Late winter is a transitional time, revealing things we may not have noticed and helping to prepare us for a new season. I really enjoy haiku, from Basho to Jack Kerouac’s “American Haikus.” For me, haiku can feel like a kind of peaceful medicine, like deep breathing or sipping tea, illustrating balance, helping me be…
Every farm family Has a framed portrait Of the land From above This view seen Through a camera lens Out the window Of a small airplane Delivered to the door Every farm family Knows their land as kin As their grandmother Their ancestor Their forever caregiver As their truest friend Seeing the land from above…
I have a vivid recollection of serviceberry bushes heavy with ripe fruit. It was the summer of 2018 at Prairiewoods, toward the end of June and the day before my sister’s birthday on a Sunday afternoon. Jen Kardos and Fred Meyer from Backyard Abundance were gently and joyously leading a program called Foraging Urban Wild…
I first read Rachel Carson’s seminal work, Silent Spring, as an assignment for my seventh-grade school newspaper Earth Day edition. It was a bit above my head as reading material goes, so there was a lot of skimming involved. However, the parts I did take in (and have remembered my whole life) have informed my…
“Conversation is perhaps our greatest hope not only for healing the rifts in human understanding but also for restoring and reinspiring our relationship with the natural world, which is our first and most profound home. Care of the world is always essential, and care arises from conversation.” —Thomas Dean, Introduction, Tallgrass Conversations: In Search of…
Wind Crisply enfolding Fierce embrace, elegant dance Howling for play-mates Water Frosted lace, iced stars Miraculous, sensuous Each piercing my soul Fire Sumptuous hearth-guild Crackling and warming the depths Becoming one flame Earth Blanketed with white Thrumming steadily beneath Dreaming into spring How is your elemental heartbeat alive and dreaming in the wintering months? Send us…
Earlier this winter, on the morning of our first major snowstorm, my tub faucet started dripping suddenly. I immediately called my dad to ask how to fix it and had the necessary repair parts in hand within 48 hours, but I have to admit that it took eleven days from the time of the first…
I am finally reading a book that has been on my to-read list for a very long time: Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. My sister and I recently attended a Saturday afternoon Zoom book discussion facilitated by Green Iowa AmeriCorps through the Iowa City Public Library. I am still in the process…
I am so thankful for good news. Within hours of the inauguration, President Biden signed executive orders addressing climate change. America is rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. I am so thankful for every single piece of good news, and this statement literally makes me smile every time I think of it. Can we share this…
Trees are on my mind these days. This Saturday, we’ll have a Women in Interfaith Dialogue conversation about the trees we’ve known and loved throughout our lives, as well as our spiritual connection with trees personally and within our faith traditions. Then next week (Jan. 25–29) we have a wonderful series of Treasuring Our Trees…