We ogle plants and animals up close on television, the Internet and in the movies. We may not worship the animals we see, but we still regard them as necessary physical and spiritual companions. Technological nature can't completely satisfy that yearning.

Our skin is what stands between us and the world.

And yet, words are the passkeys to our souls. Without them, we can't really share the enormity of our lives.

Writing is my form of celebration and prayer.

habit, a particularly insidious thug who chokes passion and smothers love. Habit puts us on autopilot.

Devising a vocabulary for gardening is like devising a vocabulary for sex. There are the correct Latin names, but most people invent euphemisms. Those who refer to plants by Latin name are considered more expert, if a little pedantic.

As a species, we've somehow survived large and small ice ages, genetic bottlenecks, plagues, world wars and all manner of natural disasters, but I sometimes wonder if we'll survive our own ingenuity.