Category: Naturalist
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What Goethe Can Teach Us Today
I had once read that there were three men who were geniuses in three distinct disciplines. Goethe was one, along with Albert Einstein and Albert Schweitzer. Goethe has also been cited in several of my other, recent readings. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was no ordinary writer. As Rüdiger Safranski shows in his masterful biography, Goethe…
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Observing Dryad’s Saddle: The Forest’s Spotted Surprise
You can see my observation on the iNaturalist site here. A Welcome Sight in Spring Today’s woodland walk brought a delightful surprise: a beautiful cluster of Dryad’s Saddle mushrooms, also known as Polyporus squamosus. This impressive bracket fungus often appears on dead or dying hardwood trees—particularly elm, maple, or box elder—and is a welcome herald…
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🌿 Hyssop: The Sacred Herb with Healing Power
A few years back, I enjoyed making mead. My son, who also makes mead, suggested using hyssop in my mead. I also noticed at the store of a Bucks County PA distillery, hyssop-infused bourbon. I tried unsuccessfully for a few years to grow it, but last year I finally got it to grow. I did…
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The Philosophy of The One-Straw Revolution
When we sold our Pennsylvania house, we had to install a new septic system as a condition of the sale. The only place on the property that suited the installation was at the location of my garden, so the garden had to be destroyed. I had gardened for 16 years using permaculture principles. No chemical…
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Masanobu Fukuoka’s Guide to Sustainable Gardening
Yesterday spent time in the annual garden putting in plants purchased from a local garden center. It is the time of year to think about the garden, and nature. That brings to mind the One-Straw Revolution.
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Gaia’s Garden
With the start of gardening season, I thought it appropriate to summarize what I believe to be the best introductory book on permaculture. Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway is widely regarded as the most accessible and inspiring introduction to permaculture available today. Designed for gardeners, homeowners, and sustainability…
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The Start of the Gardening Season
I have set up a small annual garden at our place in Vermont. I had four operational beds last year and added two more for this year. Yesterday the garden soil arrived to fill and top off the beds. The garden is operational and ready for planting! The six beds are the extent of the…
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Volunteering for Lake Champlain: Cyanobacteria Monitoring Insights
I recently volunteered to be a cyanobacteria monitor for Lake Champlain. This program is run by the Lake Champlain Committee. www.lakechamplaincommittee.org. The Committee has been working for a healthy, accessible lake since 1963. Earlier this week I attended the Zoom orientation meeting. The meeting lasted a little less than three hours and was very informative.…
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Mount Washington
I found this blog interesting. As a kid, we hiked Mount Washington every summer, though we hiked up Tuckerman’s Ravine. Looking forward to hiking up with my grandchildren when they are ready.
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Blue Mars
I recently read Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. From the highlights I made, gardening and terraforming, including ecopoiesis, dominated. According to NASA, “Ecopoiesis is the concept of initiating life in a new place; more precisely, the creation of an ecosystem capable of supporting life. It is the concept of initiating “terraforming” using physical, chemical…
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