May 31 2025
Parrots are easy to recognize but surprisingly difficult to summarize. Some are tiny enough to sit comfortably in your hand, while others are among the largest and heaviest birds capable of calling themselves parrots. Some live in enormous flocks, some form close pairs, some climb through trees almost as much as they fly, and one …
May 30 2025
June is when the garden really starts to feel alive. Spring growth has filled in, warm-season vegetables are settling into their beds, flowers are beginning to peak, and weeds seem capable of appearing overnight. It is also a month when small tasks can make a big difference later in summer. A little weeding now can …
May 29 2025
Letter writing may feel old-fashioned in a world of texts, emails, and instant messages, but a well-written letter still has something those faster forms of communication often lack: intention. Whether you’re sending a heartfelt note to someone you love, writing to a business about a problem, thanking someone for their kindness, or trying to persuade …
May 28 2025
Few summer side dishes are easier to love than grilled corn on the cob. Fresh sweet corn needs very little help, but putting it over a hot grill brings out even more of its natural sweetness while adding smoky flavor and lightly charred edges. From there, you can take grilled corn in almost any direction. …
May 27 2025
There is something grounding about working with plants. Watering seedlings, pulling weeds, watching tomatoes ripen, or noticing the first flower on a plant you started from seed can provide small moments of focus and satisfaction. Gardening also gets us outdoors, encourages movement, and creates a routine tied to something living and changing. Research has increasingly …
May 26 2025
A homemade sugar scrub is one of those DIY projects that feels much more elaborate than it actually is. With sugar, a simple carrier oil, and just a hint of mint, you can make a refreshing body scrub in minutes. This mint sugar scrub is especially nice for hands, elbows, knees, feet, and other areas …
May 25 2025
Kimchi is far more than one recipe for spicy fermented cabbage. Across Korean cooking, the word covers an extraordinary range of seasoned vegetable dishes. Some are fiery red with gochugaru. Others contain no chile at all. Some ferment until noticeably sour, while others are delicious immediately after they are prepared. Cabbage may be the best-known …
May 24 2025
Companion planting is one of gardening’s most appealing ideas. Plant basil beside your tomatoes and pests disappear. Add marigolds and nematodes supposedly flee. Tuck in a few herbs and your tomatoes will somehow taste better. Some of those claims have been repeated for generations, but not all of them hold up particularly well when researchers …
May 22 2025
A rainforest filled with thousands of species is biodiversity. So is a prairie buzzing with insects, a coral reef crowded with fish, a teaspoon of living soil, and an old orchard containing varieties of apples that have nearly disappeared from commercial farms. Biodiversity is the extraordinary variety of life on Earth—and the relationships that connect …
May 21 2025
A cup of tea can be one of the simplest things in the world: leaves, hot water, a few quiet minutes. It can also be an elaborate ceremony, a gesture of hospitality, a daily street-side ritual, an afternoon social event, or a tradition passed from one generation to the next. Tea has traveled astonishing distances …
