Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I'm a little late with today's post thanks to the massive bomb cyclone that hit the NW last night--power was out at my house for about 10 hours. Of course, if I weren't a procrastinator, it wouldn't have mattered, but I am, and it did :D     Title : Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses Author : Robin Wall Kimmerer. Audio book read by the author. Publication Info: Audiobook Tantor Audio, 2003, 8 hours. Paper and ebook 2003 by Oregon State University Press, 176 pages.  Source: Library My Review: I really enjoyed the author's other book, Braiding Sweetgrass (published 2013) , and was eager to see what this one was about. Just at first, I wasn't sure it was a good decision. I was wondering if I really cared that much about moss. But fear not--before I was halfway through, I was beginning to understand the importance and fascination of moss, and read on more enthusiastically. Even before I finished the book I found myself looking around more a

Yes, friends, that's right: today, Washed Up With the Tide is released on the world! If you pre-ordered ebooks, they should drop onto your device today. In fact, they should already be there, and you should be too busy reading the book to read this post. If you didn't pre-order, today's a great day to buy the book. Why? Because a big bump of sales on one day pushes me up the sales ranking and increases the odds the book will be seen. So, yeah, that's totally about me, but since you know you want it, why not click "buy" when it will do me the most good? You can also (finally!) order paperback copies. I sent for mine some time ago, but I guess Amazon wouldn't want me to give any out before they do, so they haven't even shipped them yet. For those who pre-ordered signed copies, I'll get them out as soon as they arrive, apparently along about the end of the week. And for anyone who hasn't seen all my excited posts about this, here's the scoop:

Continuing to work my way through my photos of the Canadian Rockies, I'm overwhelmed by how many images I have from our 3-night sojourn at Skoki Lodge . Of course, they mostly aren't of the lodge--we did some great hikes, coming, going, and while we were there. The lodge, not far from Lake Louise, a rustic mountain retreat with first-class dining but a 7-8 mile hike in (or even longer; there are multiple routes, all involving at least 6.8 miles and a stiff climb), was built in the 1930s. There is no electricity, and no running water. This week we'll take a look at the hike in and a dayhike to Merlin Lake and the Dragon's Drink above it. Our trip started with check-in at the office in the town of Lake Louise, followed by a drive to the parking lot, and a shuttle bus to the trailhead. Sunrise on the peaks behind Lake Louise. The Big Beehive, Mt. Whyte and the Victoria Glacier. I was up early enough for the sunrise, but with all the logistics we weren't able to start h

I set this post up a few days ago as a sort of deadline. I've been struggling with creating an outline for the next book, distracted by a few things--you know, catastrophic politics, finding a home for my daughter and her friends (an on-going process that will no doubt involve flying to the Bay Area on short notice), and getting Washed Up With the Tide launched. But here it is: I have begun drafting Logged Off at the Library (working title. May shorten to just Logged Off. Thoughts?). I had hoped to be ready about a week ago, but the story details just wouldn't coalesce in my brain. I finally reached a tipping point about Monday and started producing a helpful outline! In order to do this, I've put all short story work on hold, but the result is that I have begun writing (rather late yesterday)! Word count as of 11/12: 1092. Watch the space on the left side of the page just below my photo for daily word count updates (this isn't a very elegant solution but I will try to

Another installment in my quest to understand walking, hiking and the huge mental health benefits that I, at least, get from doing it.     Title: On Trails: An Exploration 
 Author: 
Robert Moor, read by Jason Grasl Publication Info: Audiobooks.com, 2016. 11 hours. Original by Simon and Schuster, 2016. 
 Source:  Library 

 Publisher’s Blurb: 

   From a brilliant new literary voice comes a groundbreaking exploration of how trails help us understand the world—from tiny ant trails to hiking paths that span continents, from interstate highways to the Internet. In 2009, while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Robert Moor began to wonder about the paths that lie beneath our feet: How do they form? Why do some improve over time while others fade? What makes us follow or strike off on our own? Over the course of the next seven years, Moor traveled the globe, exploring trails of all kinds, from the minuscule to the massive. He learned the tricks of master trail-builders, hunted do

Last week's post featured a hike out of Moraine Lake. Today we'll take a look at a few more lakes on two hikes.  After our crowded hike at Moraine Lake, we decided not to use our bus tickets to Lake Louise the next day , but instead to do a highly rated but much less populated hike to Helen Lake and Dolomite Ridge. My companions settled for Helen Lake, but I pushed on, despite a fierce and cold wind, to get the views from the ridge into the next drainage. First we stopped at Hector Lake for what we hoped would be sunrise photography. Dang it, the sun forgot to rise! We then moved on to the Helen Lake trailhead to be among the first up the trail. The sun did eventually come out, at least in spots. Sun spots and glacial lakes. Ptarmigan, maybe just starting to turn switch to the white winter coat. Just short of this spot we met a pair of somewhat flustered hikers, bear spray in hand, who'd just seen a mother grizzly and cup. We were not lucky enough to see them, though I fou