Woodsy

Two dogs, two people, two days in the Central Oregon forest. You live cleaner with a view like this out your window, you wanna wake up early just so you can walk in the woods and smell those morning smells—deep pine and dirt all sharpened by the cold air.

But the dogs, Lefty and his brother Duke (who we borrowed from his family for the trip), had the most fun. I like the way they rip it all fast for the sheer pleasure in running when they encounter a wide open space—bursting with joy and a kinda existential wild animal-ness. I watch that and it makes me feel good to be alive.

At night, this festive little bridge lit up the river in front of the cabin, and I couldn't help but feel like, with a thick blanket of snow, this might be the very bridge St. Nicholas himself would trudge across with a coal lantern and big burlap sack. You never know ...

Greatfruit

Isn’t it nice that, as the days slide darkly and coldly into winter, something as vivid and as citrus fruit would come into season? I love walking into the winter market and finding huge boxes of navel oranges, great piles of tangerines and tangelos, and glowing baskets of Cara Cara oranges (of which I’ve already sung the praises on these pages). They’re as restorative to look at as they are to eat.

Anyhow, my very favorite of all things citrus is the pink grapefruit. Wait, let me rephrase that—my very favorite citrus is a REALLY GOOD pink grapefruit. Hence: I only eat them in season. I worship at the altar of the kind of grapefruit that weighs heavily in your hand, so replete with juice is it, and when you jab your spoon in and taste it—expecting sour—you get sweet. An unexpected burst of sugar, like a gift, but still with that tart jolt of life that those other, more saccharine fruits don’t have. It’s the kind of thing that can set the tone for your entire day, you know?

I like to cut them in half and spoon out each little section or cut them into slices and suck all the pulp and juice out using my teeth. I never peel them and eat them like an orange because that is weird.

Pet Sounds

Just read the below poem and it got me thinkin. Everybody should have an animal in their life—even if it's the feral cat out back that you feed the rest of your cocoa puffs milk to—so you can know that you're not the center of the universe, that other beings need care and and love, too. Friendship with animals is, maybe, one of the purist, most joy-giving things in existence, don't ya know?

Shackleton's Decision

By Faith Shearlin

At a certain point he decided they could not afford the dogs. It was someone's job to take them one by one behind a pile of ice and shoot them. I try to imagine the arctic night which descended and would not lift,

a darkness that clung to their clothes. Some men objected because the dogs were warmth and love, reminders of their previous life where they slept in soft beds, their bellies warm with supper. Dog tails were made

of joy, their bodies were wrapped in a fur of hope. I had to put the book down when I read about the dogs walking willingly into death, following orders, one clutching an old toy between his teeth. They trusted

the men who led them into this white danger, this barren cold. My God, they pulled the sleds full of provisions and barked away the Sea Leopards. Someone was told to kill the dogs because supplies

were running low and the dogs, gathered around the fire, their tongues wet with kindness, knew nothing of betrayal; they knew how to sit and come, how to please, how to bow their heads, how to stay.

Grazing

We are entering a festive season—one of rich, decadent meals that come with a range of accompanying desserts and hours of prep time. Guys, this is not something to complain about—and I promise that’s not what I’m doing. I’m just saying that there should be balance in all things, and so on those nights in between the parties and family bonanzas, I prefer a simple meal that blends a bunch of bangin’ snacks. That way, you can sit on the floor in front of your coffee table, turn on an episode of Mythbusters, and graze at will. It’s nice!

Plate One:

Sliced apples

Brie

Honey, drizzled

Plate Two:

On the fly crostini: slice a baguette, slather each piece with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toast in the oven until golden brown.

Plate Three:

Steamed kale, dressed with red-wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Plate Four:

Flour tortillas, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, cut into triangles, and then toasted in the oven until crispy.

Hummus

Spicy pesto dip: combine plain whole-milk yogurt with pesto and a smidgen of chopped jalapeños.

Connection...?

"This is the illusion which might cheat us of being in touch deeply with the one breathing next to us. The dangerous time when mechanical voices, radios, telephones, take the place of human intimacies, and the concept of being in touch with millions brings a greater and greater poverty in intimacy and human vision."—Aniais Nin