Travelin’ and Livin’ Off the Land
Back-to-the-Land homesteaders in the 1970s were captivated by the idyll of self-sufficient mountain living.
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Why Chautauqua is the Summer Camp that Soothes the Soul
The people who visit the Chautauqua Institution are there to seek solace, and turn their minds away from a troubled world.
The Never-Ending Life of the Veggie Garden
I prefer not to think of the end of the summer growing season as the “death” of our vegetable garden, but as a transition into something new and different.
While My Garden Gently Sleeps
It is right about this time of year—the end of February—that I start to get the garden itch.
The Most Prestigious Club You Probably Never Heard Of
Tucked away a discrete distance from busy Delaware Avenue, and a stone’s throw from the famous Wilcox Mansion where Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as President after the assassination of William McKinley, lies a stately Italian Renaissance-style structure that I suspect few people in Buffalo have ever noticed, let alone visited. It is the home […]
The Fruits (and Veggies) of Our Labor
There are few things in life more rewarding than growing your own food—harvesting, cooking, and eating it being the exceptions. Yet these elemental skills are sadly diminishing in our modern world, where processed and packaged food is inexpensive to buy or quick and easy to prepare. Even those aware of the health risks associated with […]
The Open Hearts and Gardens of Western New York
The front of the house was very pretty, the flower border a vivid mix of colors and textures. I was admiring the understated, whimsical touches that added visual interest, while I waited for my sister who went ahead to scope out the back yard. She reappeared, motioning excitedly. “Come on,” she said, “the yard is […]
The Bodacious Gardens of Buffalo
When I was growing up on the West Side, little did I know that my crowded, urban neighborhood would one day host the biggest, most beautiful Garden Walk in America.
Who Speaks for the Trees?
I lived through one of our nation’s most devastating tree pandemics–Dutch Elm Disease–and I hope I never witness another.
Strawberry Backs and Blackberry Fingers
As an inner city child, one of the things I looked forward to every summer was a trip to the countryside to pick berries.
Small Victories
Back in 1943, nearly every yard on the West Side of Buffalo, no matter the size, became what was then called a Victory Garden. My mother and father both recall the vibrant, productive gardens that filled these small spaces, and remember doing what they could to contribute, though they were only small children when World […]
Change is Gonna Come
When I go home to Buffalo, I never pass up an opportunity to visit my old neighborhood on the Upper West Side. Photo courtesy of Maria Eley.