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thunder (and hurricane popcorn)
the sky, thickly veiled in white smoke, gradually darkened. i paced the house, obsessively looking out the window as the wind picked up,...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Aug 8, 20212 min read
shorter days (and smoky chipotle sweet potato soup)
nights come early now, darkness settling in even before we sit down to dinner. the snow melts; the last aspen leaves rattle and flutter...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Nov 12, 20202 min read
times like these (and chai-spiced almond butter)
i’ve heard it said that winter is never far away in the north country. you can feel its presence just beyond the mountain; hovering,...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Oct 24, 20202 min read
shades of silver (and sweet potato chocolate chip muffins)
and just like that, two more seasons have come and gone. the sweet summer, sunlit and green; the fall, golden and resplendent. the...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Oct 17, 20202 min read
spring things, little things (and cacao cinnamon cashew bites)
the neighbor mows his lawn and the air smells sweet; later, spicy as rain releases the balm of creekside cottonwoods. thunder rumbles...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
May 6, 20201 min read
weather report (and cheater chana masala)
Winter rain, now tell me why, Summers fade, and roses die. The answer came; the wind and rain. Golden hills, now veiled in grey, Summer...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Mar 27, 20203 min read
grinding to a halt
waking up this sunday morning; a sunday morning, in some ways, like every one that has come before. outside a silver disc of sun presses...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Mar 15, 20203 min read
holding pattern (and raspberry vanilla granola)
the last days of february bring with them an ennui, a longing. a yen for color and life and warmth. elsewhere in the country, signs of...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Feb 26, 20202 min read
still (and oat & almond pancakes)
driving over ice-glazed roads under a sky quilted white, seams stitched with blue. contemplating the state of the world, which, perhaps,...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Feb 19, 20202 min read
snow (and maple peanut butter fudge)
ensconced inside walls of glass and wood, a human-scale snow globe, the world outside awash in white. flakes falling steadily: sometimes...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Feb 10, 20202 min read
february (and buckwheat buttermilk cinnamon rolls)
and january is gone, just like that, sliding into the shortest month of the year. february, to me, will always be the...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Feb 3, 20203 min read
clouds of winter (and oatmeal raisin cookies)
black rollers, waves tumbling in; poised to unleash onto the low-lying hills. two dozen birds, inky silhouettes burst from a tree and...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Jan 23, 20202 min read
january days (and teff & oat biscuits)
There were days And there were days And there were days I know When all we ever wanted Was to learn and love and grow — The Grateful...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Jan 19, 20202 min read
rain and strawberries
Easter morning clouds swirl low over the mountains, encircling peaks in wreathing mist, tumbling down to the valley floor. The air heavy...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Apr 21, 20192 min read
weather report
The winter was so hard and cold, Froze ten feet ’neath the ground. — Grateful Dead, “Dire Wolf” The winter: Cold and long, even by north...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Apr 9, 20192 min read
ritual (and teff banana bread granola)
My experience of late, and that of many others with whom I’ve talked, is one of time hurtling forward. Faster and faster. Dizzying and...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Jan 14, 20193 min read
in the company of wolves
“Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf.” — Aldo Leopold, Thinking Like a Mountain Soda...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Nov 9, 20183 min read
woodsmoke
Swing the axe In the hour before daylight Note the sparks That attend to the blade — Jeffrey Foucault, Dishes If I look over the top...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Oct 9, 20184 min read
good mom
She slowly emerges from the tall grasses at the lip of the crumbling fish ladder. Her head swings from side to side as she surveys the...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Oct 2, 20184 min read
beyond the country
If you keep driving: beyond the outskirts, past the horses and hay bales, to the far side of split rail fences and civilization. If you...
coffeeandwoodsmoke
Sep 25, 20182 min read
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