“Everything is broken, yet much remains.” ~ Stone Person There’s this atheist Australian comedian I really love named Tim Minchin. He’s funny and vulgar and smart, but he also annoys me. He has this energy that is common among atheists (not all atheists, to be clear) of disdain for anything that hasn’t been thoroughly...
I went to Dragon Hollow today. Climbed up the stream bed with two bags, filled them both with stones. Carried them down again and put them in my car. When I got home, I lined part of the garden path with them. Garden photos later. First I want you to know what happened in...
The boy and I (oldest, age 18), drove into Charlotte with my trailer and stack of cardboard today, and we met a very friendly man driving a very intimidatingly gigantic tractor, who dumped a literal ton of compost into the trailer and gave us good advice on getting it home safely. We got it...
It’s amazing what you don’t see until you know it’s there. For instance: Plant consciousness. A few nights ago, I was in a conversation out in public, with people I know but who don’t know me well enough to have plumbed the depths of my crazy (and I say “crazy” ironically here, because I...
It doesn’t have to be complicated. “Put a seed in the ground and see what comes up. Now you’re a gardener.” I’m paraphrasing wildly but that, in a nutshell, is from my dear friend Peter Fossel, and he ought to know. He’s the author of Organic Farming: Everything You Need to Know from Rodale Press. He...
Someone I follow on Facebook recently posted a link to an article about tree communication, and how humans can learn to understand it. I commented, “This is not news to any of the indigenous cultures who live closely with nature. In the words of the Seneca, the language is called Hail-lo-way-ain… and we all speak...
I’m not judging you. I’m just saying. You are vastly underestimating your cat. I know, because I used to underestimate mine, until my friends taught me better. Almost everyone in our society does. Cats understand English and mental images quite clearly, for the most part, and they know things that will be helpful to...
Hey Fen, Does a water molecule have a soul? What about a glass of water? Does a river have one too? Are they the same soul or different souls? Sincerely, A Human Dear Human, Yes. Sincerely, Fen P.S. I suppose you were hoping for more than that? Very well then.Here is a story. Two...
When Glennon Doyle announced her engagement to Abby Wombach, I had a reaction that I am not proud of. I thought, “What the fuck?” I mean, I was happy for her, don’t get me wrong. But it also felt WEIRD. Elizabeth Gilbert had made a similar announcement not too long before. We’d watched both...
Hey Fen, Why’d you change your name? And why “Fen”? Sincerely, So Many People Dear So Many People, Short version, I’m a serpent (a wingèd one) shedding old skin. Or a butterfly emerging, if you prefer less reptilian analogies (I don’t, but whatever). Long version, my old name, “Heather” has never fit. All my...