Looking for the Union Label

...d a highly catchy ad jingle from the roller disco era, “Look for the Union Label” (youngsters can watch it on youtube here). We looked for the union label and we were surprised to find it via a company called Union House which carries a functional, if unexciting line of apparel. Unless hipsters take to golf shirts in an ironic fashion judo move, these offerings will never be cool like the domestically made clothes made by the union busting folks o...

Read…

Chicken of the Woods 2022

...ings heat waves, fires and smog. The one ray of light is the appearance of chicken of the woods mushrooms (Laetiporus gilbertsonii is the species we have here) a delicious and easy to identify fungus whose favorite host in our neighborhood is the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua). One needs to set realistic expectations when it comes to finding edible mushrooms in our dry climate. To take a walk and simply enjoy the sight of fruiting mushrooms should...

Read…

An All-Cement Chicken House

...g that has way too many subjects for its own good, I take great comfort in the eclecticism of Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Magazine. In the pages of the Craftsman you’ll find poems by Carl Sandburg, and critiques of Maxim Gorky next to practical tips on the construction of chicken coops. As to this particular coop, from a 1916 issue, I agree that, “Beauty certainly cannot be claimed.” And the production of concrete is an environmental nightmare so...

Read…