Lipstick on a corpse

THE ROUTE THE DOGS AND I TAKE FOR OUR morning constitutional winds in and out of the open space for the approach to the Cheyenne airport’s eastern runway. No matter how much new construction the developers in Cheyenne may be contemplating, the Federal Aviation Administration won’t let them build in this corridor as . . . → Read More: Lipstick on a corpse

Stogies and style

FOR REASONS I CAN’T BEGIN TO FATHOM, A 2023 WESTLEY RICHARDS CATALOG ARRIVED IN THE MAIL A WHILE BACK. ADDRESSED TO ME. Fascinated, I opened to the first page, which offered a breathless description of the “Lyell gilet” on offer. I had no idea what a “gilet” was— the dictionary . . . → Read More: Stogies and style

Penstemon

 

IT’S A TINY SCRAP OF THE ORIGINAL, MAROONED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF CHEYENNE BETWEEN THE SKATEBOARD PARK AND THE COMPOSTING FACILITY. I have no idea how it’s escaped the incessant digging, paving, draining and all the other kinds of rape that are included in that oh-so-gentle term, “development,” but there . . . → Read More: Penstemon

Beyond hope

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AS WE WAIT OUT THE ENDLESS VARIANTS OF THE MOST RECENT PANDEMIC, I FIND MYSELF CONSIDERING THE VARIOUS forces that brought us to this point, . . . → Read More: Beyond hope

UltraDeer

Plains mule deer in wheat stubble. Copyright 2018, Chris Madson, all rights reserved.

WE HADN’T BEEN IN THE BLIND FIVE MINUTES WHEN HE STEPPED OUT OF THE TIMBER.

“Good Lord,” I whispered to Buster. “Look at that rack!” The bases of the antlers were as big around as . . . → Read More: UltraDeer

Truths in the balance

“WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT: THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL; THAT THEY are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The philosophical underpinning of the great American experiment. Words to stir the soul.

And perhaps . . . → Read More: Truths in the balance

Conscience

One of my favorite fishing spots, but it’s nearly thirty miles of high-country gravel from the nearest pavement. If I tried getting there in my Prius, I’d leave pieces of the undercarriage scattered over the last fifteen miles of very bad road. (Copyright 2016 by Chris Madson, all rights reserved.)

TREASURE . . . → Read More: Conscience

Gone with the grass

A lesser prairie chicken male displaying on a communal lek in the sandsage prairie of southern Kansas. (Copyright 1980 by Chris Madson, all rights reserved.)

IT’S NOT A BIRD WITH A BIG FAN CLUB. NOT A POP STAR LIKE THE BALD EAGLE OR WHOOPING CRANE OR EVEN THE EASTERN bluebird.

. . . → Read More: Gone with the grass

Grassroots carbon

The treeless sagebrush grasslands of the intermountain West trap huge amounts of carbon and provide critical habitat for a host of wildlife species, many of which cannot survive on any other landscape. Photo copyright 2015, Chris Madson, all rights reserved.

I CAN’T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHEN I MADE MY FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH . . . → Read More: Grassroots carbon

A sign

A great horned owl breast feather, molted in early August, showing severe wear on its margins. Photo copyright 2020, Chris Madson, all rights reserved.

HE MAY HAVE BEEN ROOSTING IN THE SPARSE COTTONWOODS ALONG THE CREEK AS FREYA THE BRITTANY AND I WALKED BY at the edge of town, an hour . . . → Read More: A sign