Category: Ponderings
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The Big Bang Within
by Nicolette L. Cagle, September 1, 2026 I am exploding, expanding outwards, becoming spacious after a dense contraction. There is space now to see the cold, dark rocks of adverse experiences and Weltschmerz. There is space, too, to see the fiery suns of passion and justice-seeking. There is space to see the myriad planets within,…
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Naming Deities
Nicolette L. Cagle, September 1, 2026Eno River, Durham, NC As I walk among the varied notes of a choral matins, sung by fish crows and blue jays and mockingbirds, I look up to the vaulted glory of my forest cathedral and give quiet thanks. I see streaks of carnation pink brushed across the azure firmament—a…
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Nature Calls Us Back
by Nicolette L. Cagle, August 28, 2026 Some days I walk through the woods with my head tucked down, my feet walking a familiar path by memory, and my thoughts aware submerged in thought. Often, I’m mentally choreographing my to-do-list or rehashing a conversation or weighing whether my behavior needs to change in response to…
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Measurements
by Nicolette L. Cagle, August 22, 2026, Durham, NC The rushing water clears away some useless thoughts, replacing “schedule” with “freshet” and “record digitization” with “apricity.” The power of the river and of the sun cannot be measured in flow rates or irradiance. No, that power can only be measured in units of life force:…
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Ghost Ranch
by Nicolette L. Cagle August 7, 2026 | Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico They say that Ghost Ranch isn’t haunted, that cattle rustlers told tall tales of ghosts and ghouls to scare away the locals and protect illicit goods nestled between the striated hills, whose tones shift with the sun and seasons. But there are…
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Justicia and Justice
by Nicolette L. Cagle The Justicia is blooming again at Sennet’s Hole, in its predictable rhythm. I wonder when Justice last bloomed on this American continent? Humans sometimes seem unpredictable, but that isn’t clear-eyed seeing. We pretend we are unknowable so we don’t have to confront the facts of our true nature, the good and…
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The Comfort of Old Houses
by Nicolette L. Cagle, Ph.D., July 10, 2026 I feel more comfortable in old houses than new ones. I am more at ease in a musty cellar where a brewer once sold his beer than in a modern basement filled with buzzing electronics and signs declaring that “what happens in…stays in…” I am more at…
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Where I Come From
by Nicolette L. Cagle, Ph.D., July 1, 2026 I come from a place where the river carried nuclear material in its mesmerizing current and the roar of cars from the nearby Tri-State lulled me to sleep. My dogs were once surprised while walking near a bend in that river, a place where the water sat…
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Daily Noticing
I cannot afford to live without the daily routine of noticing nature. I need to see the sparkling frost that rims the sycamore leaves on the forest floor. I need to hear the rhythmic, thumping calls of the Red-bellied Woodpecker in the morning. I need to feel the cold air sting my face as I…
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Mustn’t Forget
I mustn’t forget how nature heals. I mustn’t forget how the rushing river slows a heart that races and soothes the pain in my chest. I mustn’t forget how the smooth glide of the heron, and the clack of its ancient beak, stretches space and time, broadening my perspective when fear has made me myopic.…
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Where Have All the Naturalists Gone?
Where Have All the Naturalists Gone? | Cool Green Science: The Conservation Blog of The Nature Conservancy An interesting article about the lack of naturalists, and respect for them, was recently posted on the Nature Conservancy’s Conservation Blog (see link below). In my own experience, the role of naturalists in science has greatly declined. In…
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