disney have prepared us for a tamed, cleaned-up version of nature.
Posted inArticles
Dispatch from a medic on the North Star Fire in Washington
What base camp and wildfire look like from one firefighter’s perspective.
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Ranch Diaries: Is it worth it to raise our calves ‘naturally’?
The logistics of raising natural beef at Triangle P.
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What we’ve lost in the Methow Valley wildfires
Three firefighters have died as fires continue to rip through Washington.
Posted inAugust 17, 2015: Little Big Bird
Dreaming where I walk
An Indian writer becomes an American citizen — and finds herself.