|
Come back to this page each day to read another entry from Frederick R. Gehlbach's almanac of suburban natural and unnatural history, "Messages from the Wild," which chronicles the world of a forested ravine in central Texas.
|
 |
Nancy runs while I ramble or write in the pre-dawn darkness, then we take a two mile walk on neighborhood streets, rain or shine, freezing or not, almost every day we're home. Our Labrador retriever leads Nancy, while I pick up trash and field questions about a dog who's happiest carrying a discarded drink cup or bottle. We observe and discuss cultural scenes in life's play. Since we've walked the same several routes for decades, we're often greeted and sometimes thanked for retrieving trash, though we can't always tell who's waving behind tinted closed car windows. We knew a lot more people before air conditioning, automated lawn sprinklers, and cell phones and this morning talk about the increasing isolation of modern suburbia. |
Frederick R. Gehlbach is Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Studies at Baylor University. His ecological studies have taken him from New Zealand to Slovakia and, in the Americas, from Alaska and Newfoundland to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. His research interests include the life-history strategies of small owls, small burrowing snakes and urban wildlife ecology.
From MESSAGES FROM THE WILD: AN ALMANAC OF SUBURBAN NATURAL AND UNNATURAL HISTORY by Frederick R. Gehlbach, Copyright © 2002. Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.
|
