One of my favorite writers is Loren Eiseley. He is an anthropologist and naturalist who can blend scientific knowledge and imaginative vision, and record his findings with the perception of a painter, the words of a poet, and the heart of a prophet. I share one of his stories in his own words, because the way he puts words together is powerful and inspiring.

“The sound that awoke me was the outraged cries of the nestling’s parents, who flew helplessly in circles about the clearing. (A raven had raided their home to eat their babies.) The sleek black monster was indifferent to them. He gulped, whetted his beak on the dead branch a moment and sat still. Up to that point the little tragedy had followed the usual pat tern. But suddenly, out of all that area of woodland, a soft sound of compla…