Build a winter altar
Winter announces itself around here in the form of giant fallen oak leaves, broken pecan shells, bright red holly berries, and the winged seeds of loblolly pines. These treasures collect in yards and parks, each one a symbol of nature’s brilliant scheme. In winter the world sheds, stores, conserves, and casts off what it doesn’t need for survival. It sleeps and recharges knowing that rest is the powerful engine of growth.
“Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”
Keep it slow and simple with a winter altar
Even though it’s still sunny and warm here in Austin, Texas, the trees and holly bushes and critters know what time it is.
The ground announces late fall to winter in giant fallen oak leaves, broken pecan shells, bright red holly berries, and the winged seeds of loblolly pines. Well into December the season will hem and haw and hint until one morning it’s really cold and more trees than not have given up their leaves.
These treasures of winter collect in yards and parks, each one a symbol of nature’s brilliant scheme. In winter the world sheds, stores, conserves, and casts off what it doesn’t need for survival. It sleeps and recharges knowing that rest is the powerful engine of growth.
As you come across this bounty, give it your attention. Select a red gold leaf, an acorn, and a snip of holly branch. Place them on a mantle, windowsill, or right in the middle of a table. Add a few oranges and maybe a bowl of walnuts.
Add new gifts to your altar throughout the season. Experience that little tingle of delight every time you pass by.
Whisper, “Thank you, winter.”
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
If you’re here in Austin or in one of the 5 other cities where it’s playing, check out Fungi: Web of Life on the IMax screen! Bonus: It’s narrated by Björk!
If you were ever obsessed with The Whole Earth Catalog (*raises hand), this site is for you. It’s a “nearly-complete archive of Whole Earth publications” stretching back to 1968. Check out the Whole Earth Index.
Looking for some cookie inspo? Try one of these 75 recipes. Or revisit our lightly caffeinated versions using cold brew or Vietnamese iced coffee!
A natural abundance inventory
As climate change takes an ever greater toll on our planet and all of the life it sustains, now is the exact right time to rediscover reciprocity with the Earth. And an excellent place to start is to rediscover the natural abundance of the place where you live. Whether you are indigenous to the place or not, you can see your area through indigenous eyes.
“It’s possible to understand the world from studying a leaf. You can comprehend the laws of aerodynamics, mathematics, poetry and biology through the complex beauty of such a perfect structure.”
Keep it slow and simple with a natural abundance inventory
November is Native American Heritage Month, and while we have traditionally linked Thanksgiving with the native peoples of North America, we have the opportunity to deepend and clarify that relationship.
Globally, indigenous people have lived for centuries embedded in the seasonal ebbs, flows, and changes of the regions in which they live. Through that deep relationship, they handed down wisdom about how to live in reciprocity with the earth—both harvesting and living off the land while protecting and stewarding it so that the abundance continues.
When I was a kid, my mawmaw sent us out to the giant pecan tree in her yard to gather buckets of nuts and crack them open with an old wooden nutcracker. She let the sun and wind dry her clothes and bought honey from a local beekeeper.
I wonder if she knew that the abundant neighborhood holy bushes were used for centuries to make tea or that she could eat a prickly pear. A thrifty woman who sewed all of her clothes and some of mine too, I wonder if she knew she could weave a basket with beargrass? She would have enjoyed that.
As climate change takes an ever greater toll on our planet and all of the life it sustains, now is the exact right time to rediscover reciprocity with the Earth. And an excellent place to start is to rediscover the natural abundance of the place where you live. Whether you are indigenous to the place or not, you can see your area through indigenous eyes.
What abundances are hidden in plain sight in your neighborhood?
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
Want to add more indigenous recipes to your Thanksgiving feast? Check out these from firstnations.org, these from FoodCorps, and these from Indigenous chefs.
Celebrate indigenous brilliance and culture through this collection of Native American poetry.
Get to know the earth through it’s deepest and longest memory—its rocks. Read A Stone Is a Story: An Illustrated Love Letter to Deep Time and Earth’s Memory.
