By March Twisdale Today, on Vashon Island, most people police themselves and their speech. Reticence to express full and honest opinions has become the norm. I know this because people tell me it is so. A woman slows to a stop in the middle of the road, calling out to me, “You’re March Twisdale, right?…
By Anthony Latora Spagyrics aspire to redefine what herbal medicine can be. Rooted in the Renaissance era, yet increasingly affirmed by modern analysis, they offer a way of preparing plants that seeks not merely to extract their chemistry, but to preserve their wholeness. Rather than viewing a plant as a collection of isolated compounds, the…
By Caitlin Rothermel It’s tomato season, and maybe your garden is overflowing. It seemed like a good time to share this delicious salsa adapted from “The Moosewood Cookbook.” I discovered Moosewood in college in the 1980s, just as I was learning to cook. At the time, it seemed like everyone owned a copy, and for…
A Health Matter By Caitlin Rothermel If humming came in a pill, you would probably consider taking it. One of humming’s most measured effects is on the nervous system. Even a single session of humming promotes parasympathetic activity, also known as the “rest and digest” state. This is the body’s natural recovery mode, where the heart slows,…
Do not weep when the Sun will seem to be receding soonSing to this longest day of the year and its eternal dawn Sing to the Summer, that vast expanse of blue above greenAnd to the way that Time slows down at the top of its wheel Lop-sided with gravity every six months, leaning in…
By S.E. Reid Editor’s Note: Ferris Island is “located right at the elbow where Puget Sound meets the Salish Sea,” with “some strange hidden corners and a very unusual history.” Please enjoy this tale of an island similar in many ways to what we Islanders like to speak of as our own “Old Vashon.” For…
We listen to the voicethat says grass and starsthe voice that knows perfectlyhow to describe luminescence. We wait patiently onthe foothold of Marchto see early crocusand daffodils pushingthrough earth’s cold skin. We remember soft slippersawait us at the foot of the bed. The moon and sun rise againand again in the eternal blanket of heavenas…