Category Archives: Nature Girl

Snippets of Hiking

Posted on December 14, 2015 by sheilawill

I was on my Sunday afternoon hike, heading up the Douglas Spring trail in Tucson’s Rincon Mountains. You know, I start humming after being in nature for a few minutes. Two fleet-footed boys of 7 or 8 appear behind me. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bopping Around Tucson, Fight wimpiness, Journalism/Writing, Nature Girl | Tagged Douglas Spring trail, good mothers, hiking in Tucson, mysterious blondes, Rincon Mountains, writing short stories | 2 Comments

Trying to make it easier — a short one

Posted on November 29, 2015 by sheilawill

Walking back to Brook and Gian’s house, up the main drag of Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, NC, I see a way to make it easier. Cut through the woods. Some folks may think I’m a bit nutty. I prefer … Continue reading →

Posted in Fight wimpiness, Mount Desert Island/Maine, Nature Girl | Tagged "The Big Orange Splot", Chapel Hill, Franklin Street, Maine woods, neighborhoods, Saxapahaw, sense of community, spider webs | 2 Comments

Thirteen years in Tucson…a few thoughts

Posted on September 26, 2015 by sheilawill

I drove into Tucson at sunset on my daughter Brook’s 25th birthday, Sept. 25, 2002. “I did it,” I said to myself. “I don’t know what I’ll do next, but I did it.” I had driven cross-country from Southwest Harbor, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bopping Around Tucson, Journalism/Writing, Nature Girl, Tucson Festival of Books/good books | Tagged big cities, desert living, education equality, everyday beauty, Southwest Harbor, teacher heros | 2 Comments

Relaxing vacation or OPS (old people shit)?

Posted on June 8, 2015 by sheilawill

The newlyweds are honeymooning on the island of Corsica. The big sister and her husband are packing up to move south. One of us old folks has aches and pains. We’re both getting a lot of sleep, hanging out, reading. … Continue reading →

Posted in Baby Boomers, Mount Desert Island/Maine, Nature Girl, Uncategorized | Tagged Buddhist teachings, downeast accent, Gemini birthday, Greening Island, hiking Mt. Desert Island, loving lilacs, relaxing vacation | Leave a comment

Ranch sisters

Posted on May 3, 2015 by sheilawill

Whether we’re from Kansas City, Boston, San Antonio, Chicago or Southwest Harbor, Maine, when five women get together we’re sisters. So it was at The Big House for less than 24 hours — long enough to establish a new and … Continue reading →

Posted in Baby Boomers, Fight wimpiness, kinky eardrums, Nature Girl | Tagged Arizona hisotry, book groups, powerful women, ranch life, San Raphael Valley, sisterly retreats, U.S. Border Patrol, verandas | 3 Comments

I feel like Ms. Rumphius…I’m so lucky

Posted on July 20, 2014 by sheilawill

A highlight of summer in Maine is relaxation. I’ve relaxed so much this year that I feel tired. Maybe there’s something wrong with me. Is this what relaxation feels like? I’ve been spending a lot of time looking out the … Continue reading →

Posted in Baby Boomers, Mount Desert Island/Maine, Nature Girl | Tagged "Miss Rumphius", Acadia National Park, Ashley Bryan Center, family of friends, Islesford, Maine-ly Delights, Thurston's, Weslea Sidon | 9 Comments

Lupines, please wait for me!

Posted on March 23, 2014 by sheilawill

In Arizona they’re called Texas bluebonnets. To me they’re lupines. They grow in the Tucson mountains, much smaller than in Maine. Yup, was I surprised yesterday when I came across Maine-sized purple blossoms at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bopping Around Tucson, Mount Desert Island/Maine, Nature Girl | Tagged "Miss Rumphius", Barbara Cooney, Dale Chihuly, Desert Botanical Garden, lupines, spring wildflowers | 2 Comments

Girl on a fast bike…

Posted on February 23, 2014 by sheilawill

That’s not me. I can walk fast. I still have a small waist. I dream about being in good shape for another 20 years, traveling, keeping up with my daughter walking fast across Manhattan, hiking in the desert. Recently, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Baby Boomers, Bopping Around Tucson, Nature Girl | Tagged AARP, baby boomers, Catalina Mountains, retirement, Tucson Mountains, Tucson wildflowers | 5 Comments

Musing on the new year: How green is my desert!

Posted on January 2, 2014 by sheilawill

Photos don’t do the Sonoran desert justice, especially on a lovely 70-degree blue-sky day like today, the first of the new year. While hiking in Saguaro National Park West I tried to capture images of the grass surrounding the Saguaros … Continue reading →

Posted in Bopping Around Tucson, Nature Girl | Tagged Emerald City, Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Hubbard's Cafe, new year's resolutions, Saguaro National Park West, Sonoran Desert, tap dancing | 6 Comments

Getting ready for the celebration!

Posted on December 29, 2013 by sheilawill

Many celebrations are coming up! 2014 awaits! “A Certain Slant of Light. Emerging from the Shadows of Mental Illness” signing and reception on Friday, Jan. 17 from 5-7 p.m. at Our Place Clubhouse, 66 E. Pennington St. But most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bopping Around Tucson, Family Matters, Nature Girl | Tagged 47 Scott, A Certain Slant of Light, Hiking as celebration, Our Place Clubhouse, Santa Catalina Mountains, Tucson Mountains, Yetman Stone House trail | 4 Comments