A little hocus pocus
Do you believe in magic? How about spells? A little alchemy maybe? Some enchantment, surely. Or, may we suggest some hocus pocus? Yes, it’s a sleight of hand. A diversion. Some words spoken to redirect the listener’s attention. And yes, we think there’s no better time than now to try it out.
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.”
Keep it slow and simple with a little hocus pocus
Do you believe in magic? How about spells? A little alchemy maybe? Some enchantment, surely.
Or, may we suggest some hocus pocus? Yes, it’s a sleight of hand. A diversion. Some words spoken to redirect the listener’s attention. And yes, we think there’s no better time than now to try it out.
Words are a powerful magic. They can change hearts, minds, attitudes, and outcomes. What if you intentionally directed your magic words to make every single person you encounter today feel like a million bucks?
“What a lovely shirt,” you’ll say. “You are so brave,” you’ll announce. “Your eyes are the color of falls leaves,” you’ll coo. And just like that, you cast little spells—diversions that pay dividends and redirections that work their magic.
And once you’ve seen the power of your hocus pocus on others, break out your most powerful enchantments for the marvelous magician in the mirror.
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
Thinking about making the switch from dairy to plant-based milk? Check out these very compelling stats from the Zero Waste Guide.
Down with bad coffee up in the sky! Alaska Airlines has teamed up with Stumptown to give you a tastier cup in flight, making the whole travel experience a little nicer. Now, let’s tackle the whole boarding process, maybe?
How about another free recipe book? This one is designed to help you eat well on a limited budget. Check out Good & Cheap: Eat Well on $4 a Day. (Note: This book has been around for several years, so maybe it’s $6 a day now?)
Shine your attention
That which we tend—wherever we shine our attention, it tends to grow. Whether we shine our attention on the people, places, and dreams that mean the most to us or on our worries and fears. They grow. What are you growing in your life?
September 17, 2024
“Your attention is a grow light.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Shine your attention
I don’t know who first said it: “Your attention is a grow light.” I’ve Googled it and everything. In fact, Google sent me right to the Simply Sundays archives to find the phrase. So, I know that we have given this wisdom before, though it doesn’t originate from us.
Whoever the genius was, we thank them. Because we see it bear truth over and over again. That which we tend—wherever we shine our attention, it tends to grow. Whether we shine our attention on the people, places, and dreams that mean the most to us or on our worries and fears. They grow.
What gets your attention these days? We know it can’t all be the attention we most want to give. Maybe though, we might shine just a little more light here and a little less there.
What would you grow more if you could? How could you shine just a little more attention on it today?
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
Looking for recipes for all of those herbs? Here’s a whole “bunch” from Bon Appétit! Put them in pancakes? We’re into it!
Remember those old print Farmer’s Almanacs? (With apologies to the young readers.) Well, they are still dispensing their age-old wisdom on the Internet. Check out this article on growing herbs indoors and then click around on the site. It’s a trove!
If you have read this far, then maybe you, like us, love an email newsletter that curates cool things for you. Downtime is just such a newsletter. Alisha Ramos curates playlists, links, recipes, and all the good stuff. Check it out.
Your own home shopping network
It’s that time of year when all the signs announce that we should be shopping. It’s back-to-school sales, Labor Day sales, fall wardrobe restocks, and on into the fall and winter buying seasons. Now might be the right time to remind ourselves that what we need and even what we want may already be in our houses.
August 27, 2023
“The more knowledge people have about the way their food is produced, the more likely it is that their values—and not just “value”—will inform their purchasing decisions.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Your own home shopping network
It’s that time of year when all the signs announce that we should be shopping. It’s back-to-school sales, Labor Day sales, fall wardrobe restocks, and on into the fall and winter buying seasons.
Now that we think about it—is there a time of year when we are not encouraged to buy things? Now might be the right time to remind ourselves that what we need and even what we want may already be in our houses.
It’s time to browse your own home shopping network.
