Countries
Malaysia
Qatar
Exploring the Ancient Side of a Modern Qatar.
An amphitheater, an epic market… the penultimate post in the Caves to Qatar Series.
Thailand (for 6 whole months)
New Zealand
Apple picking!
Is there a good side to growing industrialization?
My brother nearly dies for scenery.
There’s good way down the mountain, and that wasn’t it.
My family in Hobbiton.
I journeyed to another world!
Trail Running in New Zealand.
I’ll show you my favorite spots!
3 things I’d never seen before.
(Please don’t drink the sulfur water.)
Not all that glitters is a worm.
Indy Wild loves bugs that….
CREEPIEST travel moment yet!
We found a foot. But no body.
First Impressions of….
Adding another country to the list!
Middle-Earth
My family in Hobbiton.
I journeyed to another world!
Texas. My home.
Travel Advice (from the questoinably best)…
Posts by Country (a little easier to manage)
I’ve spent most of my life in eastern Texas. Texas is especially home for me because I know and love its unique flora and fauna.
Red spider lilies.
I first learned about spider lilies while in Thailand. I was writing a scene for my Bloodlines of Fire, and dropped a search…
I made a small meal from weeds and roots.
This little meal was constituted almost entirely of foraged plants! I call it the French fries and burger patties of the great outdoors….
What was a slow realization for me.
To sum up Texas, I’d say it’s hot sun and cold winters, parched ground and bare trees. If New Zealand looks like the…
Passionfruit in Texas
Before this topic is irrelevant because winter has set upon the continental United States, I thought I’d post about Passiflora incarnata, passionfruit that grows here…
The smallest cucumbers you’ll probably ever see.
In just the past two months, I think I’ve doubled the number of foraging plants I know and one of my new favorites…
Why would you call it a beautiful membrane? Spider Lilies.
The sweetest smelling flowers…
A Recipe for Death Or for Delight?
Armed with a recipe from Forager Chef and a bag of fresh-picked goldenrod, I determined I would make part of my dinner with…
Autumnal LIfe Update.
The cold of fall is finally here! After tackling the heat of the Thai summer (or, at least, a good deal of it)…
Why you shouldn’t eat any peppervine berries (Nekemias arborea) even if i do.
I eat peppervine berries. You probably shouldn’t. While not toxic, they’re poisonous because the microscopic spines inside them can result in a chemical…
And Thus ends the Series… and I share my thoughts about Corners of Creation.
Today I’m finishing off the entire Caves to Qatar series with some thoughts about what it means to belong to a certain land….
Short Post. SPRING!
Yesterday was the first day of spring! What a wonderful time of year. The trees burst forth with new growth. Tender folds of…
Fallen Wings
God saw a bird fall from heaven yesterday. The day was gorgeous. The cerulean sky, dotted with the occasional cloud, seemed to hang…
Running Again to Win
Races aren’t easy. They aren’t supposed to be easy. Races are agony
SNAKE!!
This is going to be a bit of a ramble, but I got into a bit of trouble for this—so let me rhapsodize….
The Path of Adventure
The day shall not be up so soon as I, To try the fair adventure of tomorrow. —William Shakespeare, What is adventure?…
The land of smiles.
Who wants a tiny hug?
Hi, Today I wanted to share about one of the smallest hugs I’ve ever gotten. A little gecko was exploring the inside…
Dragons, church, blood, and a river in Thailand. Our third visit!
If that dragon came to life, I’d be dead.
Did Indy get an indie haircut?
Indy Wild’s haircut looks so… well… sooo…. Never mind.
Further into the Flower.
Flower pedals stretch wide, alluring pollinators inward to the heart of the flower, where yellow puffs of pollen snuggle together. If…
To all of Thailand… goodbye. (For now, at least)
Hi! As I said in the blog series intro, my family had a rather wild trip getting from the Kingdom of Thailand back…
Have you hugged an elephant today?
Howdy! During our time in the Kingdom of Thailand, I’ve shivered in the grip of a python, stood between Bengal tigers, cradled giant spiders…
Chocolate Bug Bar??
In stores it’s not unusual to find whey protein, beef, soy, egg, pea, and even bone protein… but bug protein?
Pythons and Cobras
I was excited to get to hold a python—a big one too. It felt like living metal as it coiled around my shoulders.
WHAT IS THAT SMELL?
HI. I wanted to tell about the two grossest things that I have eaten in Thailand. For my first entry, I say, frog…
Siam Insect Zoo
Those are the bugs I got to hold at Siam Insect Zoo, Thailand. But if you know me, or if you really don’t…
Forget the Lions and Bears…
Pure power. Pure, unbounded, unmeasured, feline power rippled beneath the tawny pelt. The feel of a tiger was not something I thought I would ever testify to… but here, I was watching and feeling it firsthand.
Caves and towers.
Short Post. Rose milk again!
I recently mentioned our trying rose milk in Malaysia (read that post here), and I thought I would update my life-rose-milk condition. We…
A Golden Idol and some very naughty monkeys.
Today, I’m diving back into the series narrative… (if you’re new to the series, you can read the launch post here!) It was day…
My first time trying the national dish of Malaysia! + a rough time learning Malay.
Day two of our trip. Nasi Lemak for the first time! On our trip back to the US, we intentionally stopped for two nights…
The Family Returns to the City of LIghts.
Hello! I hope you’re having a great day! jI wrote (most of) this from our rental in KL the night we landed. 3:06…
Short Post. Petronas Towers Fan Art
The Petronas Towers are still popular at our house!! My little sister colored this picture!
Adventure on a Malaysian Junket
My first time in Malaysia was a blast! I can’t wait to go back.
Ancient deserts stirred to life.
Exploring the Ancient Side of a Modern Qatar.
An amphitheater, an epic market… the penultimate post in the Caves to Qatar Series.
Can you guess the 3 loveliest things I found in Pakistan?
I thought I’d tie up some odds and ends from our Pakistan trip by covering the three sweetest and loveliest things I found…
Monuments and the old school (and the goat)
Just outside of Islamabad is a little village called Saidpur. With no real plans other than to look around, we drove out to…
Can pizza in Pakistan be good? (an honest review).
Hi, Going with the flow, I’m moving from my post about cheese paratha to another food-related topic: pizza! Our most memorable pizza in…
Cheese and chai (good enough to earn this post).
This seemingly nondescript paratha shop in Pakistan is unique in its own special way. It’s the Home of the World Famous Luke Damant…
First food in Pakistan! (and a funny story)
On our first day in Pakistan, my family snoozed straight through breakfast. Late in the afternoon, we slipped upstairs to our hotel restaurant…
First night experience in Pakistan.
It was drizzly, dark, and deep into the night when my tired family landed in Islamabad, Pakistan. One of our bags was choked…
The world of Aotearoa.
Apple picking!
Is there a good side to growing industrialization?
My brother nearly dies for scenery.
There’s good way down the mountain, and that wasn’t it.
My family in Hobbiton.
I journeyed to another world!
Trail Running in New Zealand.
I’ll show you my favorite spots!
3 things I’d never seen before.
(Please don’t drink the sulfur water.)
Not all that glitters is a worm.
Indy Wild loves bugs that….
CREEPIEST travel moment yet!
We found a foot. But no body.
First Impressions of….
Adding another country to the list!
My family in Hobbiton.
I journeyed to another world!