Gold. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing, unless you’re talking about filling bad teeth or encircling ring fingers. There might be some days when you wished for more of it, because for some reason we think of it as money in this country, as well as  in most of this world. It’s strange to … Continue reading Gold Standards

First recorded in the Historia Brittonum in the 9th century, awen is a Welsh word for what we might call poetic inspiration. It’s also interpreted as instinctive knowledge, a muse, a breeze, or a flow. Getting in the Flow Writers, musicians, and artists talk about getting “in the flow” when they’re doing their work. So … Continue reading Chasing Awen

I'm at a writing conference in Port Townsend, WA this weekend. The Snow Moon is full and so is Venus. There's even a comet. The high astronomical tide combined with intense wind gusts closed bridges and canceled ferry runs, so crossing the water to get here was a bit of a dance with celestial forces. … Continue reading Building the Stars

I occasionally feed peanuts to two crows who visit my apartment balcony. There's quite a large crow colony near the University of Washington in Seattle, and awhile ago I had the opportunity to go see some crow specimens that the researchers there were working with. I thought I'd get to see something like the interaction … Continue reading The Specimen