I finished reading Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah very quickly after opening it over the weekend. Which for me is always a nice… Read more

Snow selves “We’re dealing with a concept that is based on illusion that has created a sickness within our minds, that has taught us to view ourselves as nothing more than a commodity that can… Read more

The rowan tree “An early-morning walk is a blessing for a whole day.” — Henry David Thoreau I was rereading Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series last week, one of those childhood favorites that’s… Read more

Whose stories are held to be a reflection of who “we” are? Every now and then I come across a comment about my book that mentions its glaring lack of Henry David Thoreau. (Is it… Read more

Raining time It rained yesterday, hard and cold and fast. I got caught out in it just as I was finishing walking the dog. I’d seen the storm coming from over the mountains and thought… Read more

Mathematics “Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere.” —Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) Sometimes when I’m doing math with my kids on weekday mornings I forget what’s going in… Read more

All technology is a social dilemma Instagram, which I deleted last month, was my last remaining social media account. I deleted Facebook about 3 1/2 years ago and Twitter a year after that. I won’t… Read more

Louise Erdrich’s “The Night Watchman” and history’s undeniable complexity “If you should ever doubt that a series of dry words in a government document can shatter spirits and demolish lives, let this book erase that… Read more

Shelter for the fairy folk “O if we but knew what we do When we delve or hew — Hack and rack the growing green! Since country is so tender . . .”—from “Binsey Poplars,” by Gerard Manley Hopkins… Read more

What comes after the revolution? Can you spot the owl? It looks like a small gray lump carved into the wood. It only turned around to look at me when I put down my camera.… Read more