Not Yet Silent

An oriole, a blackbird and a red fox visited in the afternoon. A hawk soared far overhead. I watched a lizard dart in and out of the grasses, which due to the rains are rich and thick this spring. 

A seasonal creek is rushing nearby from up higher on the mountain, making music as it passes.

Several deer munch their way into view at dusk. After the sun goes down, the bullfrogs begin their throaty chants.

Life in the country suits me. I grew up idealizing the countryside; that’s a main reason I concentrated on environmental subjects as a journalist.

When I read Silent Spring as a teenager, I couldn’t bear the thought that our species has put all of this at risk.

As an old man, I still can’t.

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