Lives on Earth

seasons

  • Summertime Blues

    Mid July, and summer turns hotter and drier. Most plants slow their growth and soon leaves will turn a slightly duller green. But the peak season begins for the thin stalks of bright, light-blue flowers that grow close along the… Continue reading

  • The Homely Truth About the Shortest Day

    Last week we passed this year’s shortest day of the year. (It varies by a day or two in different years.) December 21st takes center stage in the annual drama of encroaching darkness turning to growing light, the grand rebirth,… Continue reading

  • Seasons and Heartbeats

    Age: 68. These days the seasons are less like a perfume to me and more like a clock. When I was young, autumns were my favorite season—painfully romantic, full of the future, life-enhancing and lonely at the same time. The… Continue reading

    Seasons and Heartbeats

  • “Getting Dead”

    As living creatures, it seems obvious to us that death is what happens when a living creature or plant looses the ability to manage the daily or yearly cycles of feeding itself, coping with the cycles of the environment, and… Continue reading