Writers Like To Write, And Writing In

'brave' Is One Of Those Words That Has Been Bleached Of Most Of Its Meaning These Days, Thanks To Far Too Many Appearances In The Glaring Light Of Ad Slogans And Corporate Public Relations. I Never Thought About Anything As Brave Anymore; It Just Seemed Like A Flabby, Glib Cliche.

Keeping Animals, I Have Learned, Is All About Water. Who Even Knew Chickens Drank Water? I Didn't, But They Do, And A Lot.

We Do A Lot Of Bird-watching Up In The Country, But We Almost Never Have A Chance To People-watch. There Simply Aren't Enough Human Beings Up Here: There Is Nowhere You Can Park Yourself With A Cup Of Coffee And Observe The Species On Parade.

I Love Writing Traditional Magazine Pieces, And Especially Their Breadth Of Reporting And The Deliberateness Of The Writing.

I Might Have Missed My Calling As An Editor. In The Spring, The Sight Of My Empty Garden Beds Gives Me The Horticultural Equivalent Of Writers' Block: So Much Space! So Many Plants To Choose Among, And Yet None Of Them Seem Quite Right!