Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do — or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so. – Stanley Crawford Oh February. I always find this month a little challenging. Short days. Rain. Fog. Moreover, this February, a host of coughs, sniffles, sneezes, and…
Cough, cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough. That’s how our household sounds this week. So it was with interest that I read that infused Douglas-fir needles are a traditional cough remedy. Douglas-fir needles? They’re everywhere here; they dust the sky and litter the ground. And yet I’d never thought to ingest them. According to botanist and…
“I’m going to make something every day this year,” I announced in December. When I saw my friends’ responses, I thought perhaps this might be too ambitious an undertaking. However, I’ve really just decided to turn more of my attention to creativity this year. Why? Well, when I peek back through the years and squint…
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. -Helen Keller It was time for our morning walk, and four-year-old Ezra was dragging. “Wait up,” he called as I strode a few steps ahead of him, toting his little brother. “Why are you walking so fast?” he moaned a…
“So here is a simple test to tell if a thing is alive. Put it in salty water. Some things, like babies and crayfish, will do well. They get bigger, stronger and more organized. Others, even “smart” things like iPods and cell phones, laptops, cars and TVs, stop working immediately.” – Dr. Scott Haig Seventy…
My article “Farmers Go Wild” about conservation-based agriculture is in the Winter 2012 issue of YES! Magazine. Farmers Go Wild By Abby Quillen “Frogs are an indicator species,” Jack Gray explains, leaning over a small, muddy pond to look for tadpoles. Here on the 170-acre Winter Green Farm, 20 miles west of Eugene, Ore., Gray…