Daniel Hudon's Blog

“Hello?” I called out. No answer. It was laughable. Of course there was no answer. It was a cold, overcast morning and anyone looking for sights in the park would go to the waterfall, not bushwhack into the “Old Growth” grove where there were no trails. It began to rain. And I was lost. Cue … Continue reading "Seduced by the Forest"

The post Seduced by the Forest appeared first on Daniel Hudon.

My newest essay, about black holes, poetry, the pandemic and grief, was published by The Smart Set a week ago. It begins: 1. Black holes are prisons of light. They are both metaphor and physical entity, mute commentary on what is known, unknown and unknowable. Well-studied but poorly understood, like a virus. What happens gravitationally … Continue reading "Black Holes in the Time of Coronavirus"

The post Black Holes in the Time of Coronavirus appeared first on Daniel Hudon.

Despite the pandemic, new species were discovered in a variety of ecosystems, from the forest floor, to its branches to high in its canopy, as well as at the bottom of the ocean. Here are some of our favorites. A beautiful new monkey, the Popa langur, was discovered in Myanmar. Named after the mountain on … Continue reading "New Species in 2020"

The post New Species in 2020 appeared first on Daniel Hudon.

Last week was a good week for moon viewing. When I turned out my reading lamp on Monday night (Dec 28), oblongs of moonlight appeared on my floor, thanks to my skylights. This happens from time to time, and when it does, I’m always surprised. I floated from room to room in search of the … Continue reading "Chasing the New Moon"

The post Chasing the New Moon appeared first on Daniel Hudon.

I managed to produce twelve issues of my newsletter, DH News Presents: each month a grab bag of writings about nature, conservation, science and wonder, with a good dose of humor thrown in. Headlines for each of the twelve issues follow below, as well as the revolving DH title. The entire archive can be found … Continue reading "Newsletter Index for 2020"

The post Newsletter Index for 2020 appeared first on Daniel Hudon.

Here’s a segment from my essay “A Week in the Wild at Medawisla” from the Winter/Spring 2020 issue of Appalachia journal that never made it into the published version: Sometimes the rug gets pulled out from underneath you. All week I had been looking at the forests and wondering about them. From the ponds, they … Continue reading "Looking for Old Trees"

The post Looking for Old Trees appeared first on Daniel Hudon.

For many years, a beautiful maple tree lived on my block. And like maples anywhere, fall was its time to shine. For about six weeks, it put on a show with its leaves turning red at the top, and then that red would cascade down. Then the leaves at the top would turn yellow, and … Continue reading "The Tree on My Block"

The post The Tree on My Block appeared first on Daniel Hudon.

It’s not everyday you get to visit 565 million year old fossils. But on the edge of the Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, which feels like the edge of the known world, you can visit some of Earth’s oldest fossils of complex life. They’re old enough to predate the Cambrian period, and now belong to their own … Continue reading "Visiting the Ediacaran Fossils at Mistaken Point"

The post Visiting the Ediacaran Fossils at Mistaken Point appeared first on Daniel Hudon.

From my article in The Revelator: Should nature have rights? That question is being put to the test right now in Ecuador. In 2008 the South American country made history when its new constitution declared that nature had “the right to integral respect for its existence and for the maintenance and regeneration of its life … Continue reading "Los Cedros and the Rights of Nature"

The post Los Cedros and the Rights of Nature appeared first on Daniel Hudon.

My deck gets twenty-five hours of sunlight a day in the summer so because covid cancelled my spring trips, I decided to make use of a bunch of long planting containers that my neighbor put out on the street for trash and start a garden. Gardening is easy. All you have to do is buy … Continue reading "The Highs and Lows of Gardening"

The post The Highs and Lows of Gardening appeared first on Daniel Hudon.