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On AI

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So I am not the type of person who gets excited about new technology. All that often. I tend believe that the techno-optimist approach to engineering our way out of extinction is folly and based on some deep misunderstandings about energy, ecological and epistemology. The basic equation is, every new technology that gives humans a competitive advantage over natural forces creates negative externalities and that civilization is ultimately a mad scramble to fix the problems that its very existence, creates.

AI is no different. We are promised such a great leap in technical efficiencies that we will finally totally and completely untether ourselves from dependence on things like energy scarcity or pesky biophysical limits when really we are just guzzling more and more energy to chase after a future that’ll never come.

I’m a bit of a Luddite that way.

That being said, I recently stumbled onto an AI chat bot called FieldLark, developed by the executive editor of Acres USA and… wow… am I surprised. This feels like the first wholesome use of the technology to date. It gave me really practical information and viewed its responses through the lenses of ecology first. I asked it about the regenerative farm that my wife and I are going to start in Virginia. It gave me accurate, ecotype specific recommendations for plantings that aligned with my goals and legitimate organizations that could help me further and possibly offer cost sharing opportunities. I hope you all try it and find it as valuable as I have

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Finding our Flow on the Chuck Keiper, Mostly

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Amos crossing a bridge on the Chuck Keiper Trail

What a joy it was to walk, simply walk, following a singular route for over twenty miles. Since I last wrote we have hiked the eastern loop of the Chuck Keiper Trail. The southern part of this loop is also included in the PAW Mega Loop. This is a very lightly traveled trail located in remote Sproul State Forest. Sproul State Forest is the largest state forest in the state, spanning 305,000 acres. It is also home to not only the usual woodland creatures such as a healthy bear population, but elk. The local medical center is also said to stock more rattlesnake anti-venom than any other in the state (source: Dave Gantz). We chose this route because it was entirely new to us. The eastern loop was said to be in better shape than the western, and according to the topo, looked a less rugged as well. I figured Amos and I could just set the gears to cruise here. 

Meadow along the Chuck Keiper

We began at the parking area for the East Branch Trail late in the day. I was delighted to find the trail well-marked and easy to follow as we wound through shaded woods and alongside a swamp. We camped within just a few miles beside a great big boulder. But, Amos seemed on edge here. Normally, once the tent is up, he settles in for the night. However, he was all ears. I, too, felt the woods were alive, but generally had good vibes and could see nothing out of the ordinary. That evening as we lay sleeping, we suddenly awoke to the cracking of twigs, rustling of leaves, and finally, a loud snort. I was relieved when I heard that snort! Just a deer. Snort all you want, I thought to myself. But then the snorting continued. I zipped up my sleeping bag a little more and rolled over. Then the creature stomped his hoof so loud it reverberated. The snorting continued. It began to dawn on me then, this may not be a deer, but an elk! Amos was at attention, his head up, ears pricked. I pet him to assure there was no need for alarm. Even if I was a little alarmed. We lay there as quietly as we could while the snorting and stomping continued. Finally, our night-time visitor, whom we had clearly agitated with our unfamiliar tent, seemed to circumnavigate our tent and dash into the woods on the other side of us. In the distance I heard faint snorting, then farther off yet, a bugle.

Crossing hot and sunny plateau

Our first full day on the CKT, we encountered bountiful water sources and crested the plateau. Here the colors were popping and the conditions were crispy. Rain, as those of you in the region know, has been scarce, and this higher elevation terrain showed it. We walked alongside scores of young sassafras with zigzagging, furrowed trunks and scarlet leaves. So many, I noticed, had only entire leaves, meaning leaves without lobes. Typically sassafras sports entire, mitten-, and t-rex-foot-shaped leaves. However, not these, they were largely uniform. Yet, so fragrant, when I cracked a twig. Despite the dry conditions, by goodness, the scents in the forest on this day were invigorating, such as the scent of sweet fern baking along a sunny dry path or the smell of wet soil in a cool dark hollow. We trekked along fast as we could here, dodging the artfully constructed spiderwebs and I picking the ticks off us both, and were relieved when we finally descended, very steeply, to a creek.
Sassafras leaf (entire) – the roots of this tree were a traditional ingredient in ol’ time root beer. They are also medicinal, lending a warming and moistening quality to tissues.
Benjamin Run was just what we needed and a perfect spot for camp. That evening a nearly full moon shone bright, reflecting in the pool you see here. A northern saw-whet owl serenaded us. 

The third day, well, the trail took a turn. We were cruising, despite the surprisingly steep ups and downs. They weren’t all that long nor that technical and were interspersed with rolling easy terrain. However, as we descended from Grugan Hollow Road, dropping down quick and then gradually farther and farther into the hollow, the blowdowns began. First just a couple, then a couple more. Here the trail is cut into a towering, wooded embankment, wide enough just for our six feet. Blowdowns in such a spot are tricky, trickier yet when you’re lifting your pup by the rear to help him over or climbing the steep hillside to go ’round them all together. The blowdowns continued, now interspersed with thickets of blackberry vines, stinging wood nettle, and saplings. Eventually that’s all there was, a thicket on wooded mountainside crisscrossed with fallen trees. We pressed on. I sure didn’t want to navigate all that we’d already traversed. We tore through vines, and I slid on loose rock and mud. Blood dripped from my arms and legs. My knee that had felt a tad sore was relieved by pure adrenaline. Amos followed my every command, but I feared for those feet I’d been nursing and the leg that had been repaired. When I finally lost sight of the blazes ahead, any semblance of a trail beneath my feet long gone, we doubled back. Heading all the way up that steep climb to Grugan Hollow. 

