Winter is gone. Even if The Old Man desperately rallies his forces and makes it snow once more, the storm will be cast as an interloper, trespassing on the Great and Welcome Thaw. Funny,  we designate the last balmy remnants of summer’s warmth that reassert themselves after the first frost of fall as “Indian summer”, but we have no… read more

It is so very dark outside. No wonder. My nifty moon-phase, desk-top gadget tells me that 0% of the earth-side moonface is lit up. It is, after all, the start of a new month. The moon is rising and setting with the sun, hanging out between us and Sol, so the illuminated side of the moon is totally facing… read more

My friends and I were talking recently about Life, lived life, the personal life that each of us uniquely experiences. One wise woman in the group offered the insight that we seem to have spiritual tasks, life tasks, she called them, that define our work at various ages. Pursuing well each task in its due time is a secret… read more

The vernal equinox may still officially be one week away, but spring has already begun. The peepers are here! I listened for them last night, for they usually emerge this time of year around my neighbor’s lush pond. Herons come occasionally there, too, and the pond is annually stocked with very large fish. It is fed by a tiny… read more

I write this under the sleepy, half-drooping eye of the waning Adar moon. It is 42% full and on its way to getting smaller. (I know this courtesy of the nifty gadget I have installed on my desktop - http://www.moonconnection.com) It is wrestling itself free from the tangle of branches that have captured it just outside my window. These… read more

It is early March, and, though I am mindful of all the countervailing arguments, I am still hoping for one more whopping, traffic-stopping, history-making, child-delighting, society-slowing, sofa-cuddling, awe-inspiring snowstorm. But I hold this admittedly minority view all the more desperately because to step outside these days is to feel Spring stirring in its chambers, pacing outside the door, waiting… read more

I had a fight with my stove today. I suppose it was bound to happen. I was ignoring the beech, burning almost exclusively the tulip poplar, which is easy to split, easy to saw, easy to burn. My beech was clearly getting jealous, feeling neglected and overlooked. So, in honor of my success in splitting the beech logs, and… read more

“Reds” (Markley Gordon) Wolman died this week. While most of us have not heard of him, there is a whole universe of friends, family, admirers, disciples, students, and beneficiaries who are bereft today, aching as they rarely do upon the loss of an 80-something year old man who lived a full, rewarding and energetic life. But Reds was no… read more

There is nothing quite so satisfying as splitting wood. You get to choose your target; analyze your problem; design a solution; follow through with your plan; use your physics, your muscles and your smarts and voila. Either you succeed, in which case you have firewood ready to be stacked or burned; or you don’t, in which case you review… read more

I am getting pretty good at splitting wood. At least the softer pines and tulip poplars. The well-worn axe I am using, courtesy of a friend, has a sharp, cutting edge on one side and a blunt, flat, broad hammerhead (otherwise known as a maul) on the other. It is also adorned by an extra helping of weight slipped… read more