nature Archives - From the Write Side

September and the Relentless March of Time

September always makes me think about Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves setting off on an adventure, his furry hobbit feet and their sturdy dwarf ones whispering through the long grasses of the fields bordering the Shire. Perhaps it's because the prairie beyond our home waves at me each morning, the hummingbirds come to feed, and the app on my phone records the slowly departing birdsong that has sustained me throughout the lovely summer days. There is a hint of mystery in the lessening of daylight, [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-08-31T16:20:26+00:00August 31st, 2023|Blog|0 Comments

August Reverie

This is my August reverie... There is never a perfect time to ponder one's direction in life. After all, those chores won't do themselves. The workload won't ease up. The needs, wants, demands, and fears of the world conspire to pull us from contemplation into action. But on a hot summer night when the sky glows with sunset smiles and the fireflies ease from their day nests to grace the darkness and the bullfrog on the edge of the pond announces his dominance, I find [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-07-31T16:09:49+00:00July 31st, 2023|Blog|0 Comments

September Blog: Time For A Hobbit Journey…

When the leaves begin to fall and the prairie turns brown and gold, I stare from the porch, unable to resist the urge to strap on a backpack and wander into the unknown. Amid the demands of life in the 21st Century, there are days I wish a wizard would turn up at my door, invite himself for tea, and invite me to go adventuring. Of course, our suburban lawns and urban landscapes rarely lend themselves to such fanciful walks, but the mind is a [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-08-31T17:15:03+00:00August 31st, 2022|Essays|0 Comments

Long Time, Longer Journey: A Groundhog in Training

The season's blessings approach this winter of my discontent and I, steeped in the release of my latest novel and deep into the draft of my next venture, have rarely looked up from the keyboard. Yes, I've been 'away' for a while. The nightmare in November, otherwise known as the election, has sapped my will to post. How to reconcile the angst in a way that followers of both political persuasions can accept? Still, I carry on, hiking the fields, staring at the pond, drawing [...]

By irvinjgdm|2016-12-01T15:36:47+00:00December 1st, 2016|Essays, inspirational, motivational|0 Comments

Of Coyotes and Creativity: Nurturing Your Wild Side

The howls erupt around 9:30 p.m., shattering the quiet, moon-dark night. At first only a rumor, they swiftly crescendo, filling Beck Park with primal music. Drawn by the increasing urgency of the calls, I step onto the porch and listen, shaking with my own primitive knowledge that what sings out there is wild and dangerous and poses a threat. Then, abruptly, like a spigot turned off, the song ceases. In the ensuing stillness, my heart resumes a normal beat. What ritual have I just observed? [...]

By irvinjgdm|2019-12-31T01:45:36+00:00November 4th, 2015|Essays|1 Comment

Of Beginnings and Endings and All in Between

The sun crosses the screened-in porch in long southerly slants. In the pond, ice forms small swirls, the pull of freeze and thaw evident as the temperature plays tag with the water. Six deer bound into view, stopping long enough to eat a snack and check the rear for predators. And the meadow, once full of tall grasses and wildflowers, lies spreadeagled and naked across the horizon. My boots crunch and squish as I wander. Straining to see beyond the obvious, I listen to the land whisper its dark mysteries. Here, where the thin skin [...]

By irvinjgdm|2019-12-31T01:47:42+00:00December 22nd, 2014|Essays|1 Comment