Not Just Another Day in LA: Navigating an Altered Landscape.

The view from my writing desk today was one of my favorites. Computer in my lap, I sat cross-legged, resting against a gnarled oak tree. Its twisted branches jutted out over my head, shielding me like a brave warrior from the violence of today’s searing sun. Lazy turtles sunned on the lower-lying branches that grazed the water. Red dragonflies flitted around me, while drowsy ducks dozed, their beaks tucked under a wing. I…