Forest Kindergarten at Waldorf School in Saratoga Springs – NYTimes.com. Schools around the country have been planting gardens and planning ever more elaborate field trips in hopes of reconnecting children with nature. The forest kindergarten at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is one of a handful in the United States that are taking that concept to another level: its 23 pupils, ages 3 ½ to 6, spend three hours each day outside regardless of the weather. This in a place where winter is marked by snowdrifts and temperatures that regularly dip below freezing. What a fabulous idea. Frankly, it…
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“The only person I ever heard call Mr. Wright Frank, was Carl Sandburg …”
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Adam Gopnik’s essay on the nature of cookbooks caught my eye in this week’s New Yorker. He covers a range of topics, but the division between cookbooks which are essentially grammatical (Ratio, How to Cook Everything) and cookbooks which are encyclopedic (Mastering the Art of French Cooking) is one that is dear to my heart. What cookbooks are for, and how we use them, or don’t use them — whether we cook from them or simply read them for pleasure is one of the subjects around which I keep circling. Here’s a quote: “However we take cookbooks— grammatically or encyclopedically,…
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Interesting piece in this morning’s Billings Gazette about Hutterite Turkeys. The “Hoots” as they’re colloquially known, cut back on turkey production this year fearing that their premium birds wouldn’t sell in the recession, but they’re finding the opposite is true, and now there’s a run on Hutterite birds: “Foodies have driven up the demand for the fresh birds, which can cost more — $1.70 a pound versus $1.29 a pound for a pre-sale frozen turkey. It doesn’t hurt that the birds have a back story, raised in rural Montana by pacifists observing 16th-century Anabaptist principles while operating some of the…
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Cormac McCarthy, who is famously reticent was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal last week. It’s a terrific interview. Here’s one of my favorite parts: “WSJ: What does your brother Dennis do? Is he a scientist? CM: He is. He has a doctorate in biology and he’s also a lawyer and a thoughtful guy and a good friend. WSJ: Brotherly conversation just turns to the apocalypse? CM: More often than we can justify.”
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Hi everyone — I’m on a bit of a blogging break still. There are changes afoot here at LivingSmall, and I’ll be back, but for now, I need a little time to rethink the blog, my schedule, etc … You can keep up with me on Facebook (just sent me a Friend invite) or on Twitter at #cmf406.
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Check out my new piece at Ethicurean.com. Pets vs. Livestock: Cracking Open the Myths about Backyard Chickens. “Last spring I decided that this was the year I was going to finally get some chickens. On a snowy Saturday in March I brought home six tiny cheepers that I bought at my local ranch store in Livingston, Montana. Two of them died right off, which didn’t entirely surprise me: those fluffballs didn’t look like they’d really committed to life on the planet. … “ Keep reading by clicking here.
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Still trying to figure out how to balance blog, freelance deadlines, family stuff, chickens, and my own writing. So, I’m the lame blogger. I promise I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, all is well, I’m just a little swamped.
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Well, that was unexpected. I had a girlfriend in town last week, hence dropping off the blog, and then just as I was about to get back to it, I accidentally drowned my computer when a re-corked bottle of red wine came uncorked in my messenger bag. Dead. Dead dead dead. And if your laptop dies on a Friday, in Montana, you can’t really get a replacement until, well, Tuesday afternoon at nearly four. However, I’m now a HUGE fan of Time Machine. I plugged in the new laptop (which is very shiny and aluminum and pretty), it asked if…