But wasn't that progress too, that the elephants were killed off like the mastodon and giant rhino before them, like all other wildlife and wild places? 'We can't stop time,' MacAdam said. 'But you can change the way it goes,' Nehemiah insisted.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Africa Change Conservation Elephants Progress Rhinos Stop Time The Last Savanna Wild Places Wildlife

One by one and then together the birds chanted, warbled, whistled, and cooed, like a rare desert plant bursting into life after the rain.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Africa Birds Chanted Cooed Desert Earth Life Nature Plant Rain Warbled Whistled

A camel brayed columns from the rondavels, new sunlight struck the savage earth.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Animals Camel Earth Nature Sunlight The Last Savanna

The breeze across the desert as the light died was so sweet she could almost drink it.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Breeze Desert Died Drink Light Nature Sunset Sweet The Last Savanna

Long before the stars died the birds began to sing - cool rippling doves, loud cheery starlings, the long lilting trills of warblers and thrushes.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Africa Birds Cool Doves Dusk Loud Nature Savanna Sing Starlings Stars Sunset The Last Savanna

Dawn raced like fire across the savanna.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Africa Dawn Fire Nature Savanna

Faraway a leopard barked that high, dissatisfied deep roar it cuts off so sharply, as if its annoyance is too great to express, can only be appeased.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Animals Annoyance Appease Bark Cats Express Leopard Nature Roar Sharp The Last Savanna Wildlife

A moment of peace and silence, breathing in and out the frigid air, watching daylight seep into the forest, hearing the first chatter of distant crows, the wind sighing over the snow and through the fir and pine branches and the twittering of chickadees as they flitted in little tribes from tree to tree.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Air Breathing Daylight Forest Frigid Killing Maine Mike Bond Peace Pine Silence Trees Wind Winter

Though at opposite ends of our country, Maine and Hawaii are, other than climate, much alike. Places where you say who you are, be who you are, keep your word, and don't cheat or lie to take advantage of each other. Where you protect other folks because they are your tribe.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Advantage Cheat Climate Community Hawaii Individual Lie Maine Mind Neighbor Protect Tribe

Water was how the desert would bring everyone together. The antelope's daily prayer, weighing the mortal need of water with the mortal danger of obtaining it.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Afica Animals Antelope Prayer Survival The Last Savanna Water Hole

She was at the same table near the back where three nights ago I'd sat entranced by her songs. And where the two of us had talked like old friends.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Couple Friends Killing Maine Love Nights Relationships Songs Table Two

I have spent hours and hours watching elephants, and to come to understand what emotional creatures they are...it's not just a species facing extinction, it's massive individual suffering.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Conservation Creatures Elephants Emotional Extinction Species Suffering The Last Savanna Wildlife

...He sat back on his heels and watched the stars one by one cut their way through onrushing darkness, till all was reversed, day was night, and the blackness glittered with all the desert's sands, each a tiny flame beyond the bounds of time.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Africa Black Darkness Day Desert Flames Glitter Night Planetary Sand Sky Solar System Stars The Last Savanna Time

We sat bathed in luscious darkness, Casco Bay's thousand islands spread out before us like a diamond quilt. 'I don't get enough of this,' she said.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Bay Casco Bay Darkness Diamond Islands Killing Maine Luscious Maine Ocean Quilt Scenery Water

Then I remembered how she was - fiery, ruthless, smart, and despite herself very caring, not a person who hurts anyone.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Caring Feelings Fiery Hurt Killing Maine Person Ruthless Smart Woman

These steel monstrosities screamed night and day, blotted out the starlit skies and Northern Lights with flashing red strobes, slaughtered thousands of bats and entire flocks of birds banished tourism and wildlife, made people sick and drove them from their now-valueless homes.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Bats Birds Conservation Day Environment Home Killing Maine Maine New England Night Northern Lights Sustainability Tourism Wildlife Wind Turbines

Already this sun was pouring its wrath into the blue Indian ocean where swordfish and marlin cruised like silver-blue attenuated warheads in their green-gold depths...

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Africa Blue Depths Indian Ocean Marlin Oceans Sun Swordfish The Last Savanna Water

The eastern savanna shifted from charcoal to deep purple, to the west a feverish orange moon sank into the Kiambu Hills.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Africa Charcoal Dawn Kiambu Hills Moon Orange Purple Savanna Sunrise The Last Savanna West

Wind blew snow crystals back and forth between the graves. The ancient pines creaked overhead.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Ancient Crystals Graves Mountains Pine Snow Wind Winter

Inside her head or out in the desert was the same, and the air inside her throat was very dry to keep from crying and her neck sore from forcing herself not to look down, not to look back.

~ Mike Bond

Mike Bond Air Crying Desert Dry Inspirational Quotes Look Back Look Down The Last Savanna Throat