Archive for July, 2011

Dr. Michael Mesler, my plant taxonomy professor at Humboldt State University, likened simplicity to parsimony.  When examining computational phylogenetics (a complicated subject) he taught us that the phylogenetic tree with the fewest evolutionary changes was most likely correct.  “Thus,” he would say, “the simplest answer is usually the best answer.” While the study of the [...]

Are the days of victory gardens gone? A recent news flurry surrounding misdemeanor charges for growing a front yard veggie garden have made me wonder.  Julie Bass of Oak Park, Michigan has built 5 raised beds where she grows typical kitchen garden produce: squash, tomatoes, corn, etc.  She has since been found to be non [...]

I was seven. It was my first summer living alone with my grandmother in the coastal foothills of Sonoma County, in the place I think of as my other home. Wild with the smell of California Bay trees. The bed I shared with Gram made neatly outside, perfect for otherworldly stargazing. Magically book-ending a day [...]