The CryptoNaturalist

Every gray day I inhale pain and exhale poetry.

It doesn't matter that I don't have enough breath in me to turn the whole sky to song.

What matters is that I know this and try anyway.

Because if I can't shatter the jaw of heartache on Earth, I still won't shake its fucking hand.

Happy 6/7 to that weird 2nd-grader who still thinks it’s funny to yell “6-7” out the window to confuse adults at my son’s bus stop. This is your day pal. The mulberries are ripe in my yard and the birds are very excited about them.

Wonder

I knew that lichens are comprised of a fungal host working together with a photosynthetic organism like an algae or blue-green cyanobacteria (or sometimes both). It’s a symbiotic relationship that I often think of like a shepherd with her flock. But I recently learned something new about lichens! Through genetic testing, scientists have discovered host-specific communities of bacteria within lichens that help with things like defense and nutrient cycling. Very cool. It makes me think of our gut biomes and our own microscopic partners within. And so, my shepherd and flock metaphor evolves into something more akin to a miniature ecosystem dappled in green, blue, and gray. One more reason to smile at the next patch of lichen you spot.

Whimsy

I’m sure groundhogs have their own stresses, but I tend to romanticize their lives. Many groundhogs live in the large cemetery near my house. Imagine if, stepping out your front door, much of the landscape around you was edible, all your favorite meals growing within easy reach. Moreover, imagine if you could dig your dream home wherever you liked, perhaps in close proximity to the tastiest foods. As an adult worrying about housing costs and grocery bills, I sometimes feel a little pang of jealousy for the groundhogs who watch me walking along the cemetery lane and pausing to admire lichens on headstones. They seem to spend much of their time munching dandelions and soaking in the sunshine. Seems admirable to me.

Writing Prompt

Let’s play with genre. Choose some aspect of the natural world that sparks your curiosity or fills you with wonder. Write out some basic facts about your topic as simple statements. Now, see if you can reframe some of those statements by viewing them through new lenses. Frame them as if you were talking about new technologies. What about through a spiritual lens? Can you view them as sci-fi elements as if you just arrived on this planet or fantasy elements conjured through magic? Trees, for example, could become solar-powered, carbon-fixing machines. OR they could become fantasy giants who grant us life-giving breath through their sighs.

This is my first effort at a weekly post! I plan to include three core segments: wonder, whimsy, and a writing prompt. Short and sweet. (Plus a bonus poem or bit of prose for supporters. Often, the bonus will be my quick response to the prompt I offer.)

Wonder

My publisher just sent me a preview of the illustrations for my new book about dandelions (coming spring 2027), so I have dandelions on the brain. Did you know that dandelions have no practical need for pollinators? The common dandelion reproduces asexually, so there’s no need to exchange pollen. And yet… they feed pollinators anyway. I think there is something wonderfully sweet about that, abundance and generosity eclipsing practicality.

Whimsy

Yesterday, I rescued a jumping spider from my kitchen sink and she just sat on the back of my hand and seemed uninterested in climbing off. So, I walked her around my backyard and explained all my current gardening projects to her. She was very patient and politely attentive. She eventually hopped off into the soft jungle of my asparagus patch. I assume she’ll tell the other invertebrates about my upcoming plans for the backyard.

Writing Prompt

Contemplate a time when you were perceived (seen, heard, felt) by a non-human lifeform. Did you make eye contact with a mourning dove? Did you watch an ant use her antennae to explore the fine hairs on your arm? Maybe you called back to a hooting owl? There’s a concept called “observer effect” that basically states that observing a phenomenon necessarily changes it. So… how were you changed by being observed?

PS (Dad Joke): I usually know if someone is a ghost as soon as they walk through the door.

110 in the paid Kindle store.

1 in Cozy Fantasy Fiction (Kindle Store)

1 in Fairy Tale Fantasy (Kindle Store)

1 in Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy (Kindle Store)

A fist-sized stone

deep in the Earth

is on the edge of becoming magma.

It has been underground

for billions of years,

in darkness since before life awoke.

It will rise,

touch sunlight,

taste rain and cool,

erode into soil,

become new, green grass,

nourish a mother deer,

be born into a wildflower meadow.

The stone will take its first breath.