Ahhh, Phragmites australis. The common reed. Frequent denizen of roadsides and disturbed wetlands, with its lofty, green-then-golden stalks and romantic, cottony seedheads. To the naturalist's eye and the ecologist's ledger, it is an exotic flora, an unwelcome expendable to be eradicated in favor of [arguably] more native, nutrient-rich vegetation. But like so many weeds, in recent times this reed …
Category: Uncategorized
If Given a Lifetime…
“If you want to have a life that is worth living, a life that expresses your deepest feelings and emotions and cares and dreams, you have to fight for it.” Alice Walker A year ago one of my editors assigned me a story for their 2016 fall issue. It was to write a profile on …
Cutting through Time
“There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” …
Rhizomatic Reading
“While I’ve been living here, on and off, all my life, I’m still ignorant of the names of most of the sedges and grasses and trees around me. Spending time in nature produces, among other results, a general feeling of stupidity, constantly reminding you of the thousands of obvious facts you don’t know. I never …
Silence and Solitude
“A man on foot, on horseback or on bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.” Edward Abbey -- Desert Solitaire I wanted to love Grand Canyon National Park but true confession, I did not. To write these words feels blasphemous. I believe …
Writing the Wild 