Category Archives: ANIMALS

THIS DAMN DOG

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Kit Troyer

I’ve lived with a number of dogs across the years. Until recently I’d never lived with one who made me feel like I was being outsmarted. Or like I was somehow falling short. I don’t know, maybe Mocha only has … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, CHILD REARING, DOGS, DUMB SHIT I'VE DONE, SELF HELP, SPIRIT | Tagged | 25 Comments

SHE FELL FROM THE SKY

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Kit Troyer

Juliane Koepcke was 17 years old when a plane crash left her stranded in the rain forest of Peru. Listen to Episode 1 of Killer Biographies for the full story! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/killer-biographies/id1685759787

Posted in ANIMALS, COURAGE, PODCAST, SHIPWRECKS, SPIRIT | 2 Comments

HARVARD CAN DO BETTER

Posted on October 13, 2022 by Kit Troyer

There will always be human activities which the passing of time reveals to have been horrible, backward, unethical, or just plain dumb. Laboratory experiments on animals will wind up in this category, I think. The truth is, most experiments are … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, COURAGE, DOGS, SPIRIT | 41 Comments

ORIENTATION

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Kit Troyer

One thing I’ve noticed about gardening — not only do I lose myself in it and sort of drift away in my mind, but sometimes I wind up in an awkward position trying to reach a particular plant or branch. … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, SPIRIT | 20 Comments

FIRST AN APOLOGY

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Kit Troyer

I followed a Monarch butterfly today as it floated along the sidewalk. Or maybe it was a Painted Lady. I’m not sure. When it landed in flowering lantana near Irving Street, I found a spot at what seemed like a … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, SPIRIT | 14 Comments

WHILE I WAS AWAY

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Kit Troyer

As I got ready to leave town for 10 days, I worried about the baby hummingbirds near my porch. I had watched them each day as they began to move around and make noise and ask their mother for food. … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, CHILD REARING, DUMB SHIT I'VE DONE, SPIRIT | 35 Comments

HUMMINGBIRDS AND BEETLES

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Kit Troyer

I almost made a catastrophic error yesterday with the hummingbird nest. As far as I could tell, the mother had vanished three days earlier. She was no longer sitting on her eggs, she wasn’t feeding any new hatchlings. She was … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, SPIRIT | 33 Comments

BACKYARD MYSTERY

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Kit Troyer

One springtime years ago, when my children were young and life was hectic, a small domestic mystery nagged at me for two or three weeks. Sometimes when I entered my backyard through a side gate, I would hear a sudden … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, CHILD REARING, SPIRIT | 28 Comments

CLOVER MITES

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Kit Troyer

The following conversation was edited for clarity. KIT: Thank you so much for reaching out. CLOVER MITE: Yeah the ‘red microspider’ thing was unfortunate. We were kind of shaking our heads about that one. KIT: I’m so sorry. But I … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS | 15 Comments

MY DESERT-ISLAND CHORE

Posted on February 19, 2022 by Kit Troyer

My wife likes doing laundry. It’s a welcome break from her day job, which tends to be demanding, highly social, draining. Doing laundry, on the other hand, is quiet and solitary, the clothes warm and fragrant when she pulls them … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, SELF HELP, SPIRIT | 26 Comments