EcoHearth: Come Home to the Earth

Donning snowshoes, I leave the plowed, shoveled and accessible world that we humans carve out of the winter snows. Each snowfall is cleared from what is “in bounds” for human use during the winter, as the plow banks and piles of snow grow taller each time. Anything outside of that maintained boundary is off limits – unless you put on your snowshoes. Read on...

It's almost the end of February. Still the dead of winter in Maine. Night time temps regularly dip below 0º. Nothing but snow and ice as far as the eye can see. Skin gets all pasty white from lack of sun. (Not being the most racially diverse state in the U.S., most Mainers start the winter fairly white anyway.) People resort to desperate measures to help them through the rest of the winter: TV, alcohol, garden catalogs, full-spectrum lighting, ice hockey, you name it. Read on...

What exactly is the creature that roams the forests and fields of the northeastern US and eastern Canada under the name “coyote?” Can it be the same species as that found in the western US, an animal half the size of its eastern counterpart? Is it a completely different animal? Or is it some combination of coyote mixed with dog or wolf genes? I’ve written about coyotes a few times now and, based on the comments I get, people want to know more about this mysterious creature. Read on…

Not long ago, I wrote about a terrible coyote attack in Nova Scotia that took the life of 19-year-old Taylor Mitchell. I concluded that although coyotes have the potential to be dangerous, history shows that they shouldn't be much of a concern to most people. Well, I had the opportunity to put my beliefs to the test in a face-to-face encounter with a coyote and I'm happy to report that the meeting ended well for both of us. Read on…

In my last entry, I wrote about how a wreath is made and hopefully conveyed the point that, all things considered, they tend to be pretty ecologically sound. They are usually harvested sustainably and help support thousands of independent workers who really need the money. Now I'd like to profile a few of the companies that sell wreaths to help guide you to a business that matches your economic needs and ecological values. Read on…