Dana Wilde mulls the rare sightings of Craspedacusta sowerbii, hoping to be surprised someday by a bloom of freshwater jellyfish.

Dana Wilde ponders the philosophic implications of creatures from the sea.

Ladybird beetles may be unnerving in large numbers, but they’re largely a harmless nuisance, Dana Wilde writes.

Reflecting on his grandson’s love of Christmas and family, Dana Wilde ponders how unity is the root experience of all religious feeling.

With new research suggesting cross spiders experience sleeplike phases, Dana Wilde ponders what dreams are made of for a variety of living things.

Dana Wilde mulls the practice of reading bird omens and the meaning of a pileated woodpecker.

Mulling whether toads think curmudgeonly thoughts, Dana Wilde ponders about the inner life of toads and the impossibility of our ever having the faintest understanding of it.

Golden sunlight, a cartload of apples and a love of autumn and family are lasting September memories, Dana Wilde writes.