“If we were not here, material events like the passage of seasons would lack even the meager meanings we are able to muster for them. The show would play to an empty house, as do all those falling stars which fall in the daytime. That is why I take walks: to keep an eye on things.”
Annie Dillard, “Teaching a Stone to Talk”
I’m Carly, an overall-wearing writer and amateur naturalist from Kentucky, currently discovering the beauty of Arizona with fresh eyes. After graduating from Stanford with a B.A. in Comparative Literature in 2023, I moved to Prescott to work at the Natural History Institute, an environmental education non-profit. I spend my free time hiking, rock-climbing, pouring over field guides, and writing, among other things, a couple dispatches each month you can find on this Substack.
I write this blog to knit together what I’m learning from the incredible nature I have access to and from my readings of nature and science writing, contemporary and classic literature, critical theory, and more. My world is actively being re-enchanted through my experiences in nature, and above all else, I’m seeking to capture and transmit a bit of that wonderment to you.
In my naturalist practice, I’m currently most enamored with all things avian and fungal, but my interests are always evolving and shifting, usually based on whatever I’m currently reading. My thinking and writing tend towards expansiveness rather than any one niche, for better and for worse. I hope you’ll join me as I explore the natural world and try to build an adult life in harmony with it.
Let’s keep an eye on things together.
