PinnedSatellites and Space JunkStanding in the dark with my 5-year-old self — When the alarm went off, I turned off my lights and walked outside. Stood facing north. The dry leaves of the trees rustled in the breeze — it was only May, and we were under a red-flag warning already. The jasmine blooming behind my landlord’s fence perfumed the air. Though…Starlink2 min readStarlink2 min read
PinnedMember-onlySilent Confrontations in Klamath BasinThe two Prairie Falcons are playing in the wind currents along the face of the cliff, shrieking and crying. One carries the hindquarters of a long-tailed rodent, pausing at times to land and rend its prey and eat, or sometimes simply eating on the wing. Another perches on an old…Environment13 min readEnvironment13 min read
Published inThe Medium Blog·Aug 10Updated Guidelines for BoostHow Medium curators assess story quality, and how to think about it in your writing — We’ve updated Medium’s Quality Guidelines based on direct feedback from the Medium community, and I wanted to say more about how we hope it does a better job of explaining our approach in a useful way. Our underlying philosophy about story quality hasn’t changed, but we learned that our previous…Writing9 min readWriting9 min read
Jun 22Request for Comment: Medium’s Quality StandardsBelow is a copy of our current quality standards as posted on Medium.com. We regularly review these standards to update and refine them in ways that help us serve the readers and writers of the Medium community. Please highlight and add any comments that you feel would be helpful to…Medium5 min readMedium5 min read
Jun 19Member-onlyA Morning at Point ReyesPhotos from a visit to Kehoe Beach and other spots — Point Reyes2 min readPoint Reyes2 min read
Nov 20, 2022A good listen on overlanding AlaskaA good listen on overlanding Alaska I’ve been noodling on the idea of doing an overland trip to the Arctic Circle in the summer of 2023 or 2024. So when I saw this week’s Overland Journal Podcast episode, Destination Alaska, I moved it to the top of my listening queue. I was not disappointed. What I…Overlanding1 min readOverlanding1 min read
Nov 13, 2022– from Christopher Brown’s Field Notes: Autumn Blooms in the Astronaut Squat.“The wooded area is likely a patch of interstitial commons, part of the right of way of the onramps that define it. A zone that would seem tiny, if you took out the trees, but manages to envelop a dimension that exceeds its linear bounds. Two seasons ago, a pair…Urban Nature1 min readUrban Nature1 min read
Nov 11, 2022From Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy:From Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy: Her beak is red like she’s dipped it in blood. It turns her strong in my mind. I place her back in the nest and edge away, taking the cage with me. I want her to explode free, I want there to be fury in…Books1 min readBooks1 min read
Nov 4, 2022Member-onlySaturday with Sea Forager and Dark GardenOn Saturday, I attended a Coastal Sea Foraging class in San Francisco, given by Kirk Lombard of Sea Forager. A couple of years ago, I was given a copy of his terrific book, The Sea Forager’s Guide to the Northern California Coast (thank you!), and had been following Sea Forager…Fishing4 min readFishing4 min read
Jun 23, 2022Member-onlyGetting to Day 5 with the Bony DogLuck seems to be a matter of working with reality instead of against it — The big bony dog next door sleeps in a raised cage during the day, often sprawled on his back with his legs splayed open, balls flopping in the heat. I think he begins barking at night when it’s his time to be let out and guard the place. He doesn’t…Travel7 min readTravel7 min read
