Author: Michael Stevens

It is a word I rarely use, but I came across it the other day and thought to myself, “That’s it! I’ve been doing that my whole life.” Until recently, I had no conscious...

The clouds today in this high-altitude sanctuary seem to defy the definition of the word “cloud.” They are painted in wide swaths of vapor, barely condensing before re-forming into a wide variety of brush...

It is a cool late spring day, and windchill temperatures are in the 40s. We have to layer up on our hike up Garfield Peak overlooking Giiwas or Crater Lake. This peak is really...

I’ve never been what you would call a library person. By this I mean I’ve not been prone to use municipal libraries except for a time in my preteen years—and only then because I...

Shadow and light mingle; they dance together on the table in front of me. Sun, filtered through maple leaves, has found its way through the kitchen window and produced a display on the veined...

There was a time when most of my hiking was meandering up the trails into the high Cascades. These days, though, I am more likely to head east into the hills and flatlands of...

We are wandering in a vast meadow of wildflowers here in the Ochoco mountains. Wandering is our favorite kind of hike; it allows meandering at the whim of intuition. Tarn and I seem to...

My aging bones welcome the warmth of early summer-like weather, and I cannot resist the temptation to spend time on our back deck. I sit in a faux Adirondack chair overlooking our beautiful garden;...

I sit overlooking our garden and watch the insects, awakened by spring warmth, make their annual appearance. They explore the landscape for flowers and grasses, buzz about, and do whatever they do to play...

Although we are experiencing a moment of spring showers and light snow, the drought continues unabated. I am concerned for the land and animals this year, imagining dried flora and parched throats. The mule...