Hollis

LATEST ARTICLES ( 431 )

• Seize the Fleeting Light (Exposure)

  

  Cameras have been around for so long—almost two centuries—and have become so common that we take them for granted. But how remarkable to capture light and creat... Read more

  Posted on 02 February 2016 OUTDOORS

• Escape to a Warmer Greener World

  

  Last week I left home all bundled up, walked through cold blowing snow, opened a door, and entered the warm verdant stillness of a forest of fig, lipstick and... Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2016 OUTDOORS

• Stillness

  

  The standing dead.I live in the Laramie Valley in the Rocky Mountains, at 7000 feet elevation, far from any ameliorating marine effects. Winters are cold and... Read more

  Posted on 19 January 2016 OUTDOORS

• "never Before Photographed"

  

  “… the Tetons, never before photographed, now became of the first importance, so far as I was concerned.” (William Henry Jackson 1872; USGS)In 1872, William... Read more

  Posted on 12 January 2016 OUTDOORS

• Juneberry Dreams

  

  Juneberry in its prime.It's time for tree-followers to pick a tree. For 2016, I want to follow a juneberry—a tree with a rich store of stories and yummy fruit.... Read more

  Posted on 04 January 2016 OUTDOORS

• River of Rock

  

  Strolling down a river ...Our fall was unprecedentedly mild—so much so that on December 9, I returned to the Pawnee Buttes in northeastern Colorado (see recent... Read more

  Posted on 28 December 2015 OUTDOORS

• Winter on the Laramie River—great Food, Wrong Trees

  

  Would you camp here for five months?On September 4, 1831, twenty-one fur trappers packed their mules, saddled their horses, and rode up the Laramie River from... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2015 OUTDOORS

• Geo-challenge: Hiking on (not In) a River Valley

  

  Where on Google Earth are we?Some hints ... Arrows point to stream deposits from roughly 20 million years ago. Obsolete names date from the late 1800s. Read more

  Posted on 11 December 2015 OUTDOORS

• Willow Retrospective

  

  Limestone "pavement" above Willow Canyon, with windblown snow.It’s a cold windy December afternoon in the foothills of the Laramie Mountains—7200 feet elevation... Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2015 OUTDOORS

• Professor Rydberg Sends a Map

  

  "I have made a tracing of a map of the park … I have tried to copy his routes thereon as well as that of myself and Mr. Bessey"It’s such a treat to meet and... Read more

  Posted on 28 November 2015 OUTDOORS

• Memories of Summer Grasslands

  

  The “flowers” in this bedraggled bouquet are from a plant that was blooming in my yard just a few weeks ago ... in early November at 7000 feet elevation in... Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2015 OUTDOORS

• “For Each Man Sees Himself in the Grand Canyon”

  

  There’s one more thing you need for your trip into the Canyon—a book of poetry. Yes—a book of poetry!—even as you try to reduce your belongings to the bare... Read more

  Posted on 13 November 2015 OUTDOORS

• Willow Expedition

  

  “We’re gonna do what?!”Snow fell though the night. It was obvious, even inside the house. City sounds were muffled, and a dim light shone through the... Read more

  Posted on 07 November 2015 OUTDOORS

• Stop! There’s a Tree in the Rock in the Road

  

  But is it wild or urban?The plant featured in this Street Plants post was a tough call. Is it urban or is it wild? It must be wild as it grows on the crest of... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2015 OUTDOORS

• Tree on Drugs

  

  Though it's early October, this American pussy willow is not thinking fall.As you may know, I'm following a tree. I’m not alone—fifty-plus other people around... Read more

  Posted on 07 October 2015 OUTDOORS

• Living Botanical History

  

  Mrs. Aven Nelson holds a “stout carpenter’s chisel” used to dig up plants in Yellowstone Park. Student assistant Leslie Goodding looks on. Between them are... Read more

  Posted on 03 October 2015 OUTDOORS

• Botanists in Paradise—a Letter to the Earth

  

  Last week I received a long hand-written letter. After reading the first few paragraphs, I found myself in a state of shock! It had been written by Aven... Read more

  Posted on 28 September 2015 OUTDOORS

• Fall Colors: Pink & Green

  

  Salsola kali, one of many synonyms (experts are still debating).They’re among the most notorious characters of the western US … have been since the 1870s when... Read more

  Posted on 25 September 2015 OUTDOORS

• Drama at the Canyon Mouth

  

  Clarks Fork Canyon and southeast Beartooth front; photo courtesy Tim Schoessler.In northwest Wyoming, roughly 30 miles northwest of Powell, the Clarks Fork of... Read more

  Posted on 16 September 2015 OUTDOORS

• Plants on Rock

  

  Not much happening with my willow (peeking out from behind rock)—just kicking back and hanging out with juniper pals in the ‘hood. Read more

  Posted on 08 September 2015 OUTDOORS