Start in your fridge…what future soups come out of hiding? Move on to your closet or dresser drawers—all the way to the deepest corners. Pull out that 1990s-era top and wow a teen in your life. (As a teen I loved to wear my dad’s polyester button-downs from the 70s, with their cool patterns and absurd collars.)
After such successes, you may be inspired to tackle your catch-all drawer (OK, drawers). In ours, we found some colorful tape and glue sticks we didn’t remember buying. Art may well ensue.
You may just find that you live in abundance and treasure without a single trip to the mall.
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
We’ve shared Food Waste Feast before—but did you know they have a recipe book out?! It’s excellent and filled with tips to turn even the smallest scraps into abundance.
If you’ve been wanting to try a little garden—indoors or out—it might be easier than you think. Paige Curtis explores “Lazy-Girl Gardening” and has some great advice for would-be gardeners: Don’t overthink it.
Yes, we want to keep it light around here. Also, we want you know that it has been exactly one day since we set a heat record here in the CoffeeSock home of Austin, Texas. And tomorrow it will probably still be one day. What about in your city? Check out this interactive map of days since a city had a record high temperature.
Map your constellations
This is the time of year when the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak and, in a dark sky, you can watch starstuff streak across space one after another like little miracles. There’s nothing quite like it for reorienting yourself in a universe that is wild, massive, mysterious, and really freaking beautiful.
August 13, 2023
“There’s as many atoms in a single molecule of your DNA as there are stars in the typical galaxy. We are, each of us, a little universe.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Map your constellations
Every year in August the stars remind us who we are—time-limited mortals on a little planet wrapped in galaxies upon galaxies.
This is the time of year when the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak and, in a dark sky, you can watch starstuff streak across space one after another like little miracles. There’s nothing quite like it for reorienting yourself in a universe that is wild, massive, mysterious, and really freaking beautiful.
But before you think this means you’re small, let us reorient you to your own little universe, inside of which you are a star among stars. What constellations do you make? What points of light can you map in your experiences, your neighborhood, your travels, and your travails? What story do they tell? What shape do they make?
Be they archers or dippers or bears large or small, may you bask in their glow from time to time.
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
Take a 3-minute forest bath with this immersive trip through the redwoods.
“The city of Melbourne assigned trees email addresses so citizens could report problems. Instead, people wrote thousands of love letters to their favorite trees.” Love letters to trees? 😍😍.
Could you do the dishes without a podcast? Drive without music? Why is it so hard to do one thing at a time? Oliver Burkeman wants you to try.
Feed yourself
A question for you: what did you feed yourself in the last 24 hours? And we’re not just asking about food.
July 30, 2023
“And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Feed yourself
A question to ponder: What did you feed yourself in the past 24 hours?
Are you thinking of your breakfast? Of last night’s dinner? Of the things you enjoyed eating and those you wish you hadn’t?
Keep going. We feed ourselves more than food.
What was your media diet like? What did you feed your soul? How did you fuel your creativity, your inner child, or your future self? What images and sounds did you consume? What did you drink in?
Did you nurture yourself well? What will you feed yourself today?
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
Plant-based milk cuts back on dairy—a sizeable contributor to climate change. Wondering what other foods contribute? Check out this article and this one, then see how your diet stacks up with this quiz!
If you’re like many people we know, you’re trying to ween yourself off one or more social media sites or general scrolling. Check out One Sec, the app that requires you to take a second and take a breath before opening that app. It has virtually eliminated my mindless opening of Instagram. Now I only open it with intention. Way less!
Hey Austinites! Are you moving soon? If so, you don’t need to use a bunch of cardboard boxes. Check out Bronko Box—they provide reusable moving boxes, delivered to you and picked up again for reuse. Cool!
There's a party on your block!
Trees in ball gowns, winged musicians flying about, and oh the decorations everywhere. There’s a party on your block. We invite you to attend .
July 16, 2023
“An oak tree and I are made of the same
stuff.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Attend the gala on your block
About half a mile down the street, in front of a Safeway parking lot and a two-story apartment building, a grand ball gown spirals down from the sky and out from the curb. Its pattern is intricate and elegant, and I cannot help but trace its textured curves and complex spirals with my fingers whenever I pass.
