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Come back to this page each day to read another entry from Frederick R. Gehlbach's almanac of suburban natural and unnatural history, "Messages from the Wild," which chronicles the world of a forested ravine in central Texas.
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November ends as it began with Jupiter leading Venus in the southwestern twilight. In my reflective state of mind, memories of Cinder and Ginger, our successive Labrador retrievers, are loving ones. We all roamed the ravine together, discovering new acts in the play of life. The dogs instructed us beyond our ability to hear and smell, greatly extending our understanding, as their ancestors did for ours over the last ten thousand years. Both labs have long since returned to stardust and new beginnings on our sunrise slope, the direction of life's expectations. |
Frederick R. Gehlbach is Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Studies at Baylor University. His ecological studies have taken him from New Zealand to Slovakia and, in the Americas, from Alaska and Newfoundland to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. His research interests include the life-history strategies of small owls, small burrowing snakes and urban wildlife ecology.
From MESSAGES FROM THE WILD: AN ALMANAC OF SUBURBAN NATURAL AND UNNATURAL HISTORY by Frederick R. Gehlbach, Copyright © 2002. Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.
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