Doing battle with the mountain, especially in shorts is never a good idea

Now to make matters all the more interesting. I was due to meet up with my dear friend, Star Left, whom I first met on the Finger Lakes Trail more than 10 years ago along the trail, and has joined me on many trails. She had parked west of where I planned to camp and would hike east towards me. We’d meet in the middle. Little did we know there was an impasse right in that spot. There would be no meeting in the middle when I was now on gravel forest road in mid-day sun so hot that the light rippled in the distance. Amos and I took a break beneath the shade of an oak, guzzled water and recovered. Then we walked three miles on that road and backtracked as far as we could on the Keiper in search of Star Left. I feared she might be lost in the impasse or worry about my whereabouts all night long.

Finally uniting with Star Left!

We never did connect that night, but she finally got cell service early evening. She’d made it through the impasse. Go Star Left!! And ended up on that road too. But she’d gotten a ride back to her car. I was now camped halfway down the hollow. I went to sleep exhausted, my spirits heavy. However, I awoke early. I looked us over. Amos walked about camp easily. We were scratched up and weary, but Amos’ paws looked good, and all our parts worked. The morning’s miles went by easily and we finally united with Star Left at Drake Hollow. There we took a leisurely lunch and compared battle wounds from the Boggs Run impasse. With much reluctance, I said goodbye to Star Left and Amos and I headed up, up, up a well-graded grassy path where we were rewarded with the most peaceful campsite of the entire trek thus far.
Our camp in a circle of Witch Hazel

We’d taken a chance that we’d find a place to pitch a tent. There was no campsite listed but I wanted to get that final climb under our belts to make our last day an easy one. What a gift when we crested the plateau and found a wide path flanked by spacious woods. First the shade of a pine caught my eye. It was late afternoon, and the temps were around 80 degrees, we needed shade. But I carried on a tad farther, and suddenly I spotted it – a perfect cirlce of witch hazel shrubs. Three shrubs, one quite large, the others still maturing, framing a lovely flat spot with plenty of space for our tent. We collapsed in the shade. We guzzled water. I set up the tent and Amos scratched out a spot in the leaves beneath the elder witch hazel. I have slept many nights in the shelter of witch hazel and always rested easy. She is a shrub known for protection and for nourishment (she signals water). She also plays host to so many critters, and some nights, those critters are a girl and her coonhound. That night as the full moon shone through the scalloped leaves, creating a shadowy artwork on the top of the tent, I gave thanks. Thanks for our healthy bodies, thanks for this trail to walk, thanks for friends, thanks to all the living forest.
A victorious selfie at Fish Dam Vista

We finished up the loop with easy miles on forest roads and along shaded and grassy trails along the plateau. At Fish Dam Vista we reveled in an incredible view that stretched for miles. I was just so happy to be walking, this pup by my side. We’d had a rough start to this trek, but together we had adapted, and were now finding our stride. That doesn’t mean it’ll be a cakewalk from here on out. Boggs Run is proof of that. But when we’re walking, all six of our feet, and the leaves are crunching underfoot, the sun is shining through the canopy, the scent of sweet fern and hemlock permeates, we’re on the trail, body, mind, and soul, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Now where are we headed next?
Sneezeweed

We’re presently sheltering from the rain and prepping for colder temps. We also appreciated all the services of Renovo: grocery, laundromat (next to the Legion), pharmacy, and post office. Tomorrow onto the Quehanna Wild Area we go! I’m sorting out our route and looking forward to revisiting this special place and exploring some new-to-us connecting trails. Thank you for sharing in our story with us!

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Guiding a Japanese Maple Toward Outdoor Bonsai Form | Early Fall Tree Stewardship in NJ

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This fall, I began shaping a 10-year-old Japanese maple into an outdoor bonsai—not in a pot, but directly in the landscape. My goal is to guide its natural form slowly over time, encouraging structure and resilience while keeping it rooted in living soil.

I used hand pruning only—no wiring or string—focusing on branch reduction and canopy balance. The shaping took about two hours and was done with care to avoid stress, especially as the tree prepares for dormancy.

This is part of a broader effort to integrate long-term tree care into a seasonal rhythm, honoring both aesthetics and ecological health. I added compost around the base and monitored for signs of stress post-pruning. So far, the tree is responding well.

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Stinky Fungus Take Over

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Hey everyone! Ive been gardening in this bed for awhile now and been trying to amend the soil with compost, wood chips, yard waste, & anything but fertilizer. Unfortunately this season things were struggling in this bed such as the brussel sprout which took on no size, tomatoes which all produced fruit once then died, and even the arugula is having trouble growing. Everything except the bittter melon, which suddenly took off just a month ago and the green onions on the perimeter of the bed. Then for the last month, these fungus (theyre orange in the picture & has brown slime on them) has been popping up everywhere nonstop. I saw a one or two mid summer, but now theyre taking over the garden bed. If i dig into the bed, there are white nodules that i assume is a fungus network. Just need help understanding whats happening and if this is a net positive for the bed eventually. Im trying to respect the process and let things happen as it does without adding external fertilizer, but please share recommendations on any amendments you can tell i need!

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