I Brought a Tiny Tiger into My Home—and Did Not Get Eaten

“Why would anyone keep a tiny tiger in the house?” I asked my immediate circle approximately 1,000 times over the course of the last 20 years. Never mind that I’d made it a lifelong habit of always having at least one tiny wolf by my side. To me, housecats were miscreants who spent their days … Continue reading I Brought a Tiny Tiger into My Home—and Did Not Get Eaten

A Profound Lesson on Death from Bugs Who Spend 17 Years Underground

It’s a sizzling afternoon in the summer of 2013 in the suburbs of Virginia, and the air is filled with shrieks. An insect flutters to the ground, nearly colliding with my head. As she perches on a nearby tree stump, I capture her silhouette on camera, the intersecting orange lines of her wings against her jet-black body. To the screaming children at the park playground, she’s a menace. To me, it’s like the earth has opened up to deliver a marvel that has been hidden right under our feet for the last 17 years: the cicadas of Brood II.

These Dive-Bombing, Deck-Destroying Bees Can Outsmart Us All

I love spring, the season of rebirth. Every day the leaves grow bigger, new flowers burst into bloom, and the yellow buzzing cotton balls known as carpenter bees dive-bomb me nonstop on my back deck. One might presume this would be quite the annoyance, and in the past, I'd have heartily agreed. Until the day … Continue reading These Dive-Bombing, Deck-Destroying Bees Can Outsmart Us All

Cover Your Snout and Save a (Pig) Snout!

Today's story is a little different. Today I invite you to become a little part of the story of a serene place called Ranger's Refuge--a slice of paradise where hundreds of unwanted and discarded farmed animals have found a new lease on life. Tucked away in rural Virginia, Ranger's Refuge has been special to me, … Continue reading Cover Your Snout and Save a (Pig) Snout!

You Need a Smile. This 3-Legged Goat’s Got You.

The world as we know it is crumbling to our feet. We're locked in our homes, we've lost employment, and loved ones are dying. We long for someone to wake us up and tell us that it's all been a cruel joke. While I can't make that happen, I can introduce you to someone who … Continue reading You Need a Smile. This 3-Legged Goat’s Got You.

My Piglet’s So Cute, You Want One, Too? First, Add 100 Pounds and $100k.

Peppercorn the potbellied piglet, all 12 pounds of him, came into my life squealing one April afternoon about five years ago. He was skittish and jumpy, obstinate and forever hungry--and really, really tiny. It was love at first oink.

Meet a 2-Year-Old Pig the Size of a Milk Jug. Where He Came from Will Shock You.

Meet Beacon. Hunched over, timid, and hardly bigger than a gallon of milk -- you'd think he was just a piglet. But Beacon was two years old when he was rescued and given a chance to truly live. He was born February 6, 2016. "That date is also the date I got married in 1996," … Continue reading Meet a 2-Year-Old Pig the Size of a Milk Jug. Where He Came from Will Shock You.