Take a break from worrying about the fate of the Republic, beyond the locked gates of a forested park where the pine trees offer fine company and conversation and the view from on high poses some good questions.
-
-
ONE/PHOTO: What the thistle tells
'the ants quickly took to the milk thistle this year. her bloom doesn’t last long. maybe two days. they seem to be in sync with this knowing, almost as if there is a pulse they can feel when she begins her bloom.'
-
VIDEO: “WATER/CLOUD/WIND/LEAF: A Hoeft Marsh Melody”
Hoeft Marsh in Greenbottom WV is where I go when I want to get off the timeline of the world's news. Here's a short, lyrical visit there. It's a little fishy, at the end.
-
PICTURE/SHOW: A taste for solitude & forests in West Virginia hill country
'Have I cared enough about the water? Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom? Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild's fondness?'
-
PICTURE/SHOW: The Hills & Dales of Al Peery’s West Virginia
When it comes to Autumn in the West Virginia outback, nothing could be finer than Al Peery framing the scene from his wanderings in the West Virginia wilderness.
-
POEM: “Almost” by Marc Harshman
'The world will go on without me but for these few moments I am/ sitting on top of the world, a simple summer's day, away/ from the busy rush of roads, the scrolling of screens,/ almost off the map, almost heaven, almost where/ sky meets eternity ...'
-
CLIMATE/CRISIS: Taking the measure of climate change in three short videos
In three short videos, take the measure of climate change. The climate crisis deepens every day, yet more and more people planet-wide awaken daily to the reality of what must be done to turn down the fever threatening the planet.
-
READINGS: Three from “Corona Time Capsule”
'Feed Them on Peaches,' 'Grass Fire,' and '¡Ya Basta!' — three excerpts of poetry and prose from poet James Cochran's forthcoming book "Corona Time Capsule."
-
VIDEO: Getting Kids Talking About Climate Change
The best time to address the growing crisis of global climate change was yesterday. The next best time is today. But how to get kids themselves talking about climate change? Here is a video than can help.
-
VIDEOS: The Pillars of the WV Climate Alliance
The West Virginia Climate Alliance is a coalition of nearly 20 West Virginia-based environmental organizations, faith-based, civil rights and civic groups with a focus on climate change. This short video describes the three pillars that drive Climate Alliance efforts to address "the most important and essential work of these times."
-
MUSIC/VIDEO: “Sonata for Piano & West Virginia, No. 1”
We invite you to take five minutes from feeling harassed by the news or our own hectic heads for "Sonata for Piano & West Virginia No. 1." It offers another way of looking at West Virginia and those parts that remain uncorrupted, fresh, and true.
-
PHOTO/EDITORIAL: Springtime for a Supermajority in W.Va.
The desire to bust out of a politically benighted, often colonially run, and depressed-in-every-which-way state has a long and storied past. Where I am right now on the 'fight/flight/freeze' syndrome that comes with living in West Virginia.
-
NATUREGRAM: Cleanup needed at the Huntington Museum of Art trail
I normally post photographs and videos of Nature in all its solitudinous glory, when sickened by social media junk food and needing more wholesome nourishment. But our dear Mother is not always picture postcard perfect when we seek her aid.
-
NATUREGRAM: Two minutes of nothing but pines, plus some calming music
We can't share with you the sweet aroma of a stand of pine trees in Putnam County, West Virginia. But we can share with you the experience of standing among them. A new WestVirginiiaVille shelter-in-nature short video.
-
ARTSHOW: ‘How Do You Serve the Ice?’
How do you properly shoot, process, and filter photographs of an ice storm for the ages? How about artifying them? But how much is too much? Here are some humble attempts to portray the Great Winter Ice Storm of 2021.
-
MUSICVIDEO: “Winter Walking,” when it’s not such a wonderland
A long winter grips the land. Add in cabin-fever weariness from a year-long COVID quarantine—and you can be forgiven if it seems like we are living through "a winter that never dies." Here's a music video about that.
-
PHOTOPOEM: “When Hay Bales Speak to You”
Let’s talk hay bales. I have, perhaps like you, been spying hay bales most all my life. Yet, in all that time haven’t met a hay bale. Up close. The other day, I had my chance.
-
VIDEO: “Chasing Birds in Snow”
Take a 2-minute excursion into the heart of the heart of Nature, as a bunch of birds play leapfrog in the midst of a West Virginia snow squall.
-
VIDEO: “The Edge of Day”
Thoughts on high while at the edge of day. An original short video production featuring imagery and music by Bobby Lee Messer and words by Kim Wilkinson.
-
VIDEO: A Sky-high View of the New River Gorge Bridge
The New River Gorge Bridge is one of West Virginia's most iconic landmarks. But have you ever seen it from an eagle's eye view—or maybe an Olympian god's?
