Nature | Michael T. Dolan

Cicada killers

The wasp glided by my legs, slow and low like a giant airliner that somehow takes flight despite its enormous size. Likewise, the wasp seemed to defy gravity, for it carried in its legs a motionless cicada nearly twice its size. Paralyzed by the hunter’s …

"…and there was light."

As I climb out of bed in the dark of night, electrons dance across the static-laden sheets in a crinkling display of blue light. A moment later and I peer out the bathroom window. Fireflies are busy taking ownership of the night with their random, silent …

The snake

The woman’s voice was frantic as she called across the yard to me. I hurried over to her with uncertainly in my steps, not sure what lay in store for me. Having moved into our house just weeks before, I had met the neighbor just once. …

Antiphon of the goose

Sister Moon and the stars shone above, while Brother Fire danced his playful dance below. I sat in the glow of both, their light warming both body and soul. Alone. Time literally flew by while the world wobbled on its axis, Sister Earth spinning and …

Red fox

Our eyes met at the same time, both of us intruders in one another’s lives. I looked out the window, sleep still in my eyes, and froze. Likewise, his gaze caught mine. Frozen, he looked in at me from the backyard, a nocturnal creature caught …

Visitors

It was a bad day for the worms. Frozen for weeks, the snow-covered ground thawed in one of those misleading warm February days that hint at spring. Mud replaced the snow, and the worms had nowhere to hide. Just before dusk, the birdfeeder freshly filled, the robins came …

Divine shadows

In the brightness of a snowy moonlit night, the shadow of the towering tree is cast upon the earth. Barren branches reach in every direction, and their shadows dance on the snow in their distorted way. I gaze out at the snowy canvas and envy …

Sacramental snowfall

The heavens open up above today and the first snowfall of the year arrives. The children face the heavens and capture the falling flakes in their mouths, tasting heaven. The coolness drops on one’s tongue, vanishing all too quickly. It leaves you thirsting for more, …

Wings

It was a grey November afternoon, the air cold but not too cold, the sky dark but not too dark. I sat in my car at the traffic light and a flock of starlings caught my attention. Simultaneously, hundreds of them ascended from a barren …

Autumn’s martyrs

Fiery leaves signal the dawn of all middles, a waning bell curve between the activity of summer and the dormancy of winter. Autumn – the midpoint of all that lives and all that dies. I stand in the sun’s light and feel the warmth of …

Parable of the rocks

The rocks have stood there virtually unchanged for 20,000 years, giving visitors a present-day glimpse of a long-ago past. It’s known as Boulder Field, and its nearly 17 acres of sandstone and rock is an awe-inspiring site to anyone visiting Hickory Run State Park in …

Drawn to the light

The neighborhood has long since gone to sleep. A novel kept me up past the others, and so it is well into the morning when I call it a night. I face the mirror, toothbrush in hand. Tapping and buzzing on the window screen call …

Carpenter bees

My daughter and I stood on the back deck working on the never-ending honey-do list. I stood on the picnic table bench about to drill into the stucco back wall. A carpenter bee flew from underneath the picnic table. They’d found themselves a home in …

Painted rocks

“Painting a landscape is not always a good thing” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (August 14, 2007). The rocks have stood there virtually unchanged for 20,000 years, giving visitors a present-day glimpse of a long-ago past. It’s known as Boulder Field, and its nearly 17 acres …