Magma Chamber – A Tribute to the Summer of 2022
I live in a place known for warm, but not sweltering, summer days with blue skies and relatively low humidity. Having grown up just outside the former swamplands of Washington, DC, the summers here at the edge of the Appalachian Mountains have been a sweet relief from...
Fireflies and Memory
Fireflies carry for me a melancholy magic not entirely amenable to words. I believe the wistfulness I feel each summer when they appear has something to do with childhood fireflies, rising in the thousands above the shallow creek fronting my grandfather's old stone...
A Song in Praise of Patio Choice Yellow Tomatoes
This is a song in praise of the Patio Choice Yellow Tomato. Should you have time to read only one additional sentence today, make it this one ---> Patio Choice Yellow is compact, apparently vaccinated against all known tomato maladies, and capable of producing...
Fox Rests on the Top Rail
Fox sat on the fence, Reluctant to jump and run through one field or the other. Afraid to forgo The mouse in the patch That he’d never have time to explore. Crow flew on by with a wink and a grin and a crackling cry to his fellow, “Fox, poor old Fox, don’t hesitate...
House Afire and an Apparition…Antietam’s Joseph Poffenberger Farm at Sunset
The Photo. I shot this photo of the Joseph Poffenberger Farm on September 22, 2016, as the sun sank quickly in the west. Although it might appear as if the setting sun is reflecting off a window, I'm actually facing west and the sun is shining straight through windows...
Beautiful Death: Neonicotinoids Unmasked
Spring Flowers, Buzzing Bees, and Nerve Poisons As the sun comes out to melt the snow and spring planting mania builds, I wanted to share some information about neonicotinoids. If you’re now scratching your head wondering what a neon-icky-tinoid might be, the simple...