Coconut the elk, Clem the colt and big dreams for next year.
Essays
Posted inArticles
5 things I learned about managing my money from covering the oil bust
A reporter relays tips from her time in the field.
Posted inDecember 21, 2015: Secrets of the Deep
The mysteries of the everyday
A writer and her family court the unknown.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Building human connections from a remote ranch
Passing on knowledge is crucial to our way of life.
Posted inDecember 7, 2015: Good Neighbors
Playing the Alaska card
A native of the state explains the short-lived social power the state gives.
Posted inArticles
Rants from the Hill: As winter looms, a final foray to close out the season
My annual transect of our neighborhood mountain takes a turn for the perilous.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Getting injured on the job
I went through a lot of Ibuprofen and some serious self-doubt; then I sucked it up and got back on my horse.
Posted inNovember 23, 2015: Water Hustle
The life of a once-lost dog
Aging takes its toll on creatures both human and canine.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: What life’s like as a female rancher
Some ranchers still say women ruin horses and a rancher and his wife can be paid at two-for-the-price-of-one.
Posted inNovember 9, 2015: The Campaign Against Coal
An ode to germs, guts and gardens
When calamity strikes, a gardener finds her way back to the basics.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Spared from drought, for now, in New Mexico
Dry spells take a toll on landscapes and livestock, but are also hard on people.
Posted inArticles
Rants from the Hill: Fall brings a new bird to the neighborhood
A Northern Mockingbird stops by, its varied song a reminder of October’s restless nature.
Posted inOctober 26, 2015: Clean Energy's Dirty Secret
In the Mojave, a new relationship with trash
A new arrival finds traces of what we discard and what we bury deep inside.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Remote ranching and vet care in the 21st century
When crisis hits, help comes in unconventional ways.
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
How to survive the bust
As oil prices plummet, a drill rig worker traces the effects among his brethren.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Why cowboy life is intense
We have other interests, like art and cooking, that take a backseat to the needs of our land and animals.
Posted inArticles
Rants from the Hill: The aliens that make Nevada home
Military history, conspiracy theories and the landscape itself make Nevada ground zero for the bizarre and otherworldly.
Posted inArticles
Anatomy of a flash flood
After a series of deaths, a writer considers his own close calls in canyons.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Is ranching a form of conservation?
Our cattle can help restore wildlife habitat, reduce fire fuels and sequester carbon, when used creatively.
Posted inSeptember 14, 2015: Close Ties in Big Landscapes
Claustrophilia: Do wide-open lands bring us closer together?
A writer finds that Colorado small-town life and Mongolian mishaps strengthen her human connections.