It’s Oscar season. Oscar-nominated film promotions are everywhere.

Coincidentally, I just finished reading Going Wild by nature writer Robert Winkler. His chapter entitled "The Bird Songs of Hollywood" had me laughing out loud.

Whether he’s in the field or at the movies, Winkler is a careful observer. Respected feature film directors, noted for their attention to detail, are apparently oblivious to the natural world. Here’s where Winkler found bloopers.

It’s bitter cold and a list of wild animals frequent the feeders.

They include a pair of cardinals, six blue jays, several white-throated sparrows, juncos, chickadees, titmouse and seven squirrels. I’ve probably missed a few species. Apparently the birds of prey – a juvenile hawk and an owl – are no where near this small yard at the moment. I’ve seen both hawk and owl right outside my window.

I’m at my computer waiting for the day to warm up, before setting out on a hike. I’m struggling, as I do every few months, trying to find a way to fit my outdoor life and my writing life together.

This is the result of a study by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Can 2,500 scientists from several nations all be wrong?

I was returning a library book the other day. Outside the library, someone had left their SUV running. There was only one patron in the library when I entered. This was no book drop. 

What does it take?

Global warming or not, we Americans waste way too many resources. We’re addicted to consuming.

I include myself in this. I use less than most of my peers, colleagues and neighbors, but compared to people in other nations, my carb count is still high.

Rachel Carson must be rolling in her grave. It’s not that we don’t have choices; it’s that we have chosen to embrace wastefulness. We choose to think we are separate from other forms of life and that we can dominate it. 

Global warming may be nature’s way of biting us in the butt.

I got up at first light and hit the trail before sunup.

I’d hoped to capture a glimpse of wildlife.  But I’m just as happy to have photos of tracks in a dusting of snow.  By the time I finished my hike, many of the tracks were gone.

This photo captures the track pattern of a fox running, the pattern of a squirrel bounding, and if you look carefully along the left, you can see the tracks of a tiny rodent – maybe a shrew or a vole.

It’s handy to find coyote tracks and fox tracks side by side on this abandoned woods road.  Coyotes are bigger and heavier.  If I had better tracking skills, I’d be able to tell who was out first and who was traveling with a mate. 

Raccoon tracks are easily visible.  But along the top of the screen you can see fox and rabbit tracks.