Fruits of Eden: Preparations for the Release!

My book Fruits of Eden: Field Notes Napa Valley 1991-2021 is about to be released, so I contracted with Janna Waldinger of Art & Clarity to take some photos. This is one of my favorites. Each day some of my dear animals walk with me. (Here, Petunia, the goat, and HIjo, the llama.)  For almost 30… Read more »

Chaos

I like to think I have a lot of tolerance for chaos, but in this time of wildfire, pandemic, and political maelstrom, I’m being tested. Here we are, “we” being my family, sequestering in place together, and holding a pretty strict protocol. We have had very little direct outside contact for eight months now. Groceries… Read more »

The Environmental Crisis: What We Can Do

Some of the reasons I am willing to suffer knowledge of my participation in climate change. The Environmental Crisis: What We Can Do When I think of the best approach to the issues we have created in our environment, I think of the old Buddhist adage: Show up. Pay attention. Tell the truth. Detach from… Read more »

My Green May Be Your Red: Remembering How to See

Subtle energies are often captured by digital cameras. My Green May Be Your Red: Remembering How to See Many years ago when we were first learning Biodynamics we worked with a consultant who I’ve called B.B. in my recollection of that time (Farming Soul: A Tale of Initiation. Soon to be republished by Leaping Goat… Read more »

Pilgrimage: Traveling with Leopold

Along the trail   Traveling with Aldo Leopold is a kind of pilgrimage, a focused awareness of what is present, and, once this is developed, feeling a participant with it. Hiking along one the most ancient pilgrimage trails on earth, Camino de Santiago (and only portions of it), I brought only one book, my old (and… Read more »

Book Review: Unplugging the Patriarchy: A Mystical Journey into the Heart of a New Age, by Lucia René

My spiritual teacher Norma T. would describe Lucia René’s Unplugging the Patriarchy: A Mystical Journey into the Heart of a New Age, as a teaching novel. René herself calls it  “fictionalized memoir,” part truth, part fiction. The storyline begins with the protagonist at loose ends, having lost both of her parents, and within a week of her father’s death,… Read more »

Biodynamic Preparation 505: Oak Bark

The bark of an old friend. Biodynamic Preparation 505: Oak Bark Our first introduction to Biodynamic Compost Preparation 505, Oak Bark, was as one of the ten sprays our biodynamic consultant used to ripen a failing mountain vineyard. It was already late September and the grapes were six weeks behind schedule. The winemaker informed us… Read more »