Humans evolved in caves and fields — not in sanitized homes, cars and schools. And our immune systems developed to find and suppress foreign invaders, growing stronger with each battle won. ~ Christine Peterson It’s not there now, but I look forward to a time when we can essentially garden our homes — fill them […]
“Building a wall, establishing a camp, creating a new border force, stopping the boats – these are all political shorthand for decisive action. Even if they don’t amount to much in the end, they give the impression of control amid chaos, and they hold out the hope of immediate results.” ~ Anne Gallagher The migrant […]
“Like so many artworks, the brain is largely an object of mystery. One secret yet to be discovered is how the fragile folds of matter locked inside our skulls can not only conceive art, create it and contemplate it, but can also experience being transported by it, out of the head, out of the body, […]
“But what about the plutonium?” he said, “If you breathe in even one atom, you’ll get cancer and die.” It was a chat over breakfast with the old guys, and the subject of Rocky Flats, the nearby old nuclear weapons plant, came up. Following clean up, it was scheduled to become a wildlife refuge open […]
“What’s in a fence? More than you’d think. In neighborhoods where as little as about $1,000 was spent transforming a vacant lot with some grass, a few trees, and a short wooden fence, people felt less depressed and less worthless.” ~ Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan In contrast to the suburbs or ex-burbs, urban areas are often relatively […]
He rolled the dice again. This time, he was mimicking what he and his colleagues have been doing quietly around the globe for more than a half-century — using radiation to scramble the genetic material in crops, a process that has produced valuable mutants like red grapefruit, disease-resistant cocoa and premium barley for Scotch whiskey. […]
“Rape is kinda like the weather. If it’s inevitable, relax and enjoy it.” ~Texas Republican Clayton Williams Apparently, some people are fatalistic. In the recent controversies over Brett Kavanaugh and his sexual abuse accusations, some people, notably men of a given political persuasion, have decided that attempted rape or sexual harassment is just no […]
“No way those are rose hips,” I exclaimed, “Those things are huge!” We examined them more closely and I picked a few. Back in the house, I washed them off and split one open. The seeds came out easily, leaving a thick, meaty skin. I tasted it gingerly and confirmed that it was indeed a […]
… it occurs to me that whereas I WRITE a poem by dint of mighty cerebration, the yellow-leg WALKS a better one just by lifting his foot. ~ Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac Six or seven small brightly-colored bags hung from the pegboard. Occasionally, one would jerk or rock, then be still. Shirley takes […]
When our distant ancestors invented farming ten thousand or so years ago, they began altering these and other wild plants to make them more productive, easier to grow and harvest, and more enjoyable to eat. To date, four hundred generations of farmers and tens of thousands of plant breeders have played a role in redesigning […]
