Brief Encounters on the Wild Side

John Lane — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:30:48 -0500

I'm hoping this will be the spring we'll see river otters in the creek behind our house. I've had reports of people seeing them at the mill dam a half mile downstream, and just last week someone wrote to say they'd seen three otters fishing in Four-Mile Branch, a large tributary of Lawson's Fork not far away. There's something about a possible river otter sighting that would fulfill my fauna longings for the season.

"The Upper Shoals," a chapter of CIRCLING HOME (UGA Press, November 2007)

John Lane — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 14:38:21 -0400

Any path can become the path if attended to with care, without preconceptions, informed by knowledge, and open to surprise.

—Chet Raymo, The Path

The upper shoals have a wildness about them—big trees, exposed rock, and falling water. I like to walk down there with the dogs and pretend we live far from town surrounded by nothing but forest. The path along the creek through the floodplain is not ours. It's owned by one of the wealthiest families in the United States. We find what refuge we can among their abundant acres.

circling home

Brief Encounters on the Wild Side

"The Upper Shoals," a chapter of CIRCLING HOME (UGA Press, November 2007)