plant walk

i am still processing the evening i just spent with sam thayer and alan bergo simply walking through the woods, and talking about what we were seeing, and what among what we were seeing was edible., and why. for this amateur plant lover, who considered herself moderately knowledgeable about the plants of this bioregion, alan put me in my place, and sam put me to shame. and then we all drank wine and ate lamb ribs. it feels as if this is a window into a way of interacting with this part of the world. a way of getting to know my neighborhood deeply. thank you alan. thank you sam. i hope to continue engaging with both of you both indirectly, and in person.

maidenhair ferns

i’ve got my feet in minnesota and my head in languedoc

as of today, we are officially making plans to live for another six months in the languedoc region of southern france later this year. this sounds romantic but it really involves trying to get to the french consulate in chicago in time to get a long stay visa. it involves trying to register a 15 year old in a foreign high school. it involves gathering all of our financial documents to prove we can live in a foreign country for six months without depending on the state for support. it involves proving we have insurance that will transport our bodies back to the US should we die in france. it involves paying some rent upfront. it involves finding a housesitter and a dogsitter in shoreview mn. on the other hand, it does also involve deciding whether to fly into paris or barcelona. and it involves notifying our friends in autignac, farmers, winemakers, grocers, and students, that we will be returning. so let’s be clear. it’s going to be a lot of work. but i’m not complaining.

maturing languedocien wine grapes

syrup

when you are not married to a food writer, you see spruce tips and think, “oh, it must be late spring. look how pretty the lime green tips are in contrast to the deep green of the prior years’ growth. looks like a pretty good year’s growth this year. must have been good conditions.” but when you are, in fact, married to a food writer, you see spruce tips and think, “syrup.”

black spruce tip with new spring growth

oliver sacks

oliver sacks was a physician, best-selling author, and professor of neurology at the NYU school of medicine. he wrote musicophilia, awakenings, and the man who mistook his wife for a hat. i am currently reading a quirky little book of his on ferns (he was an avid fern enthusiast) called oaxaca journal. It’s not quite a travel journal, not quite a personal journal–but whatever it is, it’s entirely interesting.  i stumbled on this quote of his on maria popova’s brainpickings this weekend. i found it STILL-worthy, so I am sharing it with you:

“I cannot say exactly how nature exerts its calming and organizing effects on our brains, but I have seen in my patients the restorative and healing powers of nature and gardens, even for those who are deeply disabled neurologically. In many cases, gardens and nature are more powerful than any medication…Clearly, nature calls to something very deep in us. Biophilia, the love of nature and living things, is an essential part of the human condition. Hortophilia, the desire to interact with, manage, and tend nature, is also deeply instilled in us. The role that nature plays in health and healing becomes even more critical for people working long days in windowless offices, for those living in city neighborhoods without access to green spaces, for children in city schools, or for those in institutional settings such as nursing homes. The effects of nature’s qualities on health are not only spiritual and emotional but physical and neurological. I have no doubt that they reflect deep changes in the brain’s physiology, and perhaps even its structure” —Oliver Sacks in the essay “Why We Need Gardens”

hope you are all having a good week. today is the last day of school for my 15-year-old. soon our household will switch from windowless academic schedules to biophilic summer schedules. i am ready to be healed.

lily of the valley

from catkins to bracts

it was only a couple of weeks ago that i was talking about how much i liked catkin season. and already it is bract and samara season. from beads and boas to all things winged. it’s the old old story. bratty little youngsters given wings to fly with, and they choose to spin in circles and crash to the ground. i tell ya. kids these days.

early summer linden bracts