It’s not about you. But…

A nonfiction writer always faces a fundamental question when beginning a piece of work, namely: Do I insert myself in the narrative? If the piece is about oneself, then the answer is obvious. But most of us are writing about other topics, and inserting oneself often simply gets in the way. Still, there are times when a writer’s role in the story is impossible to … Continue reading It’s not about you. But…

Am I a bad person if I don’t always buy organic?

  Yesterday, I didn’t order my Thanksgiving turkey.  The yellow sticky note had been sitting on the kitchen counter — and then hidden on my desk when I didn’t want to hear my husband ask again “have you called this guy back yet?”— for several weeks before I finally summoned the courage to call the friendly farmer in the ramshackle house surrounded by happily grazing … Continue reading Am I a bad person if I don’t always buy organic?

Digging deep

With the early arrival of spring this year I’m reprising my seasonal post from last year’s blog a bit early as well.   The timing has changed, as plants are sprouting sooner than they usually do, but the rest remains the same, at least for now.  Time will tell if our increasingly early springs bring new problems to West Virginia’s forests, or to other eastern wildlands.  … Continue reading Digging deep