Common Ground
I am remembering my routine two springs back, before the Pandemic changed everything, when I was volunteering at Native Animal Rescue.
Earth Dialogues
Marilyn DuHamel
Essays are written by Marilyn DuHamel for Earth Dialogues in hopes of increasing connection with the natural world and heightening awareness of endangered wildlife and habitat. In keeping with this goal, feel free to share these essays through social media by clicking the three vertical dots at the top of each posting.
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Marilyn DuHamel
- Mar 14
- 7 min
Wild Village
We all have our morning routines. My day begins with opening the blinds, curious to see if there are blue skies or if the forested low...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Dec 7, 2020
- 8 min
Fire Series #3 - Returning: Renewal of Vows
I’m home. I’m home. Let me say it one more time. I am home. Late afternoon Sunday, August 30th, the words I had tried to will into...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Oct 25, 2020
- 9 min
Fire Series #2: My Greater Skin
IT'S AUGUST 18TH, YET ANOTHER day well over a hundred degrees. As the sun begins to lower in the sky, my dog Benny and I are finally able to
Marilyn DuHamel
- Sep 20, 2020
- 6 min
Fire Series #1: Lit Up
This is the first of several pieces that have emerged from my experiences living through the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in the Santa Cruz...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Jul 26, 2020
- 3 min
Wish You Were Here
A postcard arrives, with an alluring mountain scene by my favorite woodcut artist, Tom Killion. I prop it against the fruit bowl to bring th
Marilyn DuHamel
- Jun 28, 2020
- 6 min
That Which I See
As I leave the parking lot, one hundred metallic eyes greet me. I walk over for a look at the sculpture by Jenny Kendler, Birds Watching.
Marilyn DuHamel
- Jun 21, 2020
- 3 min
Neighbors: Fox Pays a Visit
Given Sheltering in Place, I envision a Neighbor Series - brief snapshots about the other-than-human-beings that share space with me....
Marilyn DuHamel
- May 10, 2020
- 8 min
Introducing Benny
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) Walt Whitman WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU look...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Feb 29, 2020
- 4 min
Illumination
I’m bundled up on my deck as I drink dark smoky tea, contentedly tracking the activity of juncos, chickadees and warblers visiting the...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Jan 25, 2020
- 6 min
Trapped
Deena Metzger’s poem, “Rats,” is an ode, an apology and an elegy to a rat that was wounded, but not killed, by a spring trap she set in...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Dec 28, 2019
- 5 min
Migrations
I pinch myself. I really am in Tanzania, a stone’s throw from wild elephants sheltering their young between trunk-like legs and giraffes...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Nov 30, 2019
- 3 min
Screen Door
Bang! The screen door slams shut, quivers, finally nestles back into the doorframe. The barefoot girl is already halfway down the...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Nov 30, 2019
- 1 min
Wayfinder Review: Coyote Wind
If, like me, you can never get enough of coyote - the flesh and blood canine or the mythological trickster - you might want to dip into...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Nov 3, 2019
- 5 min
Small Wild
I am surrounded by many wild creatures, mostly small, mostly young. This is why I volunteer for Native Animal Rescue - I get to tend...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Oct 6, 2019
- 3 min
Coyote Crossings
Several years ago, at the hairpin turn, my headlights capture a lifeless form. I know it’s you, coyote. I have seen you crossing this...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Sep 6, 2019
- 4 min
The Muse Visits Santa Cruz
Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music This essay is part of my Wayfinder Series about people, art works, and events that can help us...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Aug 24, 2019
- 3 min
Play Me!
The horizons you've promised me will be brilliant with signs. I am sick of shadows. Blind me with you!...Feel this delight of walking in...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Jul 15, 2019
- 7 min
Ghost
There’s a ghost in my house who only comes out at night – that’s when I can catch a glimpse of his silvery form. For now, this ghost...
Marilyn DuHamel
- Jun 14, 2019
- 7 min
Something More - Part II
Author's Note: This is a follow-up piece to my recent essay, "Something More." If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do so before...