The gown’s wearer is at least one hundred years old. The designer, a tiny acorn of a century ago packed with the design-school secrets of its DNA.
Yes, yes. This fashionista is a tree. And she’s giving Met Gala energy.
There’s a gala on your block too, I’ll bet. Each tree, bush, flower, and grass flows with the colors, shapes, shadows, and patterns of its age and season.
You are hereby invited to attend.
And some clickable fun—speak for the trees edition!
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
This is for when you’re at your local tree gala and wondering to yourself, “what tree is that?” Check out Arbor Day Foundation’s interactive guide.
Taking kids to the tree party? Here’s how to create leaf and bark art!
And check out these unique trees from Nat Geo’s photo archves. Those cherry blossoms!
Get independent from...
Usually, we want you to know—to deeply feel—your interdependence. Independence does have its place though. And as we enter the July 4th holiday in the U.S., it’s as good a time as any to think about the ways in which we want to grow our independence.
July 2, 2023
“The grasses feed the ants with seeds and the ants feed the grasses with soil. They hand off life to one another. They understand their interconnections; they understand that the life of one is dependent on the life of all.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Get independent from…
Usually, we want you to know—to deeply feel—your interdependence. When we embrace interdependence as a lifestyle, we are more likely to live in ways that honor one another and the planet.
Independence does have its place though. And as we enter the July 4th holiday in the U.S., it’s as good a time as any to think about the ways in which we want to grow in our own abilities to sustain ourselves, and what dependencies we want to break.
Maybe, like me, you used to go fishing as a kid. You could catch, prep, and cook a fish without a second thought. And maybe, like me, it’s been years (OK, decades). Could you still do it if you had a rod and lure in your hand?
Whether you’d like to declare full or partial independence from convenience food or fast fashion or want to grow your own tomatoes, maybe this week would be a good time to declare yourself a little more (but not too) independent.
And some clickable fun—Independence edition
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
Want to start your garden from seed or level up your skills? This interactive calendar helps you figure out when to start seeds.
Try out these tips from seven years of The New York Times tip column. From the helpful—how to change a brake light or mend jeans—to the…more interesting—how to crack a safe—you’ll find something for everyone. We hope you never have to get someone out of a cult, but bookmark this page just in case.
Find repair manuals, step-by-step guides, and precision tools to fix just about anything at IFIXIT.
Ask a dad
It’s Simply Sundays—Father’s Day edition! Collectively, our fathers and grandfathers are knowledge keepers. Through their memories, their stories, their hobbies, and their skills—they hold great wealth and deep knowing.
June 18, 2023
“Hold those things that tell your history and protect them.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Ask a dad
This Simply Sunday, we celebrate both Father’s Day and Juneteenth. In reading about and reflecting on these two days, I ran across Maya Angelou’s words about preserving our histories.
She reminds us that enslaved people could rarely write down or keep anything - they could not preserve written histories, giving so much more weight to the stories of elders, the scraps of knowledge passed down, and the objects that managed to pass from one generation to the next.
Collectively, our fathers and grandfathers are knowledge keepers. Through their memories, their stories, their hobbies, and their skills—they hold great wealth and deep knowing.
What stories do the fathers in your life hold? What histories do the papas preserve for us? Today is a wonderful day to ask and to listen.
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
“Juneteenth is the oldest internationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.” Learn more and celebrate at https://www.juneteenth.com.
The fathers in your life might not know they want a poem, but they do. Find one here.
This is what it looks like when nature claims its space! We’re into it. “Amazing underwater sculptures appear on Great Barrier Reef.”
Remember how to bask
It’s free, it’s dreamy, it’s what summer wants from you. May you enjoy a good bask today!
June 4, 2023
“Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says to the Earth,
”You owe me.”
Look
What happens With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Remember how to bask
We’re going to use the oldest writer trick in the book—start by defining the word.
To bask: verb To lie exposed to warmth and light, typically from the sun, for relaxation and pleasure. Or, to revel in and make the most of something pleasing.
