News, nature, and community throughout the Emerald Triangle
Laundromats exude a numbing bleakness. Generally dirty, overused, and overpriced, they squeeze money one quarter at a time from people poor enough to cry when they spill milk. However, in the towns of Southern Humboldt, washing ones’ dirty linen in public can be an edifying and amusing experience. When young hill men come into large amounts of cash, they
Read moreI can’t say if its truth or tale but I’ve heard this one told more than a few times. Once a city man came to stay with a woman here and, in the way of some men, he thought he owned her. First with words and then with fists, he frightened and hurt her. Secrets like this can be kept
Read moreI’ve heard city people snickering about the old redneck saying that “when it’s raining you can’t fix the roof and when it ain’t raining you don’t need to.” Well, up here in these Humboldt hills that isn’t just a humorous story. If you’re a busy country person without anybody to please but yourself, you might go for the easy solution.
Read moreThe night sky shimmers with a spill of dust that trails across the whole sky. The BBQ glows on the patio cupping a smoldering heap of Halloween colors. The potatoes whistle in the oven (Yes, they do! Some unimaginative people might say they sizzle but, to my ear, it is a contented, albeit, tuneless whistle). My oldest son created a
Read moreWe started a tradition a few years back, the local kids gather at our community school and pile into a car to go trick-or-treating. We live in a very rural area so our houses are often miles apart and the kids usually manage less than a dozen homes. So we often end with a treat. This year, some incredible people
Read moreAs his pale lips pressed against her rosy neck, she flinched once, shuddered and subsided beneath his sharp teeth. At last, he raised his face. Even her blood on his mouth wasn’t as red as the rich hue that now flushed his lips and cheeks. “Andi, now what are you letting the boys watch?” Even if I hadn’t heard her
Read moreShe’s a delicate damsel wearing a ridiculous sun hat. I’d like to introduce you but I don’t know her name.
Read moreAt twelve, I lobbied hard for a costume that required me to slide beauty over my everyday face– a belly dancer or a model or even Snow White– but Mama said she didn’t have time to make one. Of course, it was out of the question to buy a costume. We didn’t have much money but, more than that, it
Read moreAs I muddle through the middle of my life, I discover I love foliage more than flowers and Fall more than Spring. I aspire to emulate maples which explode in joy and color even as they reach the end of their cycle. When chlorophyll recedes from autumn leaves, the vibrant tones that have been hidden reveal themselves in passionate purples
Read moreTrailing hot on the heels of September’s Harvest Moon, October’s Hunter stalked the sky last night using occasional clouds for camouflage. The waning of the one and the waxing of the other has significance for those who nestle their cabins deep in the Humboldt Hills.
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