nature

California’s Golden Poppies Aren’t So Golden This Year — They’re Orange

April 10, 2019 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

This year’s California Golden Poppies are a richer, darker — orange — color than I’ve ever seen in the Bay Area. Credit that winter rain? Read more.

I Was a Culturally Deprived Kid: My Teachers Never Told Me About the Ojibwe Poet Jane Johnston Schoolcraft

September 14, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[caption id="attachment_14910" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

Culturally deprived because though I loved this Michigan woodland, I was never introduced as a child to the poetry of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, who celebrated Michigan's nature. Photo by Barbara Newhall

We shared a love of the Michigan woods — pine, oak and birch. Photo by Barbara Newhall[/caption]

This Ojibwe poet would have been dear to my girlish Michigan heart. Why didn’t my Detroit schoolteachers ever mention her? Was I culturally deprived? Read more.

A Totality Disappointment in St. Joseph, Missouri

August 24, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

We traveled 1700 miles to see the eclipse. The moon came between us and the sun, as promised. But so did a big fat cloud. A totality disappointment. Read more.

Bouquets to Art 2017 — Seduced by Those Quirky, Charming Boxed Bouquets

March 30, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I spent a glorious day at the Bouquets to Art 2017 exhibition in San Francisco, where several stunning boxed floral arrangements stole the show. Read more.

Autumn in the Garden, When Sensible Plants Pack It In for the Winter . . . And a Healing Ankle

January 26, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

It was autumn in the garden and all the grim stuff that happens as winter sets in — death, rot, shrivel and retreat — made for a thing of beauty. Read more.