Recent Articles

Agriculture, Place

The Apple Orchard

When we moved back to Michigan, we bought an old farmhouse on five acres. I was still married then, with three young daughters and soon two more. After we had settled in, I planted an apple orchard. The farmhouse was a white Greek Revival with four bedrooms and an old lilac out front. It stood on a barely perceptible rise […]

Place, Seasons

The Quiet Season

The days are short and cold, and it snowed last Sunday. The tree canopies, now brown, have thinned. The birds have begun migrating southwards — I hear their calls from my room, where I sip coffee — and people in puffy parkas rush to and fro along the sidewalks. Gray clouds float low in the sky. Although the December solstice […]

Poetry

The Felled and the Fallen

Ring in two by twos,Twinning from the same root. Count the yearsOh! The years —You can only see themWhen they’re sliced in two.Cut down, dismembered,See what they’ve been through: The summers, the winters,The hunters, the gatherers,To them: time is celluloseAnd the sound of water coming close. I see you. Your bark couldn’t save you.What you built over the agesWouldn’t hold; […]

Agriculture, Climate

The Cow in the Room

People often avoid the elephant in the room, but it’s time we talk about the cow in the room. She is a ruminant, after all, and can no longer be ignored. Indeed, the room is getting increasingly crowded and stinky. Let’s ruminate together and use our cowmon sense, so we can replace ignorance and crisis with science and solutions.  It’s […]