October 2008
October 3, 2008
September
September 1, 2008
Our daily routine on the farm involves a walk through the fields to check on the progress of each crop. Stewart and I head out in the morning with a cup of coffee or in the evening with a cold beer. Usually, we have a specific crop in mind - perhaps we are checking to see if okra is ready for harvest or if radishes have germinated. This is the time that decisions are made–what the next days’ harvest or cultivating tasks will be. We tend to get sidetracked. We set our beverages down to pull a weed or two or to squish hornworms on tomato plants and before we know it our forgotten drinks are filled with ants or gnats, we are muddy and sweaty and our t-shirts bulging with cucumbers or some other vegetable that we couldn’t leave behind. (Yesterday, Stewart’s shirt was bulging low with two cantaloupes – a funny site, as I’m sure you can imagine.) Sometimes the decisions made on these walks are tough ones having larger consequences.
September 2008
September 1, 2008
September cover
How to Be Alive
August 1, 2008
Blue morning, I wander out barefoot and find my spot beneath the tallest Arizona Ash tree. Once, this tree lost half its limbs in a storm, but it’s still the tallest. Settling in, rackety thoughts silence until quiet enough for me to ask and hear answers. Dad always said we walk around like zombies, most of us, working but not really living. I need to figure out how to be alive, so I remember a time when he was.
August 2008
August 1, 2008
July 2008
July 8, 2008
June 2008
June 1, 2008
May 1, 2008
April 1, 2008
About the Cover
April 1, 2008
A water jug capturing reflected sunlight drew attention one morning during a routine jog on the ridge top. On closer inspection, a large camp was discovered just over a hill from our house. Camp remains of backpacks, discarded clothing, food, trash, and water jugs were scattered along a protected, well-hidden draw. My husband Keith and I discovered this second camp on our land and it was noticeably different from the previous camp. Women crossers were included in this group, evidenced by clothing, personal items and female debris.