The Journal
Essays, Field Notes, portraits, photographs, food stories, and observations from a life rooted in place.
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Land · Place · People · Table · Culture · Inner Life
Latest from Land & Lore
Brewing Life: The Quiet Work of Compost Tea
A five-gallon bucket bubbles quietly while an unseen world comes alive—a small experiment in compost tea, living soil, and the patient stewardship beneath a thriving garden.
First Fruits of the Spring Garden
A handful of greens, a few herbs, and one ripe blackberry become a lesson in firstfruits—the small mercies that arrive before the full harvest and teach us to…
Building Living Soil
What began as autumn leaves, grass, wood chips, and manure becomes something richer through winter: living soil, built by billions of unseen organisms and the patience of a…
The Booth at Waffle House
One ordinary breakfast booth becomes a place of memory, gratitude, and reckoning with a father’s service—and the enduring dignity of a faithful life and honest work.
Healthy Soil: The Wellspring of Life
Owner/operators of Liberty Trace Farm, Kevin and Mikki Krause, educate people on the necessity of soil microbiology to grow nutrient-dense foods for optimal health.
Homemade Sage Oil
Autumn is the perfect season to cook with infused sage oil and it’s easy to make.
Southern Comfort Food: Old Fashioned Tea Cakes
The storied history of the Southern Tea Cake ties us to those generations who made them before us.
Compost
Making good compost requires the proper ratio of carbon and greens.
Returning to the Ginger Root
As another cold and flu season approaches, I find myself thinking less about the latest headlines and more about the quiet wisdom that once filled the kitchen pantries…
Returning Home to Local Food
Farm stands, home gardens, and small growers shorten the distance between land and table—and remind us that food carries culture, memory, stewardship, and the life of a community.
The Little Garden in Front of the Shelter
A meticulously tended garden in front of a Clarksville shelter reveals something larger than tomatoes and lettuce: dignity, stewardship, and hope taking root in an unlikely place.
Don’t Miss the Harvest
Once I committed to eating fresh, local food in season, I began to notice something I had overlooked for years. The calendar wasn’t only measured in months. It…