There’s a fine line between mellowing with age and just no longer giving a shit. I’ve fortunately never been a worrier; I’ve always been easy like Sunday morning. But as I grow older, I find myself worrying less and less about more and more. It’s a challenge to give up worry while still caring enough to get out of bed every day. Continue reading “A Short List of Things I No Longer Care About”
I admit that I came to Madagascar with a head full of preconceived notions, which mostly (thankfully) turned out to be false. My first thoughts of this forested island nation were of humidity, bugs and French–three things I dread. Continue reading “Mad about Madagascar”
His parents were wise, building their nest high under the eaves of the house, where the downspout from the gutter formed a sheltered platform inaccessible to all but the most determined of predators. I noticed them early in the spring, flitting about the back deck, gathering materials for their home construction. Continue reading “The Little Cardinal”
Upscale Shack readers will recall my 2014 review of Dr. Richard Carroll’s first book 2000 Miles around the Tree of Life, which recorded the author’s experiences hiking the Appalachian Trail from start to finish in the mid 1970’s. In his latest book, The Emperor and the Elephants (ISBN: 1935925709), Carroll recalls his Peace Corps service in the Central African Empire (today known as the Central African Republic, or CAR), in the late 1970’s, and his subsequent years working as a conservationist in Central Africa .
Continue reading “Book Review: The Emperor and the Elephants”
For nearly 100 years, the land that is today the Bubye Valley Conservancy (BVC) of Zimbabwe was not wilderness. The land was a cattle ranch. Wild animals were intentionally wiped out, for fear of disease transmission, and to eliminate predators that would kill cattle. For nearly a century, the land hosted a cattle monoculture, devoid of wildlife; and elephants, rhinos, leopards and lions were completely wiped out. For a century this land was the furthest thing in the world from wilderness. Continue reading “The Myth of Wild Africa”
NOTE: Click on the pictures for a larger high resolution version.Â
2010 was a busy year for travel. I documented travel to Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in Part 1. I also made two trips to Namibia in 2010. The first, in February, was to participate in a rhino capture operation in Etosha National Park. Those photos are documented here. The second, in July, was a trip with my father to celebrate his 60th birthday, which will be documented in Part 3. Continue reading “10 YEARS, 28 COUNTRIES: 2010. PART 2”
Time for the next installment of the photographic tour of ten years with my job. In 2010 I traveled a lot, visiting Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in one trip and then going to Namibia twice, in February and July. I’m going to break this into two segments because I have a lot of pics from those trips. Continue reading “10 YEARS, 28 COUNTRIES: 2010. Part 1”
Note: You can click on the images to open a full-size high resolution version.Â
Continuing this photographic reflection of 10 years of work related travel. In 2009 I only made one trip, to Cameroon. I attended a workshop in Yaounde and then took a trip to the southern border region with Equatorial Guinea, to a national park called Campo Ma’an along the Campo River, which forms the border. This was my first trip to Cameroon.
This is from the Al Jazeera broadcast of December 15, 2014. Me talking about the status of the northern white rhino subspecies.
In 2008 I only made one trip, to South Africa and Namibia. It was my first visit to Namibia. I visited a communal conservancy in northwest Namibia called ≠Khoadi-//Hôas, which means “elephant corner” in the Damara language. Then I went to Kwa Zulu Natal for a meeting marking the 10th anniversary of WWF’s African Rhino Program. Here are some pics highlighting those travels.
Upscale Shack 