I began blogging to share my thoughts and experiences comparing my life as an environmentalist in the US and UK when I was a Fulbright Scholar living and doing research in Britain for 2013-14. I continue to post discussions on issues related to climate change, sustainability, and environmentalism. **The views and information presented in my posts are my own and do not represent the Fulbright Program, the Department of State, or the University of North Dakota.**
The five Great Lakes, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, with the smaller lakes and rivers that connect them, span the eastern half of the North American continent on the border between the United States and Canada. All combined, the Great Lakes system covers some 95,000 square miles of surface area, making it the largest freshwater ecosystem … More Bearing witness to dying ice
June 2023. Following the footsteps of the great haiku poet, Basho, through forested paths and small towns of northern Japan was a delight. Through a 5 day self-guided walking tour we visited many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, including the famous Yamadera temple where you climb 1,000 steps to reach it at the top of … More Thoughts Between Temples
Rainbow watercolors flowing across frozen sky. Melting gold, pink, coral, blending into radiant orange. Dying flame of day. Gray-blue becomes lavender mirrored by snow and clouds. Slowly, the world deepens turning violet, cool and soft. Navy blue descends from outer space. First stars wink across time beyond the sharp moon sliver.
Close your eyes. Listen. What do you hear? The winter wind whispers across the barren white landscape rattling dried seed heads. Dancing with the snow, it becomes visible, swirling higher and higher until a strong gust howls and crashes like a great wave breaking against a shore. The snow settles over the top of a … More Listen to a Prairie Portrait
June 2022 Peru may be best known for the ancient, mysterious mountain city ruins of Machu Picchu, but over half the country is blanketed by the eastern reach of the Amazon Rainforest making it one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. This was why we returned to Peru, to seek Pachamama (Earth Mother) … More Rainforest Reflections from Peru
Plodding through the hot, dry sand, the sun’s rays began to feel a tad scorching. Given my fair, sensitive skin, the sunny beach is not friendly terrain. Even slathering myself in sunscreen and wearing a hat, the risk of painful sunburn and family history of skin cancer are usually enough to keep me away from … More Changing Oceans
Mindful Wandering Press Release | For Immediate Release | December 10, 2021 You can take the girl off the farm, but you can’t take the farm from the girl. Dr. Rebecca J. Romsdahl’s Mindful Wandering: Nature and Global Travel through the Eyes of a Farmgirl Scientist takes the reader from a Minnesota farm to England, Morocco, Peru … More Mindful Wandering: Nature and Global Travel through the Eyes of a Farmgirl Scientist
What is killing our birch trees? – Part III- Trees and forests are threatened worldwide. Birch beetles are native to North America so my paper birch trees and their ancestors have evolved defenses to fight the beetles. But birch trees also grow throughout the northern latitudes of Europe and Asia. Those birch species, like my … More Trees and Forests
What is killing our birch trees? Part II- The Suspects What is killing our birch trees? The suspects include old age, injuries from storms, climate change, drought, and insects. For the past decade, the combination of these has been bashing birch trees in my neighborhood like boxers in a fighting ring. Age In a forest … More The Suspects
Have you noticed in the past few years how many birch trees seem to be looking sickly and others are standing dead in our northern landscape? I admit, I had not been paying attention to the signs and symptoms appearing in my own neighborhood until it was too late. October 2020. I used to have … More What is killing our birch trees?
BlueMarble notes 