Uprooted, an eco/travel blog

A year ago today, I was watching the first signs of spring: spots of color breaking through the greens, grays and rusty browns of northern California.

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The land out here is not entirely welcoming. As it should be: this area is nearly pristine, not a place you want to share. Those who live here suit themselves in spines, and rub elbows rarely.
Jon has been here for ten years, and has seen some things; he left word that we weren’t [...]

Observing changes in the natural world is more than just a pleasant pastime: it’s an important method of information-gathering that can help us assess climate change and other factors.

Groundhog, originally uploaded by WelshTart

As it turns out, Groundhog Day and today’s Catholic holiday Candlemas were both preceded by the pagan holiday Imbolc, also referred to as St. Brigid’s Day. That’s right, today is an ancient holiday. I’m not much for sacred days, but the pagan ones are usually worth paying attention to: they generally [...]

No two ways about it, good firewood is the most important thing you can have up here. When it gets down to 20 degrees each night and never fully thaws during the day, even a well-built house doesn’t keep you warm— and few things are more frustrating than spending three hours trying to nurse a [...]

That’s a photo that Face took of the cabin we’re staying in. As you can see, there’s not a lot out here. Just about nothing, actually. This cabin is up in the wilds of BFE, a fair piece off Route 96 on a mostly-deserted mountain. A small group of white people have settled up here [...]