Death as a Way of Life
As a child, I found the fear of death mystifying. Raised in a culty, right-wing Christian family, my parents trotted out the message of...
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Planting at the Patch
New entries arrive on the fifteenth of each month.
Sacred Tomato
Jennifer Hill
Oct 15
Keeping/Kept
My vision of bees smacked of domestic idyll – slow buzzing on a calm spring day, productive harvesters meandering from blossom to...
Jennifer Hill
Sep 15
Vegetative Hedonism
Eat local or not at all. Who’s your farmer? No farms, no food. Support your local farmer. The slogans are many, and the logic is sound....
Jennifer Hill
Aug 15
Carrying Culture in a Tortilla
Eating is a human constant. It provides the energy necessary for physical survival, and structures celebrations like Thanksgiving...
Jennifer Hill
Jul 15
Eating Ovaries
I recently had the good fortune to visit Sandpoint, Idaho, in support of the folks there who are working to return some sanity to...
Jennifer Hill
May 15
The Basics: A Photo Essay
My thoughts of late have turned to planning for the seasons ahead. Who can I invite to live at the Patch? What twittering crowd can I...
Jennifer Hill
Apr 15
A Surfeit of Seeds, a Bevy of Bieledorfs, a Gaggle of Geese
I am a dedicated list maker, a firm believer in making my values visible on the page. Alongside reminders to spend time with my banjolele...
David (Max) Maxfield
Mar 15
Guest Post: Finally, I Get to Eat My Friends
Hi, all. This month, my friend Max contributes his perspective on carnivorous consumption. Enjoy! I eat my friends. I didn’t always....
Jennifer Hill
Feb 15
Essential Workers in the Web of Life
Spiders arrived this year. In the past, I spotted an occasional spider, usually a small one marching solo. In the last growing season,...
Jennifer Hill
Jan 15
Thoughts on Chocolate
Winters in Montana can be long and dark, so it was with pleasure that I found myself working in New Mexico for a week last month. I took...
Jennifer Hill
Dec 15, 2023
An Assemblage of Herbs
I tell myself that herbs are part of any respectable grower’s garden. But then I count more than forty distinct species thriving in the...
Jennifer Hill
Nov 15, 2023
Spilled Milk
I bundled up this morning and set out for a run, only to discover that the incessant wind was funneling snow grit down the valley with a...
Jennifer Hill
Oct 20, 2023
Sacred Tomato
My earliest tomato memory features my younger brother languishing for hours at the supper table in the late evening light, limp tomatoes...
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