In Search of Nature

Tags

nature

Recently I marveled at the nature around us, and then today I realized how much of it is no longer there. This point was emphasized as I read the following:

Most of us live in cities where the number of visible wild species was long ago winnowed down to a few dozen. The sight of anything wilder than a sparrow, pigeon, or a squirrel makes the hearts of urban dwellers soar like the eagles we nearly exterminated.

The quote is from a book called Fire in the Turtle House by Osha Gray Davidson. The focus is on the plight of the green sea turtle in Hawai’i, but this line resonated with me in a more personal sense. I commonly walk from our suburban townhouse over to a small pond surrounded by woods. “Woods” in this case is defined as the residual trees and underbrush remaining after developers have decimated the natural forest and replaced it with townhouse farms, groups of homes that have grown like corporate cornfields in this area of northern Virginia.

Still, I live for these walks. The robins, cardinals, mockingbirds, occasional sparrows, and rare wrens are joined each spring and summer by swarms of geese, many with new families that we matronly watch over as they grow through their baby down into adolescent feathers. We watch as the toothy shavings of yet another small tree reveals the nightly work of an unseen beaver. A green heron makes an appearance in search of food. The occasional great blue heron does indeed make my heart soar.

In the area I’ve also seen rabbits gnawing on grass or a neighbor’s decorative kale. Once I saw a fox. Anything bigger is usually road kill. And then it strikes me how so very true the quote above is to my area.

So while I do get out to hike in more natural nature, and have recently returned from seeing some beautiful country in the Norwegian fjords, it’s clear that I need to explore more of real nature. Growing up in a seacoast town with a much coveted beach, followed by an early career in marine biology before moving into big city consulting, I find that when I get near the water or the forest or the mountains my heart does indeed soar.

I need to let it soar more.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

.

[Daily Post]

Old Friends, Getting Older

Tags

daily post, memoir, nature

The mountains caress the bay as flights of seagulls compete for airspace with seaplanes. The grass grows on the broad roof of the convention center 18 stories below my wall of window. The view inspires a certain oneness with nature, though it presents itself to a bank of high-rise hotels on a bustling city edge.

Mountains, the sea, the birds…all are old friends. Inside the modern conference building are many other old friends, the result of decades of annual scientific meetings. Many familiar faces are here, a comforting thought to introverts everywhere.

And yet, this year seems different. Noticeably absent are fellow scientists whose appearance once a year was my only in-person contact. Other colleagues are here, but edging toward retirement, or perhaps struggling to keep up with the changing guard. An invitation to the “Senior Resource Group” is both an honor and a omen of a new status among the elite previously held in awe. A status, one reminds oneself, that while new paths open up, old paths sometimes slowly disappear behind.

But that’s fine. Many long-time colleagues will continue on until they no longer can; raising a new generation of scholars in their wake. My path has veered, by choice, from a life of doing science to one of communicating it. This path is necessary more than ever before – this meeting brings that point home with a vengeance.

And so as old friends grow older, and new friends grow younger, I welcome this new path I’ve chosen. Grass roofs, flying taxis, and the sun reflecting off the glass to glisten off the somnolent waters of the early morning…this is the world of my future.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

 

[Daily Post]

A Walk in the Woods

Tags

erotica, nature

She loved walking in the woods. Leading her beloved along the tiny creek, she smiled shrewdly to herself, knowing that he didn’t know what she had planned. He followed naïvely behind her, his mind wandering to the beauty of the flowing water. A dragonfly hovered along the bank, flitting in and out of the growing plants as it traced their trek along the path. Small fish gasped air as they lunged for insects resting on the water’s surface film. The water itself babbled over the shallow cobblestone bottom, gently moving around the occasional turtle sunning himself on an exposed rock or fallen log.

The sun itself was filtered through the summer trees; the sultry warmth of early August bringing a slight wetness to the skin as they walked. That thought made him look up and realize she had stopped ahead of him. Smiling at him in that alluring way that says she has something in mind. Something daring.

(to be continued)

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, due out in late July 2017. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

 

[Daily Post]

Hot White Snow

Tags

erotica, nature

The moonlight glistened off the freshly fallen whiteness as he gazed at her in admiration. Steam from the hot tub created an almost mystical haze, an aura highlighting the delight she got from tracking each lonely snowflake as it appeared to chase its brethren to the ground. An almost childlike pleasure reflected off her passionate eyes. Snowshoe rabbits frolicked nearby, ravished by the wonder of nature. She giggled at their hip-hopping through the several-inch-deep white drifts. They looked at her, smiling it seemed, daring her to join them. She wanted to; wanted to let herself become one with the snow-covered world around her. Become one with the whitened trees swaying in the wind. Become one with the white snowflakes falling without regard for the world around them. Her breathing deepened in anticipation. She turned to him and smiled. The hot tub would still be warm when they were finished melting the whiteness around them.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like”my Facebook author page for more updates!

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores late summer 2017. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

 

[Daily Post]