The heat promised for last week failed to materialize. It never got much above 60°F, and I've had to keep the basil covered most nights to protect it from freezing. My neighbor planted tomatoes last Sunday. They were frost-killed by mid-week. I had planned to plant carrots and cucumbers on Monday evening, but the week's… Continue reading The Daily: 29 May 2023
Month: May 2023
The Daily: 24 May 23
I was listening to a recent Frankly with Nate Hagens as he talked about the Beyond Growth conference and the degrowth movement generally. Leaving aside that maybe these aren't the same things — it's possible to be 'beyond growth' and yet not embrace the need to shrink, or 'de-grow', our economic activities — I was… Continue reading The Daily: 24 May 23
The Daily: 23 May 23
Ancient Rome celebrated the festival of Rosalia, also called Rosaria, on one or more days from early May to the middle of July. The Oxford Book of Days claims the Rosalia fell on 23 May, so that's what I recorded in my calendar — though it is unusual to see a rose blooming in May… Continue reading The Daily: 23 May 23
The Daily: 22 May 2023
This is one of those years in which we skip spring, jumping from a dragging winter straight into sudden summer. Squally snow last week, upper 70s (°F) and thunderstorms forecasted for this week. I suppose that's appropriate as Friday was cold St Dunstan's Day and Saturday was the festival of Mjolnir, the thundering hammer. I… Continue reading The Daily: 22 May 2023
The Daily: 18 May 2023
I know I was just complaining about the weather, but I think I'm allowed another gritch-piece. Friends, while we in Vermont may not have an official frost-free date until the first week of June, it has not snowed in May in Vermont since 1996, and the next most recent May snowfall was in 1966. But… Continue reading The Daily: 18 May 2023
The Daily: 17 May 2023
Religious, Not Especially Spiritual A Way of Life for Earth Bodies (an EarthCraft repost) In my continuing examination of life and meaning and ways of being in this world, I have determined that I am the inverse of “spiritual but not religious”. I am religious, but I am not particularly spiritual. Or at least I… Continue reading The Daily: 17 May 2023
The Daily: 16 May 2023
You may have noticed a few reposts creeping in to The Daily. I'm absorbed in planting season and several family issues, so I don't have time to write fresh every day right now. Plus, I feel that some things were initially lost in my usual torrent of postings and would like to share them again.… Continue reading The Daily: 16 May 2023
The Daily: 15 May 2023
It has been a rough time in the garden! There was warmth, but not as much as predicted. This morning it was 39°F when I was recording the weather. I had planned on going outside to put some herbs in the ground, but I was not dressed for those temperatures so I decided to wait… Continue reading The Daily: 15 May 2023
The Daily: 10 May 2023
We had frost this morning. I was nervous when I saw the sparkles on my porch roof. But it doesn't seem to have affected the garden. Perhaps the cool weather even helped the potatoes. They prefer to send out roots and shoots in cold, damp soil. I never had much luck with potatoes in New… Continue reading The Daily: 10 May 2023
The Daily: 9 May 2023
Home Soil We need more geology in school. Or perhaps ecology. Probably both. If we are to survive, we need to understand who and what we are, and for that we need to understand this world that made us. We are earthly beings. We are small parts of a small planet on an average star… Continue reading The Daily: 9 May 2023