Ephemeral

I remember learning the spring ephemerals in college - trout lily,  quaker lady, Virginia bluebell, violet. We'd wander through the woods behind some housing development with a notebook, crouching to study the flowers, hoping the latin would stick.

Sky, Dirt, Basil

My final week of traveling before I headed home to Boston was in Chiang Mai, Thailand where I really learned how to use a mortar and pestle. You can't be a wimp about it, especially when you're working with hard, dried spices and woody ginger and lemongrass. You have to be strong. And patient. Even zen.