Lazing in the sun, perhaps on a beach or in a meadow, is classic basking. May we also recommend basking in moonlight? Or in music? Or the smile of your nearest and dearest? Or—oh my—all three at once?
Let’s also add to the definition that basking requires time, but perhaps less than you think. We advocate for long, lush, and slow basks. But a 5-minute bask isn’t nothing. In fact, it can completely transform your mindset.
It’s free, it’s dreamy, it’s what summer wants from you. May you enjoy a good bask today!
And some clickable fun—basking edition
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
This Instagram account takes the classic fun of cloudspotting and elevates it with fun drawings. Get inspired with new cloud art daily!
Want even more cloud content in your life? Join The Cloud Appreciation Society and find a cloud library and even courses about clouds!
Bask in a good book. Pick your next with one of our favorite selection tools.
Take two steps back
Does it feel like the direction of life is always forward? Like the world insists on progress, growth, and endless betterment? Does it feel like, if you’re not setting and achieving bigger and better goals, you’re not adulting right? If you took two steps back, what would you notice about the path that you’re on?
May 21, 2023
“Once in awhile you get shown the light n the strangest of places if you look at it right.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Take two steps back
Does it feel like the direction of life is always forward? Like the world insists on progress, growth, and endless betterment? Does it feel like, if we’re not setting and achieving bigger and better goals, that we’re not adulting right?
It seems like a lifetime ago now, but three short years ago, we got a glimpse of another path. Many of us had to stop, slow down, reverse course, take a step back, assess, and reassess. At first, the pandemic felt like a giant step backward, away from progress and speed.
And then it hit us. As the skies literally cleared, we got to know our neighbors and we took up bread-baking, birdwatching, and crafting. We started to think… maybe this wasn’t a step back after all. Maybe the moves we were making, the progress we thought we wanted, was really just speeding on autopilot.
The author Marilynne Robinson refers to “the spirit of the times” as “one of joyless urgency” saying “many of us are preparing ourselves and our children, to be means to inscrutable ends that are utterly not our own.”
Are there areas of your life that seem filled with “joyless urgency”? If you took two steps back today, what might you notice about the path you were on?
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
You already know you can use coffee in cakes and cookies and put the grounds in your compost. But did you know you can even develop photos with coffee??
After you take two steps back, what’s next? Learn how to slow down properly from the International Institute of Not Doing Much, then read their Slow Manifesto.
Even the Earth’s inner core is on the slow trend these days.
Tell a better story
When we speculate, when we imagine, when we make our best guesses, we’re telling ourselves what we expect the future to hold. Let’s tell a better story.
May 7, 2023
“Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Tell a better story
When we speculate, when we imagine, when we make our best guesses, we’re telling ourselves what we expect the future to hold. For children, naturally optimistic, their visions of the future can be a salve—full of clear skies and happy, healthy humans.
Why aren’t adult stories more like that? Whether it’s advertising, corporate messages, or our own limited experience, so many adults see the future as a foregone conclusion.
And yet the future is unwritten. Rebecca Solnit reminds us that “Twenty years ago we did not have constructive ways to leave the age of fossil fuel behind. Now we do. And the solutions keep getting better.”
We don’t know what the future holds for sure, but with collective action, the story is better than you might think. In fact, it’s pretty critical that we all start telling ourselves the better story and acting on it.
Solnit ends her article with this passage, from the speculative fiction author, Octavia Butler:
“OK,” the young man challenged. “So what’s the answer?”
“There isn’t one,” I told him.
“No answer? You mean we’re just doomed?” He smiled as though he thought this might be a joke.
“No,” I said. “I mean there’s no single answer that will solve all of our future problems. There’s no magic bullet. Instead, there are thousands of answers – at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be.”
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
In our article on microplastics in the home, we mentioned filters you can add to your washing machine. These two came up in several of the articles we read: Check out Guppyfriend and Cora Ball.
We’re not going to leave the climate crisis for Gen Z to solve. But Gen Z is already stepping up anyway. Go Z, go!
