Writing
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The Carved Trees of Tehran
This stump is from a tree on my block in Harlem in New York City. You can count the rings, I think. Between twenty and twenty-five years he grew. I’ve lived in New York City...
Ghosts, Bugganes, and Fairy Pigs
The Isle of Man sits at the crossroads of fame and obscurity. The name, somehow, is widely known. You’ve heard of it…somewhere. What is it known for? You might have the piece of trivia that...
The Grand Dishes That Might Arrive Soon
Once upon a time I was a development executive at the cable network Food Network. It was part of my job to come up with new ideas for shows and take half-baked ideas and make...
The Economics of the Handmade Broom
When you come across the word ‘economy’ or ‘economics’ in conversations there are three broad responses (many others are, of course, possible) 1. Hopping and often greedy enthusiasm from the sorts who are confident about...
The Navigation of Salmon as Cultural Analogy
There is this stunner of a word in the English language – murmuration. It is the word for a flock of starlings who engage in this pulsing and shifting synchronized flight that makes for...
Queen of the Yakut Spirit Fashion
If you walk in sustainability or locavore circles you might come across the term ‘100 Mile Diet.’ The term, which became popular in the early 2000’s, derives from a book written by Alisa Smith and...
The Judean Date Palm is Coming Back
When you think of the Middle East you mostly think of it as desert. And that is true, mostly it is that. But there was a time it was different landscape. Dry, yes, but more...
The Making of the Norwegian Lime Bast Rope
If you are like me you don’t think too much of string or rope or cord. You pick it up at the store or get a roll of it delivered on Amazon but cordage is...
The Last Thatcher in Wales
‘They thought they were giving us a gift’ he said, ‘but they really took something away from us when they forced those cinderblock houses and corrugated metal roofs onto us. This is the beginning of...
The Resiliency of the Older Forest
If you are on top of reading about what is happening to the climate and the impacts it is having on all life it is easy and understandable to be frightened. Properly so. It’s scary....
