Human nature provides us with an almost unlimited capacity for complexity and drama. The wheel of history turns, sometimes repeating, sometimes rhyming, but always powered by the same engine. After several generations of relative peace and prosperity at home in the US, our wheel has hit a pothole not uncommon in the historical record. We … More Hydraulically Fractured
“Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water.” These words were written over 2700 years ago, but if you happened to seeBloomberg’s graph of FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) last week, you mightthink they were written yesterday but for the language of King James. If your Early Modern English is a bit … More A Bag With Holes
When the world was a bit younger, before the host of consuming and monetizing technologies we take for granted was available, people saved seeds. People did a lot of things differently, but this morning as I admire the tray of Ace 55 tomato seedlings growing in the window, seed saving is on my mind. The … More Seed Savers
We’ll be brief this week as travel is imminent, and we take extra time when it’s raining. The pups always know when they’re about to be left behind. They read the signs, know the clothes for work and the outfits we wear for puppy related business, and so my too-big-to-be-a-lap dog is competing for space … More Price Check On Register 9
“Hiareth” is a difficult word to say unless you speak Welsh, and there is no direct translation. Lily Crossley-Baxter described it as “A blend of homesickness, nostalgia and longing… a pull on the heart that conveys a distinct feeling of missing something irretrievably lost.” I can’t say the word properly, but there are times when … More Between Hiraeth and Vgatenohv
We are blessed with more than just four seasons here in the Southern Appalachians. We’ve already had Winter, Fool’s Spring, and Second Winter this year, and now we are nearing the end of Spring of Deception. What follows next will be a brief Third Winter, and then, sadly, The Pollening. This is one of Tracey’s … More Spring of Deception
We have long conjectured that the primary function of modern media is twofold: to influence the movement of money from our bank accounts, and to act as a herding mechanism for our beliefs and behaviors. With this in mind, we embarked some time ago, here in our little home away, on a life altering journey … More A View From A Happier Place
“I like old things.” “Here’s a rock for you then,” said one of my friends who still has a sense of humor. While I might understand the affection a geologist could have for a particular rock, I prefer one with a connection to living memory. When I pick up one of our arrowheads, for example, … More Old Things
I was chatting with a friend recently. This was an actual friend, not a pixel “friend,” such as someone on Facebook you’ve never actually met, or might have known years ago but you never talk on the phone or sit across a table from one another. Such a person I would call a “pen pal,” … More Concerning the Practicum of Good Humor
I love this time of year in the mountains. Admittedly I could make that statement on any given day, but to those of us more suited to tranquility than bustle, the short pause between the holidays and the springtime return of tourists and part time residents is to be savored. Winter has its charms as … More The Means and Modes of Consumption