Share a poem with the mamas in your life, from our favorite collector of poems, The Poetry Foundation.
Unfreeze something in time
In her new book, Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, Jenny Odell guides us to understand time as told by the natural world through a practice she calls “unfreezing in time.” What spaces around you live by a different sense of time than clock time?
April 23, 2023
“Some people say that I should study to become a climate scientist so that I can ‘solve the climate crisis’. But the climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is wake up and change.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… Unfreeze something in time
In her new book, Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, Jenny Odell suggests this unique exercise:
“Just pick a point in space—a branch, a yard, a sidewalk square, a webcam—and simply keep watch. A story is being written there.”
She calls this “unfreezing in time” because the exercise helps retrain our minds to a different kind of time—time told by nature. When we intentionally watch time, as told by a sidewalk square, then we stop seeing a static, unchanging place incidental to our daily walk. The space comes alive in its own right, inhabited by a shifting array of flora, fauna, light, and color. All changing in their own time and through their own logic.
What can you unfreeze in time? What spaces around you live by a different sense of time than clock time?
Observe the space outside your kitchen window. Or note the shifting patterns of light through your front door. Observe a single patch of grass right to the left of your office building entrance. One day a bee will appear. The next comes a dandelion. Eventually, a brown leaf cascades to rest there. None of them will wear a watch.
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
Did you know Earth Day has its own official website? Find projects covering regenerative farming, the fashion industry, plastic waste, and more! Get involved over at EARTHDAY.ORG
NPR’s LifeKit is true to its name. We have definitely upgraded our lives with their articles and videos. Like this one! A helpful video explainer with 6 tips to raise healthy houseplants.
Leave it to Rebecca Solnit to remind us that the changes required to address climate change could make our lives better right now. Read her latest in The Washington Post: “What if climate change meant not doom — but abundance?”
Feed two birds with one seed
Thank you to the friend who told us she had “fed two birds with one seed.” What a glorious reframing of the old, worn-out language. Because so many of the actions we take hour-by-hour ripple out into the environment, and either diminish it or feed it.
April 9, 2023
“The world is full of signs and wonders that come, and go, and if you are lucky you might see them. Once, twice. Perhaps never again.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… feed two birds with one seed
You know the phrase, “killing two birds with one stone”? We are officially canceling it around here. How did this brutal language come to describe the crafty use of an hour, when you have managed to accomplish two things with only one action?
Thank you to the friend who told us she had “fed two birds with one seed.” What a glorious reframing of the old, worn-out language. Because so many of the actions we take hour-by-hour ripple out into the environment, and either diminish it or feed it.
What actions small and large do you take every day? What birds do they feed, both literal and figurative?
May your actions nourish you and your community, birds included.
And some clickable fun
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
In our new blog about bird-friendly coffee, we grab details from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They also have a popular bird app—The Merlin Bird ID. Wonder which warbler you just saw or who is singing that distinct tune each morning? Check out Merlin!
In honor of egg dye season, we love natural dyes. And mushrooms make a wide spectrum of natural colors. The Mushroom Color Atlas lets you explore the fungi color spectrum. It’s beautiful!
In “What we’re reading” news, we could wait to begin Jenny Odell’s newest book, Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock. And if you haven’t grabbed her first, How to Do Nothing, may we recommend some spring reading?
The clues are everywhere...follow their lead
Changes are an inevitable part of nature’s cycle. When you notice them, you can follow the leads to make discoveries about the way the local flora and fauna—both human and not— interact to maintain earth into the future. So, break out your observational skills. Because the clues are right in your own neighborhood.
March 26, 2023
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the
world.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… follow a natural lead
When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in the 1990s, they set off a chain of events that led the entire habitat to improve, from reinvigorated rivers to the return of certain plant life and populations of songbirds. It turns out that wolves, once believed only to be pests and predators, are a critical species in the area, keeping the elk population at levels that the local ecosystem can sustain, which affects every aspect of the land.
