Go Carbon-less

“For decades, scientists have tried to figure out ways to reverse climate change by pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it underground. They’ve tried using trees, giant machines that suck CO2 out of the sky, complicated ocean methods that involve growing and burying huge quantities of kelp.”                                                 ~ Shannon Osaka The prime climate change demon […]

The Sound of Music

“In a lifetime of living in this body, I have known no more powerful a homecoming than music — nothing roots us more firmly into the house of being, nothing levitates us more buoyantly to that transcendent place beyond marrow and mind.”                                                 ~ Maria Popova                                I remember being at our grandmother’s house, banished outside […]

Winter’s Coming

It’s getting very cold here — twenties at night and only low 40’s in the day — and we just got about ten inches of snow. I must admit that, mentally, I’m not prepared for winter this year. Maybe it’s my age or too much sitting or just left over inertia from the COVID days, […]

Just Chillin’

Utopias have always been a part of our human delusion, a product of our constant desire to dream big and win.                                                 ~ Ruxandra Guidi I took a walk into our backyard, ostensibly checking the garden for ripe veggies, but really just to chill out in the early fall warmth. Seeing I was not doing […]

There’s Fungus Among Us

Often, we hunted or fished on underused farm or ranch land owned by one of my Dad’s clients — usually with a field lying fallow or a lightly grazed prairie. There would be old buildings we could peer into, watching for snakes and other nasty critters. Hand-dug wells, dangerously covered by rotting boards, offered an […]

No Poop, Poirot (apologies to Sherlock)

“It’s likely that the first use of compost — or at least manure — took place not long after the start of cultivation … After all, a people who lived close to nature would soon have noticed the grass grew greener where an animal had deposited its poo.”                                                                 ~ Compost Magazine I’ve been composting for many […]

Night Sounds

The cooler autumn weather allows us to turn off the window AC in our bedroom and keep the windows open, instead. Things chill down overnight, causing us to keep blankets handy and encouraging snuggling beneath them. The dog and cats also appreciate the opportunity to snuggle up. Our second-floor bedroom faces the alley, but we […]

Back to Nature

And now I lie with them upon this hillMingling with Texas earth as seasons come and go.Chilling northers bend grasses almost to the ground;Low-hung clouds are misty blanketsDropping days of rain upon the earth.Then wild flowers make sweet the air in spring”Old Cemetery on the Hill” — Epitaph by Susanna O’Docharty in Laurel The green […]