April 21, 2023
Nature Bummin’ with MCHT Steward Kirk Gentalen A nice thing about writing a monthly nature blog is that in any month there are a gagillion topics to write about. At times it can be hard to pick just one thing to focus on. And so, often I find myself with two, three, or even four […]
March 16, 2023
Nature Bummin’ with MCHT Steward Kirk Gentalen All dates mentioned in this post are based on personal observation and may change by days or even up to weeks depending on the year. It’s nature, not everything is etched in stone. Blood itself is a track. But we’ll get to that in a bit. Let’s start […]
February 21, 2023
Nature Bummin’ with MCHT Steward Kirk Gentalen So, January ’23 has come and gone, and February announced its presence with authority by providing a fierce chill that sent me and my son off the ice and to the movies (“Knock at the cabin”—wonderfully uplifting movie). Now, with the first half of winter being just about […]
October 31, 2022
Nature Bummin’ with MCHT Steward Kirk Gentalen So-called “Spring” Peepers The old timers say, “happens every ’tember,” and the old timers are right! After a summer of silence, some Spring Peepers start peeping again each September (or “each ‘tember” if you’re an old timer). You know Spring Peepers, the little tree frogs with the X […]
September 20, 2022
Nature Bummin’ with MCHT Steward Kirk Gentalen “When is the best time to see river otters?” I was asked the above question this summer, right around mid-August, when I posted a river otter video on “the Instagram” (handle @baldfulmar). Instantly, I came up with a couple of obvious answer, “any time is the best time”, […]
August 23, 2022
Nature Bummin’ with MCHT Steward Kirk Gentalen I mean, they’re Red Crossbills. Loxia curvirostra. Where do we begin? Better yet, when do we begin? Full disclosure here (and I think we’ve had this conversation before) but when it comes to nature observing, birds tend to be the “first hook” when exploring a new […]
July 14, 2022
By MCHT Land Steward Kirk Gentalen Written June 17, 2022 So maybe I got a little ahead on myself a couple of posts ago, or maybe I should have known better before announcing a “favorite” anything too quickly. I don’t know—maybe “favorites” should be viewed a fluid concept that changes depending on which way the […]
June 13, 2022
Nature Bummin’ with MCHT Steward Kirk Gentalen Nowadays, it seems like everyone is busy processing changes in the world. Changes in perspective, changes in knowledge and understanding—and not just changes happening in real time, but changes from the past, as well as changes that have implications for the future. Processing like this brings […]
May 1, 2022
Nature Bummin with MCHT steward, Kirk Gentalen So, here’s something both new and unexpected—I now have a favorite tree species. Crazy. I (the royal “I”) have played favorites with many individual trees over the years but having a species that I call my favorite is new for me. Playing favorites makes me a human, or […]
April 1, 2022
Nature Bummin with MCHT steward, Kirk Gentalen Written March 2021, published April 2022 In “nature-speak” there are many words for transition: molting, shedding, and metamorphosis come to mind right off the bat. These particular transitions occur on a somewhat regular basis (often with implications of life and death). Amphibians have to get metamorphosizing and “out […]