All ecosystems have their wolves, both literal and figurative. When one element of an ecosystem changes it ripples out into the land and sky and water.
In some cases, it’s easy to spot—a missing tree that turns the backyard quiet without its resident birds and squirrels. Or the new ecosystem that pops up within days of adding a bird feeder or bath.
Sometimes it takes us by surprise, as when honeybee colonies began to collapse in 2006, leading to mass outcry to save bees and all pollinators.
Changes are an inevitable part of nature’s cycle. When you notice them, you can follow the leads to make discoveries about the way the local flora and fauna—both human and not— interact to maintain earth into the future.
So, break out your observational skills. Because the clues are right in your own neighborhood. The lizard you’ve never seen before. The wildlife appearing closer and closer to the city. The new color around the edges of a leaf, dropped early.
Want to flex your “citizen science “ skills? See our links below for resources.
And some clickable fun—citizen science edition!
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
NPR’s Life Kit gives you “8 simple ways you can help our native birds this spring” - including one of our favorites, buying shade-grown coffee to preserve trees (aka, bird homes).
The Bee Conservancy has joined up with scientists and the iNaturalist app to invite the public to photograph pollinators and their habitats in your area—a huge help in the effort to save bee habitats. Learn about the community science project!
Interested in other types of citizen science? The US government runs an entire website with a catalog of projects you can choose from. From logging your star viewing to watching for whales, testing local water, and locating lizards—there’s a citizen science project for you! Find local and online projects recruiting now.
Let's all touch grass
If you know a teen, maybe you’ve heard them say it: “Go touch grass.” This may be some of the best advice the internet currently has to offer. Here’s why we should all go touch some grass.
March 12, 2023
“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that...as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can find ways to provide for ourselves without
diminishing the world.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… touch grass
If you know a teen, maybe you’ve heard them say it: “Go touch grass.” This may be some of the best advice the internet currently has to offer.
The meme, which is meant to tell someone they are spending too much time in the virtual world and not enough time in the real one, contains a very profound truth—that the greatest gift of the world outside our computer screens is the world itself—nature. And that the best way to experience it is through physical touch.
We learned during the pandemic that we could move an astounding amount of our lives online. We can meet, play games, do a bunch of work, chat, shop, read, and learn. We can even view the world in ways we will never be able to do in “real” life, with extraordinary images of the tiniest creatures and the vastest expanses of space.
There in the mirror world, we connect only to become disconnected. We see but cannot touch—cannot feel the rough and silky stubble of tree bark, the tickle of dew on bare feet, the cool gravity of soil folding around your fingers.
Maybe we should all celebrate the coming spring with our hands spread out on a patch of grass. You might even have a chat with a few blades. They have much to say.
And some clickable fun—spring garden edition!
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
Thinking of starting a new garden, or just looking for new tips for your plot? All the gardeners we know love the Planter App. Get all the details for what to plant and when and where.
You KNOW we love our gardening like we love everything, with a side of poetry. Ross Gay is one of our favorite gardener poets. Read and be delighted.
If you’re on TikTok or TikTok curious, #gardentok is a wealth of knowledge in bite-sized videos. Check out the epic gardening account as a starter.
Know your weather systems
We pay such detailed attention to the weather because the calms and storms change the texture of our days. Our own lives have weather systems, too. Some days storming and others all rainbow. Author, teacher, and Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön, reminds us that our mental states are important and also temporary. When we get to know them and watch them pass in and out, we can become more finely tuned to how they change the way we see and act.
February 26, 2023
“You are the sky. Everything else - it’s just
the weather.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple… know your weather systems
This week, we’ve seen rare snowfalls in places like Los Angeles and record heat in parts of the U.S. south. From farmers to hopeful schoolchildren, it seems everyone is watching the weather reports.
We pay such detailed attention to the weather because the calms and storms change the texture of our days. Though we may be fortunate enough to have shelter from driving rains and freezing temperatures, we also crave the hours of breeze and sun that warm our skin and nurture our gardens.
Our own lives have weather systems, too. Some days storming and others all rainbow.
