When we saw this image on @UpstateDiary, we thought what a lovely thing to build into a garden, and imagined ourselves resting on it, how instantly relaxed and at ease we would feel in the fragrant green. Then this Mary Oliver poem jumped into our hands, expanding its possibilities…
Read More
Blossoms knocked off their stems make for free flower arrangements in the form of ad hoc indoor ponds like the one photographer Maria Robledo devised (the perfect accompaniment to this poem written over a thousand years ago)
Read More
One of the very best views of the New Year we’ve seen is from Lebanese-American poet and artist, Etel Adnan. Shortly after we read it, this poem* from the great 13th century Chinese poet, Stonehouse jumped into our hands. Amidst darkness that seems so pervasive, they gave just the reminder we needed.
Read More
Every year when persimmons are in season, I employ a sort of ritual to deeply enjoy the experience of perfection that the miraculous fruit can yield. I amplify it by reading Li-Young Lee’s astonishing poem Persimmons out loud. Poem and ripe persimmon possess beauty in equal measure that never fails to knock me out.
Read More
We love this clip from Martin Scorcese’s brilliant film Goodfellas for teaching us a way to do something we’ve done thousands of time — slice garlic — to make a little go a long way. As well as for reminding us of garlic’s bigger meaning….
Read More
Over the years, we’ve found many ways to express thanks. Close to our heart is this W.S. Merwin poem that finds a way to say thanks in the midst of our beautiful, frightening, wounded, wounding world. We offer it with a big hunk of beauty from a Mexican forest.
Read More
Reflecting on this sign yields SO much…. For us it catalyzed a meditation on time and change and where we are now, and a randomly-found poem by fourteenth century Chinese Buddhist poet Stonehouse*
Read More
At the ever-illuminating @upstate_diary, we suddenly found ourselves looking up through wintry trees into a vast moving star-scape. It transported us to a chilly night in the country. It led to reminders of cosmic views of the everyday.
Read More
A favorite instagram is gallerist Brett Gorvy’s, which pairs an artist and his/her work with a poem. It makes for a powerful dose of illumination. Take this sublime photograph by the great photojournalist Harry Benson*, of a young Brice Marden painting with a long-handled brush, illuminated, as if by fireworks, by a poem by Margaret Atwood. Perfection. Which got us thinking about that amazing brush…
Read More
For a long time, I was hard-pressed to find a good definition of “blessing” that encompassed its quality of kindness, possibiity and transformative power without referencing formal religion. I found it in ‘To Bless the Space Between Us’ by poet John O’Donohue, and in one of his exquisite blessings.
Read More
Spotted at artist Izhar Patkin’s instagram: the tent he has on his New York roof deck with an interior painted by Scooter LaForge. We can imagine hiding out in its dreamy magic… A fragment of a Mary Oliver poem comes to mind:
Read More
In late September, as cool weather creeps in, I become aware that the waning moments of summer tomatoes are imminent. I hunger for a last bit of lusciousness that only food in its season can convey. I pick out some “real” tomatoes at the farmer’s market to savor the perfect, simple way I learned from my friend Anthony Giglio, and to preserve for winter enjoyment. And I read Pablo Neruda’s ode.
Read More
I don’t remember where I came across this perfect, short poem by Lucille Clifton, only that it had the effect that Emily Dickinson said made her know something is poetry…
Read More
We’ve suddenly realized that we’re heading into the home stretch of summer, with September in the too-near distance, and feel, well, we really need to STOP. We are world-weary, still. So we’re heading OUT, to immerse ourselves in deep analog.
Read More
As many parts of the country, and the world, are in the grip of a fearsome heatwave, We’ve found ourselves hiding out, working at partial power, desperately needing restorative naps and ways to feel cool. We know that refreshing virtual pleasures CAN help us cope; they fuel breezes in our heads. So we rounded up our favorites.
Read More
Artist, composer John Cage was also a remarkably powerful writer. Over years of reading him we’ve found ourself transformed by even a sentence or two. This one landed in a similar way……We found that shifting the flow of words ever-so-slightly had a surprising effect.
Read MoreWhen uber-journalist Bibi Baskin was asked what she planned to be doing when she retired she replied, “Nothing.” It is a pursuit she has longed for. Still it is not always easy to do given the fierce demands of a society that values productivity above most else.
Read More
Seeing a single firefly in a field in New York City sparked several haiku, and coincided with astonishing research on the magical insect.
Read More
Texas Beeworks‘ Erika Thompson’s videos have become a sensation, documenting her adventures calmly moving whole colonies of bees out of hives that that have formed in the midst of people’s lives: under a pool umbrella, in a patio chair, an old tire, a water meter, compost bin, the walls of a house. They are mesmerizing to watch as much for the view into the workings of wild hives as for Thompson’s relaxed, fearless self-assurance.
Read More
Every time I see this photograph of a garden festooned with vintage rugs, I want to beam myself there Star Trek-style and lounge, reading, drinking tea, napping, with friends or alone. It reminds me of Morocco where the hot, dry weather encourages making outdoor environments with rugs. We can create them too. at least for a party’s worth of hours.
Read More