The Journal
Essays, Field Notes, portraits, photographs, food stories, and observations from a life rooted in place.
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Latest from Land & Lore
Regenerative Gardening
Regenerative gardening begins with a different way of seeing: not a plot to manage into submission, but a living community of soil, roots, insects, flowers, food, and patient…
The Photo Essay: Carrots
Something extraordinary happened to me the summer before I entered the sixth grade. I didn’t recognize it as extraordinary then, and I don’t remember anyone else thinking much…
The Story Behind Our Thanksgiving Turkey
Autumn has long been my favorite season. Late autumn, especially, carries a quiet beauty unlike any other time of year. The frantic work of spring and the abundance…
The Kitchen Garden
“Odd as I am sure it will appear to some, I can think of no better form of personal involvement than that of gardening. A person who is…
Riding Through History: Mooresville, Alabama
Mooresville, Alabama, is best seen at the speed of a bicycle—where weathered porches, old brick paths, wildflowers, and an operating historic post office reveal a town quietly tending…
Cycling in Elkmont, Alabama
On Alabama’s Richard Martin Trail, an old railroad corridor becomes a slower road through farmland, history, and small-town life—best discovered one pedal stroke at a time.
Discovering the Rails Between the Stories
Abandoned railroad beds become paths through landscape and memory, inviting us to travel more slowly by bicycle and discover the communities and stories gathered along the way.
The Making of Strong Women
The Quiet Making of Strong Women Today is International Women’s Day. As happens every year, social media is full of opinions about what that should mean. Some celebrate…
Beyond the Name
Every few years, the culinary world discovers something it acts as though it has just invented. Suddenly it’s everywhere. Instagram feeds overflow with carefully arranged bowls of vibrant…
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Again
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Again For more than fifty years, children—and the adults who love them—have delighted in the little caterpillar who eats his way through an astonishing…
Chocolate Walnut Flourless Cookies
There is something quietly generous about a homemade Christmas cookie. Long before gifts are exchanged or dinner is served, a simple plate of freshly baked cookies on the…
Life in the Age of Technology
Around a dinner table, the conveniences of modern technology give way to a harder question: what do we lose when efficiency begins to replace attention, presence, and human…