Can’t Stop: Physical Exhaustion and Mental Health

Recently, on a mountain biking Facebook group I’m part of, someone mentioned getting hurt because they didn’t listen to their body on a particular day; they went out and rode when they should have listened to their body and stayed home, taken the day off.  I wrote a reply, relating my two broken elbows the…

The Art of Solitude: How to Be Alone in a World Full of People

Too often, we associate being alone with negativity.  We associate being alone with loneliness, depression, brooding, etc.  There is certainly truth to the fact that isolation can be negative, particularly for those battling addiction, depression or some other mental health-related issue.  We also know that socializing with other hoomans is a positive force in terms…

How (Not) to Give a Wedding Gift

What does a Nature lover and adventure writer gift to friends for their wedding? It may not be what you think. The next installment in the How (Not) To series is a little funny, a little serious, and all good. Names and deets have been changed to protect the innocent.

Lightning Lessons in Writing: How to Use the Comma

All too often, inexperienced writers view, or worse, use, the comma as a pause in a sentence.  While it’s true that we pause at commas, as we would any mark of punctuation, that is not their function any more than the function of a period is a pause, or a semi-colon or colon are pauses. …

How Nature Makes Us Better

Dear Readers, As I continue to try to find a work life balance that works for this blog, as well as the time to keep original content coming, please check out the podcast I’ve uploaded on how nature helps to keep us healthy and well.  If you’re a smartphone user click on the menu link…

Potty-mouthed Professors: Why They’re the Best

Trust me. I should know. I’m one of them.  And if you are someone easily offended by foul, vulgar, profane language, this essay might not be for you. There is an amazing essay written by Jordan Schneider in The Chronicle of Higher Education that covers why swearing in class isn’t that big of a deal;…

Lightning Lessons in Writing: How to Improve Overnight

This “lightning lesson” in grammar, a super short but very helpful lesson on how to write clearly and correctly, won’t make you the next Shakespeare or Hemingway.  It will, however, give your writing the edge it needs to be taken seriously.  It’s not any one gift or tool that a writer has that makes them…

A Monster Hike: Arethusa Falls and Frankenstein Cliffs

I had to stop to breathe; this mountain was kicking my ass.  The slopes at the base of the cliffs were talused, debris-filled, and more resembled sand than soil.  Trees and rocks tenuously clung to the side of the mountain and every step was an effort not to tumble down the side of it.   Grasping…

How (Not) to Become a Cyclist

(Photo credit: genuinebyjtyler.com) In or about 2006 or 2007 my baby bro, who was in his twenties at that point, had become interested in cycling—real cycling, the kind with crazy spandex uniforms that often incorporate stripes or polka-dots, with sewn in pockets to carry high calorie gel packs and high calorie food bars that don’t…