As summer rolls to a close, I’m thinking back on its best moments. One highlight of the summer was my trip to England and Scotland, a three-week jaunt from corner to corner of the UK – from Eastbourne’s white cliffs in the southeast, to the black shale cliffs of Cornwall in the southwest; from the …
As the number of backyard and urban beekeepers surges nationwide, I visited a friend’s hives to write about honey bees. I also looked into the bees’ struggles with colony collapse disorder. But writing the article, I found that a still more urgent problem than honey bees may be wild bees. Honey bees, lovely and important …
Read more “Bees, wild and tame”
I talked with Bob Flaherty on WHMP about water, crumbling water infrastructure nationwide, and the responsibility of large companies like Coca Cola – which operates a large plant in Northampton MA – regarding payment to towns for their water use. An in depth look at Northampton’s new water sewer rate – WHMP Morning News The …
Read more “Water, for one town and nationwide”
New poem in The Cape Rock, issue 43 no. 2. A photo posted by Naila Moreira (@naila_fin) on Mar 27, 2016 at 10:36am PDT View larger here or on Instagram
photo by Stephen Petegorsky NORTHAMPTON — The Meadows are one of my favorite places to walk, daydream, write, and watch nature change in its numberless daily ways. A swath of agricultural land between Northampton’s downtown and the Connecticut River, they’re within easy walking distance of my home. Wandering the Meadows, I regularly see red-tailed hawks, …
Read more “Black, white and gray – a lens on nature”
“Pirene is the name of a fountain or spring in Greek mythology … it was said to be a favorite watering hole of Pegasus, sacred to the Muses. Poets would travel there to drink and receive inspiration.” #poetry #poem #naila_fin A photo posted by Naila Moreira (@naila_fin) on Feb 13, 2016 at 7:11pm PST in …
Read more “Lines from Base Camp”
NORTHAMPTON — About a year ago, I saw three deer running across the Connecticut River. They weren’t walking on water: the river had frozen, thick enough to support their lightly tripping hooves. Last winter, Bostonians got so much snow they called it the Snowpocalypse. This December, I saw a deer again, but it stood on …
Read more “A world overheating”
Reading back through an old notebook, I rediscovered some fine insights by fiction writer Tim Weed, originally shared during a talk he gave at the yearly meeting of the NE Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. He spoke of creating stories that will build lingering meaning for readers. Weed started by playing two pieces …
Read more “A spear in the darkness”
Today the corn is new, no higher than my knee, and at this height it has a special color: luminous green under the overcast sky. The clouds are thick and dark, like a stew. For some, this place might seem always the same: the corn growing, the looming mountain, the lone trees far off across …
Read more “Unexpected Encounters”
Exciting news! I’ve been selected as the new Writer in Residence for the Forbes Library in Northampton, MA. I’ll serve as the WriR for the next 2 years, 2015-2017. I’m delighted! Press Release The Forbes has been a literary home for me in Northampton and I’m so pleased to have this chance to give back …
Read more “Writer in Residence”