“Widespread frost expected,” warns the forecaster. It’s past sunset. We’ve already had a morning of shimmering windshields. Hauling containers full of fragile plants into shelter for the night takes a lot of effort, and for what few days until the next crystalline visit. So, I decide to take my chances by draping everything in old […]
I’m about to commit a sacrilege. Read on out of sheer, audacious curiosity, or safely avert your eyes. It’s all the same to me. Friends in Alaska, Puget Sound, the Midwest, and the East Coast brace yourselves. Here goes: The winter sun in Colorado stares everyone in the eyes. It’s a cheer monger. A brilliant
Celebrating in the Dark Read More »
The sky stretches forever in every direction and a biting wind adds to the feeling of loneliness. Meager grasses blow in the breeze like strange fingers trying to catch hold of the sun. A lone hawk calls in the distances as it sweeps and dips over the sloping grasslands of the arid Mongolian Steppe. The
The Mongolian Takhi: Honoring the Spirit Horse Read More »
Trees along the West Coast and in the Rocky Mountains face a foe that is killing them by the millions and yet stands only millimeters tall. Bark beetles have affected tens of millions of acres of forest and show no sign of slowing down. Past outbreaks from these beetles have been brief and controlled by
Invasion of the Bark Beetle Read More »
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the unsung beetle. We share the planet with over 400,000 species of beetles. (For perspective, there are only 50,000 animals with backbones: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals combined.) In fact, according to Berkeley entomologist Jerry Powell, beetles make up “almost 25% of all known life-forms.” How many kinds
Consider the Beetle Read More »
Permaculture is a lifestyle that encompasses ethics and design in order to mimic the relationships seen in nature. The goal is to view every environment as one part of the whole world. Rather than being consumers, the focus is on becoming “responsible producers” of biodiversity and returning any unused goods to the ground. Permaculture aims
Permaculture: A Necessary Environmental Design Read More »