In a recent conversation with a friend, the subject of lilacs growing in the wild came up. My friend had been on a walk in the woods of Wellfleet when […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Bonsai Brings Untamable Nature Close
With fearless cuts, a caretaker tends the conditions for healthy growth
My introduction to bonsai was an encounter with a collection of straggly little junipers in pots in a friend’s yard. The plants were root-bound and malnourished, and they had taken […]
SURFING
The Wave as a Quasi-Religious Presence
Defining the soul of a place by the ocean
I spent a good part of my late teens and early 20s traveling and surfing in Central America. I followed word-of-mouth suggestions on where to find the next good wave […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Lichens: A Love Story
Everywhere, intricate, multicolored couplings take hold for dear life
There’s a bend in the road on the way to the dump in Wellfleet. The road winds through a low, wet area, a tributary of the Herring River. As far […]
COLD WAVE
6 Questions Sane People Ask Winter Surfers
It might be crazy, but ‘it makes us smile’
Being a surfer on Cape Cod in the winter invites a lot of questions. Willingly jumping into the ocean when the temperature dips below freezing and the waves are big […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Finding the Woods on a Search for a Bird
Following a hermit thrush call, an encounter with mystery
There is a little bird that lives in the woods. It nests low to the ground, at the edges of clearings. It is about the size of a sparrow. The […]
SURFING
We Live in a Stream of Moments
Seeking the place where there is room only for Now
The moment: a slice of time of uncertain length, liberated. A sampling of the river, defined not by length but by its content and significance. The internet says a moment […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Beyond the Lawn
Rethinking America’s most wonderful, ridiculous monoculture
The lawn. A tightly cropped, cleanly edged area of neat green. An outdoor carpet for lying on and looking at. A lawn is deeply ingrained in our culture as an […]
SURFING
Nyepi, the Day of Silent Danger
A lesson in social responsibility on the island of Bali
We knew the waves were good. The surf reports showed it. There was a big south swell sweeping in from the Indian Ocean onto the reefs to the west. The […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Pruning Is a Good Thing
Purposeful cuts are an act of rejuvenation
Hacking. Butchering. Murdering. These are all terms we hear when the subject of pruning comes up. These words betray a widely held belief that pruning is an act of brutality. […]
SURFING
After the Shipwrecks, Joy
Is it right to feel so happy in the very place where sadness dwelled?
Often, when I am sitting out in the ocean, snug in my thick wetsuit, warm against the ripping wind and salt spray, I think about all the souls that have […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
The Zen of Moss
Vibrant magic in the gray winter woods
The woods are a thousand tans, reds, and browns. Furrowed bark every shade of charcoal. Snowfall in the woods, in the low winter light, a cast of blue. The muted […]
SURFING
Localism Is Surfing’s Dark Side
A protective instinct that unites us and can drive us apart
You’ve heard a lot about the wholesome, soulful side of surfing. That’s what draws most of us in. It is the current that runs strongest through surfing. It is the […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
The Snowy Woods Drive
Winter nights reveal the hidden forms and footprints of this place
When I was a little kid, the first snowfall of the year meant something more than the arrival of winter. It signified the beginning of the season for a quiet […]
SURFING
Like a Big Family
The collective joy of watching someone catch his first wave
The waves were perfect for learning to surf. Knee to waist high, soft and gentle, breaking slowly over an old flat reef now buried in fine white sand. The water […]