The complex human eye harvests light. It perceives seven to ten million colors through a synaptic flash: one-tenth of a second from retina to brain. Homo sapiens gangs up to 70 percent of its sense receptors solely for vision, to anticipate danger and recognize reward, but also—more so—for beauty.

~ Ellen Meloy

Ellen Meloy Words

For bighorns, topography is memory, enhanced by acute vision. They can anticipate the land's every contour--when to leap, where to climb, when to turn, which footholds will support their muscular bodies. To survive, this is what the band would have to do: make this perfect match of flesh to earth.

~ Ellen Meloy

Ellen Meloy Animals Environment

Its beauty stirs the imagination, and I wonder if the last refuge of all that is truly wild lies not on earth but in light.

~ Ellen Meloy

Ellen Meloy Environment