Interesting thing about internet news – a headline can catch your attention, and then you can follow links in all directions and find that things mentioned are not always what they seem. The reports of the Water Protector actions in South Dakota caught my eye, and the arrest of Red Fawn Fallis felt particularly poignant.…READ MORE >
Water is Life
Living in Toronto for a lovely stretch, my feet missed my home ground and my tears, had they flowed, would have gone to the sea in a foreign watershed. Just a seed of homesickness, mind you; my Canadian experience did not generate tears. But the seed grew, in a creative impulse, to the beginning of…READ MORE >
Saving Seed of the New Zealand Pear – an organic gardener’s journey to the twilight zone
An acquaintance, a gardener, sent tomato seeds one year. Sharing seeds among gardeners fulfills part of the historical imperative that keeps plant varieties vital – the multiplication of seeds through dispersion. I took the important first step of planting some of the seeds she sent, and then I saved seed from the fruit of my…READ MORE >
Dora’s Story, Rehab in the Desert
It was very good luck that led us to the J-Six Equestrian Center last spring. Thinking my husband and I were permanently moving from the southwest, I was looking for short term boarding for our two horses, out of the heat of Tucson and accessible to long distance truckers. I visited J-Six Equestrian…READ MORE >
Keeping Horses
Wandering Waldorf teachers, Michael and I landed in Tucson, Arizona, and I found myself for the first time in my adult life completely horseless. That wouldn’t do. I started scouting out horse people, looking for a horse to ride. Horses and their barn facilities surround and interpenetrate the city of Tucson, and I enjoyed interesting…READ MORE >
Slow Down, the Roses Won’t Bloom Without Pollination
Monarch butterflies will soon be on the wing. Spring is coming, and they are getting ready to move. I can feel it in the air, the travel urge, because spring softens the air here in Tucson, blowing the dust around and whispering of all the possibilities in the universe. Get ready to fly! And I’ve…READ MORE >
Almost Spring
Funny how overheard remarks get caught in the memory. A lifetime ago, I published a weekly newspaper in a small rural community, and one day I overheard a nurse in our medical clinic talking about me. I don’t think she knew I was there in the clinic lobby, while she was one room deeper…READ MORE >
Tom Vanderhyden – Master of a Traditional Craft
Tom and I stood in the middle of the room and looked up. The space was large and yet comfortable, defined by the wooden posts, beams, walls and trim. There was a warmth that filled the space all the way to the peak. I have spent many hours in this 20 x 26 foot timber…READ MORE >
Always Thinking of Something to Eat
Comes a new year, and I find a time to pause in my butterfly report. The holiday season has been pleasantly busy for us at Living Traditional Arts, and part of the activity has been a dispersal of many of the food related paintings from the Living Traditional Arts Shop. Andrew Bick’s food photos…READ MORE >
Last Summer, Still Looking for Monarchs
Last summer in Wisconsin we saw vibrant greens and blues, lit by golden sun through clear pleasant air. I kept watching for the sharp accent of orange and black of the Monarch butterfly, and for a long time I didn’t have much luck. Even on that valley farm so beautiful that we used the word…READ MORE >