Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Laura Pritchett: Just passing through, sandhill cranes remind us of the peace in wild things

Nuclear forces on high alert. Two million evacuees. Photos of bloody children and haunted eyes. The potential for escalation. The knowledge that humans have the weaponry to end all life, shatter this amazing, spinning blue ball, and that our economies and power structures and governments and egos have put those weapons into the hands of […]

Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Opinion: Nature deserves better treatment. Let’s be stewards, not users.

In these strange, upsetting times, it is helpful to find silver linings.  Sure, my 4-year-old hasn’t played on a jungle gym since March.  But he is awesome at climbing the pirate ship/climbing wall/jungle gym built of scaffolding in our driveway.  It’s the COVID silver linings that will leave the lasting mark on ourselves and families. Human […]

Posted inOpinion, Write On, Colorado

I sought refuge from the coronavirus shutdown in urban nature. Eventually, this poem emerged.

During the first few weeks of social distancing, the only regular opportunity that I had to get outside was to walk the South Platte River Greenway, which is just behind my apartment in RINO. These walks during the beginning of spring produced many reflections on the surrounding environment: from the specifics of the river setting, […]

Posted inOpinion, Write On, Colorado

I thought I was taking care of my son during coronavirus. Turns out he was taking care of me.

Nature heals. Many have discovered this before me, but better late than never. Though I’ve always appreciated the beauty of nature, my admiration had been abstract, limited to infrequent and brief sojourns from various cities.  My conversion from distant admirer to true believer took place recently, as I looked for healthy things to do with […]