Nature

So relieved that spring is here! (Though some snow and coldish temps remain…) — It’s been a mighty long and snowy winter in Minnesota. We’ve had at least 10 inches of snowfall for each of five consecutive months. Snow totals from November 2022 thru March 2023 in the Twin Cities: November: 13 inches December: 19.8 inches January: 22.3 inches February: 15.5 inches March: 10.2…

In response to Dancing Elephants prompt 26 of 52 — Growing up in India and watching Bollywood movies, every child dreams of visiting Switzerland. I have a fond memory of visiting Interlaken, Switzerland, in the summer of 2017. It was my first trip outside Germany since arriving there to pursue my Masters. So, I decided to join a student group…

Wednesday Wings Week #10 — “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” — Pablo Neruda Spring is here in the northern hemisphere, and it’s here on Medium, too. The natural world is awakening, and with it our collective sense of poetic wonder. Budding flowers and chorusing frogs have inspired…

Light met light on my landing — Yesterday, I wrote about how my home is one of two halves as it is in a terrace. It faces southeast over the harbor and my garden in the back faces southwest. …

From the heavens — Autumn in the Tablelands Night chills permeate the air. A cloak of mist-like satin The sky is a celestial sphere. Stars dripping from the heavens The sky is a sparkling crown. A myriad of deep impressions The night’s majesty in renown. The crunch of heavy footsteps The torchlight cuts a…

Shaping the new world together. The interdependence between all life on our planet and the biosphere is a key element of the Gaia Hypothesis, which states that our planet is a living being. But in the modern world, that interdependence has often turned into an unhealthy codependency. In order to…

Ego, the will to live, and the fear of death — Fifty years have gone by since that cold December morning when I plotted my own murder. One could say that I was contemplating suicide at the time, but it was much more than that. I had a plan — a foolproof plan — to kill myself. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending…

How nature can help your mental health? — There is no denying that spending time outdoors can be incredibly beneficial for our overall well-being. Whether it’s a walk in the park, a hike in the mountains, or a swim in the ocean, the healing power of nature can have a profound impact on our physical and mental health…

Then you know what happiness is about — The tiny bits of green sprouting in the desert after it had just rained less than an inch are not comparable with any other green in the world. Those first blades of grass and small succulents are signs of what surviving a drought really means. I’ve been spoiled. For way…