“Feeling after God is dangerous business,” wrote Dennis Covington in Salvation on Sand Mountain.

Dangerous for who, exactly?

Years ago, Covington’s remarkable book introduced me to one of the most intriguing human-animal relationships I’ve ever studied. In short, believers “take up serpents,” drink deadly substances, speak in tongues, and follow other signs from Mark 16:17–18. Those who are right by God survive bites from venomous snakes and sips of strychnine.

According to Pastor Andrew Hamblin, snakes are “death in your hand,” but how can something as spectacular and alive as a rattlesnake also be death?

Although the anthropologist in me…

Who is this invincible goddess?

Durga is Devi, Mother, Divine Feminine, Eternal Truth. Ruler of all creatures and consort to no one. Slayer of the buffalo demon Mahishasura. Fierce and nurturing. Healer of the sick and provider for beings in need. Heaven and Earth. Creator, preserver, and destroyer of the universe. (It surprises no woman that a goddess and her cat can do the job of three gods…)

Who is the cat upon which the goddess sits?

If I learned anything about being engaged it’s that planning a wedding is not all fun and giggles and snuggles. It’s stressful! Here are ten tips to assist and inspire other nature & animal-loving couples:

1. Instead of a traditional registry, suggest that your guests donate to an organization that supports wildlife conservation or another environmental cause important to you and your partner. I chose the Snow Leopard Trust and they sent us a lovely, handwritten thank-you note after the wedding! My husband chose 350, an organization that works to solve the climate crisis.

2. Send electronic invitations. We used…

If we want to feel fresh air in our bodies, why not go outside where there are no barriers between the oxygen-producing trees and our noses, between the carbon dioxide thirsty trees and our mindful exhales?

If we want to experience clarity of mind, why not go outside where there are no walls to trap our suffering and no ceilings to impede our view of the seemingly infinite sky?

If we want to feel one with other beings, why not practice in their homes and their habitats only to recall what we have always known- that their homes and habitats…

How to bird mindfully

I used to think I was a birder. I took an ornithology class in college, kept a life list, and memorized Latin names. Then on a camping trip one year at Torreya State Park in northern Florida, I was laying in the pop-up reading when I heard the most delightful bird song. It was a male cardinal in the tree right outside the camper. I put down my Kindle and just sat- watching, listening, and smiling. This was birding.

I never got ‘good’ at it. In fact, I am convinced that ignorance is bliss as far…

Modern, American scarecrows are adorable. These days, they seem to be used mainly for decoration, but for thousands of years scarecrows functioned to scare actual crows and other critters from agricultural lands all over the world.

In this way, scarecrows act as stand-ins when farmers are absent, becoming literal and metaphorical middlepeople in the context of human-animal interactions. They stand at the boundary of forest and farm, tasked with a small portion of the farmer’s inexhaustible work while also imitating the farmer’s physical form.

The following photographs are examples of a specific type of deterrence method I learned about while…

I recently went to a meditation class. Through all the guided practices for sitting, walking, and loving-kindness meditations, the teacher did not once mention monkey mind. I was pleasantly relieved.

Monkey mind is a term used by Buddhists and others in the mindfulness community to refer to the tendencies of our distracted minds to wander. Our thoughts jump from one thing to the next like monkeys leaping through the branches, chattering aloud as they travel through the forest canopy.

This analogy bothers me. Monkeys are far more mindful than humans. They surely live in the present moment more often than…

We’ve all heard the phrase “Take only pictures, leave only footprints.” We’re familiar with its suggestion to minimize our impact on the environment, but the phrase feels out-of-date to me as we become increasingly aware of how nuanced our interactions with nature can be. We may need to consider removing a certain species so that others may survive. We may need to think twice before posing for that picture. Now, we live in a world where taking a selfie can be life-threatening for people and/or for other animals.

It is so important to us to share and document our experiences…