I am a great fan of the universe, which I take literally: as one. All of it interests me, and it interests me in detail.

Nature is also great fun. To pretend that nature isn't fun is to miss much of the joy of being alive.

Though we marry as adults, we don't marry adults. We marry children who have grown up and still rejoice in being children, especially if we're creative.

I believe consciousness is brazenly physical, a raucous mirage the brain creates to help us survive.

There was nothing to do but wait. It is always like this for naturalists, and for poets--the long hours of travel and preparation, and then the longer hours of waiting. All for that one electric, pulse-revving vision when the universe suddenly declares itself.

habit, a particularly insidious thug who chokes passion and smothers love. Habit puts us on autopilot.

In the winter, I enjoy cross-country skiing and raising orchids and amaryllises. If I could grow tropical flowers as perennials, I would, especially hibiscus and mandavilla.