February is the shortest month……….

I notice that a year ago I wrote about Wind….and Snow…..in my February posts. What is it about February in the northern hemisphere that provokes a concentration on climate conditions?  The paradox of February is perhaps that the extreme weather we get (2 feet of snow here after a dry winter, for example) is in contrast with […]

Notes & marginalia…..

Taos is very beautiful, infused with an ancient Indian heritage and the spirits of 20th century writers & artists. In an Anglo-centric literary fashion it was always DH Lawrence who drew me there. On my recent visit I was therefore staying at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House………. Mabel Dodge Luhan committed huge amounts of time to […]

Eclipses and other phenomena…..

These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us: though the wisdom of nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged by the sequent effects: King Lear , Act 1, Scene 1 The Elizabethans may have thought that eclipses foretold chaos and the overturning of the natural […]

Jiro Dreams of Sushi….what do you dream of?

This week I went to see the film Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Jiro is an 85 year old Tokyo sushi chef who has devoted his life to sushi (practically since leaving home at the age of 9) and to improving his skills, to seeking the perfect sushi. He works every day, from sunrise to late in […]

May Day, music & marmot……

May 1st always feels like the beginning of summer, of many colours green, of music and sunlight and magic. As I drove down the mountain this morning I saw a marmot running up the rocks by the side of the road. I switched on KGNU, the local radio station, and found myself in the middle of passionate […]

Writing in the wild………..

At the weekend Mary Reynolds Thompson and I facilitated our Wild Places Lost & Found writing workshops.   On Saturday the participants came up the winding road to the top of Flagstaff, to the views of the Continental Divide, to sit and write in forest and mountain. On Sunday, people found places under trees, in sunshine, on grass. […]