By Eilene Lyon It all started with a song, “Goodbye Sun Valley,” by a short-lived British group called The Colourfield. It was included on their 1987 album, “Deception.” I call it my birthday song, partly because of the first five words; partly because it’s about self-redemption, something I ponder, particularly on my birthday. The second... Continue Reading →
Darwin’s Galapagos
Travel and education go hand in hand. What have you learned? Originally published March 9, 2018. EL "Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different... Continue Reading →
A Special Tree Hug
This was my very first blog post on January 1, 2018. EL By Eilene Lyon Last year I visited several national parks, as I do every year. This photo shows bristlecone pines in Great Basin National Park. Yes, I was there hugging trees. It’s true. But there were no witnesses (other than the trees), so... Continue Reading →
Gourd Houses Update
By Eilene Lyon Programming note: This will be my last post until November. I need to take a break from blogging for a while to complete some projects and take a vacation. Since I have over 500 posts in my archive, I'm going to schedule some of them for reblogging while I'm away. Feel free... Continue Reading →
Parrish Skies
By Eilene Lyon My Colorado home experiences exquisite sunrises and sunsets on a regular basis. It takes only a few clouds to add rich hues to our morning and evening skies. Whenever I find startlingly deep cyan set off with billowing cumulous clouds in a vibrant pink-orange glow, I’ve taken to calling them “Maxfield Parrish... Continue Reading →
The Pomology Prof
By Eilene Lyon I’ve been renewing my interest in botany lately. You may recall this subject is one of my connections to my great-grandmother, Clara Ransom Davis. I recently received communication from the University of Idaho and learned their herbarium contains 144 valuable specimens that Clara collected in her undergraduate years in the 1890s. (She... Continue Reading →
From the Vault: Conchs
By Eilene Lyon Though it has been a very long time since I lived anywhere near a seashore, I do have a small but sentimental shell collection. Among them are these three conch (pronounced "conk") shells. The largest came from a tiny, uninhabited island that is part of the Belize Cayes, somewhere off the Caribbean... Continue Reading →
The Gourd Houses
By Eilene Lyon Some years ago, a next door neighbor gifted me four hollow gourds she'd grown and asked me to make birdhouses out of them. I said I would, then left them lying around the garage for a very long time. I did finally get around to the project, though! I viewed several YouTube... Continue Reading →
Southern Utah Scenes
By Eilene Lyon Utah, like most western states, contains large swaths of federal land. It's safe to describe southern Utah as having nearly as much public as private land. The National Parks have become major draws to the region. These include Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, Zion, and Bryce Canyon. Then there are tiny-to-vast National Monuments:... Continue Reading →