cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
Getting into gardening these past five years has taught me more about being a human on this earth than most things. My garden offers me a glimpse into the tiniest thrummings of life that crawl among the soil, the way it so delicately and yet boldly holds life and death, and its need for seasons…
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*The following post contains elements about eating behaviors that could feel triggering. I have been walking around hungry most of my life. Food was just inches away, yet it did not feel like it was accessible. Not to me. This is true because there was so much more that I wanted. I didn’t just want…
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A few years ago, my kids and I stumbled upon the insane mystery of Devil’s Hole in Death Valley National Park, Nevada. This ultra-deep pool of water fed by underground aquifers lies in one of the most arid regions on earth. It is also habitat to one of the rarest subspecies of fish on the…
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When I was a girl, my grandmother used to buy me the most beautiful books. I’d sit and study them. I’d weave myself into their magical illustrations and storylines—the heroes within, the longings of main characters, the mythical power of nature’s forces—and I’d get lost in the rhythm of beginning, middle, and end. I’d imagine…
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I remember my grandma‘s white lace curtains hanging over the windows in her bedroom. I would stare at them with tear-stained eyes as I sat on her bed, telling her of my sorrows and loss. It didn’t matter if I was 8 or 38 years old; she would listen compassionately and then touch my shoulder…
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I once knew a girl who was free. She wasn’t weighed down by worry or shame, and she got lost in adventures led by her fearless feet. Occasional scrapes and snags were part of the passion. Mending her wings seemed to require just a little rest, and then she’d fly off again. I long for…
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In honor of the tenth anniversary of Red Tent Living, we are featuring a monthly legacy post written by one of our regular contributors from the past decade. Kacy Davis was one of our early regular contributors, joining us in January 2014. She filled a unique spot as a young, unexpectedly single woman and tenderly…
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I’d booked a room of my own for a week at a lodge on the outskirts of Cosby, Tennessee—a town too sleepy to care if you call it the middle of nowhere. Set just off a creek where horses grazed freely on miles of green meadow, the lodge I’d chosen had a wraparound deck, a…
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In honor of the tenth anniversary of Red Tent Living, we are featuring a monthly legacy post written by one of our regular contributors from the past decade. Ellen Oelsen is one of our original writers and served on our lead team for years. Her generous and nurturing presence helped shape and cultivate all aspects…
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I found them gathered on the back deck. PJ pants, hoodies, and hot cups of coffee in hand, my four daughters were circled up and telling stories to one another. The seventeen years that separates them is starting to feel less difficult to close, especially today as the topic at hand is their bodies. The…
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