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Dismembering
THE KNIFE in my right hand carves through a limb of bitter cherry and slices into the tip of my left thumb, denser than air but more porous than wood. I Continue reading
Inner Life
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Why I Need You to Take World Octopus Day Seriously
In our November/December 2011 issue, author and naturalist Sy Montgomery wrote “Deep Intellect,” which investigated the inner life of the octopus. Since its publication this feature remains the most-read Orion article Continue reading
Lay of the Land
The Price of Cherries
THE SECOND SPRING in our new home, the tree by the mailbox bursts into white blossoms. Last year, the blooms snapped off under a hard late frost. But now I hope Continue reading
Lay of the Land
The Last Cricket
BLAME IT ON OCTOBER. A nor’easter blows rain for three straight days and the gleam of blackened tree trunks lifts every summer thought from my head. Then one night I find Continue reading
blog post
Listen: “Origin Stories”
Over two years ago, my mother died from lung cancer at sixty-one years old. While she never smoked, she did grow up downwind from Rocky Flats, a major nuclear weapons Continue reading