Hey hey, ho ho, Hydrofracking has to go!
Today I went to an anti-fracking rally at the Empire State Plaza in Albany NY. I almost didn’t go—it’s not like I don’t have a hundred and seventeen other things to do, and besides I knew I would never find a parking space. But at the last minute I decided to show up. Me and two thousand other people. Everyone was carrying signs. Most of the signs just read “Ban Fracking.” But some of the signs really had some carefully worded and worthwhile points to make. I’ll spare you the lecture about hydrofracking and just let some of the more thoughtful signs speak for themselves. ...
Read MoreMoss: City Green
I’ve lived within spitting distance of Albany NY for most of my life—and yet it’s a place I never go. Oh, I might go to the outskirts, the mall or the movie theater, but I rarely venture into the city itself. So the other day I decided to be a tourist and explore a bit. There are some beautiful old brownstones, and interesting shops and restaurants (a terrific Jamaican restaurant well named the Hot Spot). But as usual, I was on the lookout for plants. However, the prospects were dim for greenery—we’ve had over a foot of snow and the day I picked for my stroll was about 10 degrees with a wind...
Read MoreArt in Unexpected Places
I was driving along Livingston Avenue in downtown Albany the other day, just minding my own business, and suddenly I had the uneasy feeling that someone was watching me… And I was right… In a deserted, snowy empty lot, this painting just stares out over the neighborhood. I have no idea who this person is, or who painted the mural. It must have taken a long time, and the face has been there quite a while. You can see the bricks crumbling under the skin. I love outdoor art. Keep your eyes peeled for this one if you...
Read MoreA New Year
So for my New Year’s resolution, I have vowed to learn more about my favorite subject, and read a botany textbook. Cover to cover. Yes, indeed. I’m going to bone up on mosses and liverworts and the reproductive habits of ferns (which are amazingly kinky and involve swimming) and all the other wonders of botany. Hopefully this will be more successful than last year’s resolution involving exercise and weight loss. So I scouted my bookshelves for a botany book, and unearthed an ancient one—an old college textbook of my father’s, published two short years before I was born. And sadly, while it...
Read MoreFun at the Mall
This holiday season, I tried to keep out of the big box stores. Shop small, shop local was my mantra. And I mostly succeeded. But once in a while I would find myself, for one reason or another (usually involving the dire needs of high-school students for electronic devices) in the mega-parking lot of a mega-mall. But holiday shopping is not my favorite pastime, and before I know it, I find myself wandering away from the stores towards the interesting part of the mall: the unmowed area that fringes the lot. On one side of the fence: stores, cars and blacktop. On the other side, the good...
Read MoreMoss as Metaphor
A nearly manicured office building. Trimmed lawn, weeded garden, paved walkway. Not much chance for weeds to sneak in here. Except for the moss. What, you don’t see any moss? Moss–soft, green, fuzzy. It’s a plant everyone can identify, and yet no one can identify it. I once took a course on moss identification. And what you had to do to figure out which species of moss you were looking at was to detach one moss leaf. (One moss leaf. Do you know how incredibly small a single moss leaf is?) Then you had to use a razor blade to slice a cross-section of the moss leaf. Then you...
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