Author, teacher, and Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön, reminds us that our mental states are important and also temporary. When we get to know them and watch them pass in and out, we can become more finely tuned to how they change the way we see and act.
What would happen if you and your loved ones share your weather reports with each other? Like the TV weather reports, it could help you plan the ways you exist together. Are you feeling partly cloudy with a chance of storms? Are you misty, or in the midst of a high-pressure system? Maybe you’re experiencing record warmth today. If not today, then soon.
And some clickable fun—an ode to the mix tape!
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
For our herb-infused vinegar recipe, we were inspired by this explainer from Bon Appéite. Try your own DIY and let us know how it went!
Did you think of Tom Waits when you read about the mental weather report? Yeah, us too. Here’s the man himself performing “Emotional Weather Report” in 1977.
Or, if you have little ones, introduce the concept with this read-aloud of My Inside Weather.
Your hidden in your neighborhood
How this charming interview between Robin Wall Kimmerer and the Icelandic musician Björk got us looking for all that’s hidden in our neighborhoods. Ready for a walkabout?
November 6, 2022
“Our indigenous herbalists say to pay attention when plants come to you; they’re bringing you something.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple … Discover your hidden neighborhood
This Simply Sunday is dedicated to the plants that grow in each of our corners of the world.
“Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart.”
After listening to a charming interview between Robin Wall Kimmerer (quoted above) and the Icelandic musician Björk, we’ve been revisiting Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer’s book about the relationship between humans and the natural world. (We link the interview in the links section below.)
In that book and in the interview, Kimmerer reminds us that the more we get to know our land, the more we want to protect it. And there’s always more to know, starting in your own neighborhood.
On your next trip around the block or local walkabout, pay attention to the bounty that nature is tossing all around.
Some you will recognize—the litter of fallen oak leaves or an overripe apple still clinging to a branch. Some nature you will see as if for the first time. And that’s the magic. Take your discovery home and get to know it. Learn all you can. Share this knowledge with your friends and family so they, too, may pay closer attention.
And some extras to click
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
This conversation between Björk and Robin Wall Kimmerer is well worth an hour. They discuss “subjects ranging from how language connects us to the natural world; the consequences—both personal and global—of living apart from nature; and what it means in our transient society to live in the right relationship to the land.”
According to this article, some mushrooms can decompose plastic, helping to rid the world of trash…by eating it! Read all about it.
When you know your neighborhood, you may be more inclined to protect it. Take this quiz to see if you can draw the boundaries of your neighborhood. (And don’t forget to vote on Tuesday!)
Just this one thing
We’re not going to get rid of every single plastic item. And that’s not the goal anyway. Simply look for the most easily avoided and simple-to-replace items for you and start there. Swap out just one thing. And when it’s time to get rid of the rest, ensure it gets recycled if you can.
October 9, 2022
“Whithout us, Earth will abide and endure; without her, however, we could not even be.”
One idea to keep it slow and simple … Take inventory and tackle ONE thing
You already know that we have it out for single-use plastics—the easy-to-avoid and swap kind. (As ever, if plastics are critical to your well-being, then we don’t consider them “easy to avoid”). You might not know that these single-use items break down to become tiny “microplastics” that end up everywhere, including your body.
If you want to take a small step, start by taking inventory. Go room by room looking for all of the visible plastic. The flower pots in the window, the reusable containers in the fridge and pantry, the board game pieces, the picture frames—all of it.
We’re not going to get rid of every single plastic item. And that’s not the goal anyway. Simply look for the most easily avoided and simple-to-replace items for you and start there. Swap out just one thing. And when it’s time to get rid of the rest, ensure it gets recycled if you can.
And some extras to click
We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.
Ever want important issues explained to you like you’re in fourth grade? Or maybe there’s a student in your life looking for a helpful resource? National Geographic Education has you covered.
Check out this cool explainer from NPR about plastic—what you can recycle and what becomes trash. It might surprise you!
Poetry is essential medicine for the human soul. Get your daily dose through Instagram.