When a hurricane thrashes the mid-Atlantic, my hilly town often reaps the fringe of the storm. The rain starts blowing sideways, and sometimes we see hail the size of purie marbles. Diane Ackerman atlanticblowfringe Change image and share on social
I consider fiction a very high-class form of lying. I enjoy and admire it enormously, but I don't think I'm very good at it. Diane Ackerman admireclassenjoy Change image and share on social
A poem records emotions and moods that lie beyond normal language, that can only be patched together and hinted at metaphorically. Diane Ackerman emotionhintlanguage Change image and share on social
We try to exile ourselves more and more from nature - not always consciously: We build houses; we dismiss nature; nature has to be outside, because we're inside. God forbid something like a cockroach comes inside, or some dust. Diane Ackerman buildcockroachconsciously share on social
My mother always said I must be part Mongolian because of my lotus-pale complexion and squid-ink black hair. Diane Ackerman blackcomplexionhair Change image and share on social
Gardeners may create order briefly out of chaos, but nature always gets the last word, and what it says is usually untidy by human standards. But I find all states of nature beautiful, and because I want to delight in my garden, not rule it, I just accept my yen to tame the chaos on one day and let the Japanese beetles run riot on the next. Diane Ackerman acceptbeautifulbeetle share on social
The further we distance ourselves from the spell of the present, explored by our senses, the harder it will be to understand and protect nature's precarious balance, let alone the balance of our own human nature. Diane Ackerman balancedistanceexplore share on social
Even without seeing the crickets, grasshoppers, cicadas and katydids, we hear them shrilling in this season and trust that they're the tiny living gargoyles entomologists claim. Diane Ackerman cicadaclaimcricket Change image and share on social
Success produces success, just as money produces money. Diane Ackerman moneyproducesuccess Change image and share on social
For better or worse, zoos are how most people come to know big or exotic animals. Few will ever see wild penguins sledding downhill to sea on their bellies, giant pandas holding bamboo lollipops in China or tree porcupines in the Canadian Rockies, balled up like giant pine cones. Diane Ackerman animalbadlyball share on social