My Year in Books: 2023

Reading about elephants in preparation for being surrounded by elephants As I reviewed the more than eighty books I’ve read this year, the fullness of the literary talents displayed by so many authors caught my attention. My reading is eclectic, heavily influenced this year by my trip to South Africa and the desire to learn …

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Stories of South Africa: the Garden on the eastern slope of Table Mountain (a Photo-Essay)

Avenue of Kirstenbosch lined with Camphor and Morton Fig trees In my mind’s eye, the terrain of South Africa is brown: dried grasses; elephant-damaged trees, blackened shadows against the open sky; lichen-covered rock outcroppings; murky ponds with hippopotamus eyes peeking above the water line; rutted and dusty dirt roads; barren mountains rising above the rolling …

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Stories of South Africa: The Sweet Lightness of Being

We arrived mid-afternoon at Bodhi Khaya Nature Retreat, an eco-sanctuary nestled in a valley beneath the Overstrand Mountains southeast of Cape Town. The drive was an adventure in itself: A missed turn on the narrow road necessitated a very careful U-turn by our bus driver; an overhanging branch required  one of the retreat’s staff to …

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Stories of south africa: the challenge of running solo in-country

Running and Africa are almost synonymous, at least at the elite level with talented Kenya and Ethiopian runners training at altitude, breaking records, dominating the world stage. In South Africa, the Comrades Marathon is the world’s oldest and largest ultramarathon. Held annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and …

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A GLORIOUS MORNING WALK: SURROUNDED BY ELEPHANTS in the bush

The walk: Our nature walk was to be an hour, a few kilometers outside the fences of Idube Nature Retreat. Inside the fences, we were protected from this big beasts who are unable to crawl under them. The retreat is part of the Sabie Sands Natural Reserve, contiguous with Kruger National Park, South Africa. The …

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My first 15k race: running with spirit

The Biltmore Kiwanis 15k road race seemed the perfect opportunity for someone who doesn’t really like races: run through the Biltmore Estate here in Asheville, North Carolina, parts of which are not typically open to guests. The start only five miles from our house. The 15k distance new to me. Early May, the estate grounds …

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The Porpoise and the Greyhound: Animals in my Life

What does a dedicated runner do when she cannot run, felled by injuries, inclement weather, or travel? Or perhaps she wants to cultivate cross training activities, to enhance her running but also to work other muscles and strengthen connective tissue? Maybe she wants to shake up her daily routine while maintaining aerobic capacity, muscle strength, …

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Puerto Rico: Fun in the Sun, muddy hikes, massive forts, Big iguanas

The backdrop: For the past several years, we’ve visited warm spots in early March with our older son and his family: San Diego, California, in 2019. Bermuda in 2020 (days before the COVID-19 pandemic in March closed most of the world). Sanibel Island, Florida, in 2022 (only months before Hurricane Ian destroyed access to the …

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Lisbon First Impressions: azulejo TILES, cobbled streets, edge of the world

The winter sun in Lisbon in mid-January is piercing, still low in the sky, lighting the white marble and pastel-colored buildings with a golden glow at the end of the day. The sky is intensely blue, not quite Mediterranean, as Lisbon is on the Atlantic Ocean, but deep and solid. The trees were not yet …

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