War and Seaweed
Sorry, this has absolutely nothing to do with botany. Several years ago, I wrote a book for young people on a weird and totally obscure topic: a little known historical incident that happened during the weird and totally obscure War of 1812. The thing is that this event happened in my hometown of Gloucester on Cape Ann in Massachusetts. (Long ago, Gloucester included the town now called Rockport, then known as the parish of Sandy Bay.) I love the rock-bound coast of Cape Ann, and I had always wanted to write something about it. I actually started off writing an article on seaweed and...
Read MoreTogether in the Storm
Thanks to Wells Horton for another amazing photograph. http://wells-horton.smugmug.com/ Who says trees all look alike?
Read MoreThistle: A Visit From a Poet
For those of you who celebrate Christmas, a certain poem was probably part of your upbringing, along with Frosty and Rudolph and all that sort of thing. You know the one I mean. You heard it, I heard it, we all heard it a zillion times in school, at home, on TV. “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse…” But although I heard the words enough times that they embedded themselves in my memory, I really had only a hazy idea of what it all meant. I mean, I got the general drift of Santa bringing the good stuff, but what, exactly, were...
Read MoreLondon Plane Tree: Sidewalk Art
When you go to New York City, you expect to see great art. There are world-famous museums on every streetcorner, it seems, with paintings from all over the world. Modern art can be a challenge, I admit it. Stuff by artists like Miro or Pollack or Kandinsky. Sometimes it just looks like, well, blobs. Of all the great art I’ve seen in Manhattan, this is one of my favorites. Beauty courtesy of a sidewalk artist: a London plane tree. One of the commonest street trees of New York City. It has this strange bark thing going on: the outer bark peels off to...
Read MoreGuest Photographer Wells Horton
“These dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be. I love the bare, the withered tree, I walk the sodden pasture lane.” –Robert Frost Thanks to Well Horton for another amazing photograph. http://wells-horton.smugmug.com/
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