Though it doesn’t occur beneath my feet unless I climb long and hard and high (as I did here), it’s my bedrock. The Madera Limestone crowns the rift-flank Sandia Mountains whose shadow I live in. I arrived here, shattered, after my husband died in an accident 22 years...
My life as a professional geologist began the week before I turned 24, since then I've spent a significant portion of the last 35 years in the air, traveling for work and play. Whether in a two-seat tail-dragger or a 747, I always choose a window seat (yes, I know...
Don’t Forget the Earplugs: The man seated in 19F must be lonely. Hard to believe with the six kids he just told the passenger next to him (19E, it’s a full flight) he has. If he’s not lonely, how could he be so desperate to talk? And talk and talk and talk (and this...
This post is related to the last one I wrote, more than two months ago now. It was about procrastination. Sure, I’ve been busy. Who isn’t? It went something like this: Finding the Words? I’ll Look for Them Later.... And that was about it. If I go looking for the...
In the San Juan Islands of Washington state, there are many lovely anchorages to drop a hook. Some would say Sucia Island is one of the loveliest. Part of a three-island marine state park, it has trails, campsites, mooring buoys, and anchoring room galore. It’s also a...
Last week, I wrote about two disciplines I practice on a regular basis, and how they’ve helped me “become what I practice.” Today, I’ll explore two more. Engine Checks: Although Kagán is a sailboat, the wind doesn’t always blow, nor am I expert enough to maneuver...
One of my many teachers of writing or yoga or life, said to me, “You become what you practice.” I’ve never forgotten the phrase, and I believe it. There are several little disciplines I practice, and today I'll talk about two of them. Sit-ups and Push-ups: I can’t...
In my novel, No More Empty Spaces, Will Ross, who is an engineering geologist beginning work in east central Turkey on a troubled dam, discovers a travertine deposit on his first day in the field. Kayakale – kaya meaning rock, kale meaning castle – loomed above as...
I need it. To feel small, even insignificant, in the face of nature’s works nourishes me. I seek that nourishment daily. From my home at the base of the Sandia Mountains to the beautiful old Mabel Dodge Luhan House at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in...
Hat pulled low, hands cozy in ski mitts, I wiggled my toes to keep them warm in wooly socks. I walked from the lodge to Old Faithful Geyser in the dim light of the winter evening. The snow compressed beneath my boots, squeaking with each step. The sounds of snow – one...
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