I confess. I hold a special place in my heart for seaweed. Once when I running on the beach I sliced my foot on a shell. "Wrap it in seaweed," my Mom said. The wound healed quickly. Then, after moving to Alaska I discovered the magic of using seaweed in the garden...   more »

The world could use more love, right? This car was parked just a half block from my house. I was excited, I mean, how many L-O-V-E license plates can there be in this world! I grabbed my Canon digital SLR camera and, in spite of the 7-degree air temperature, I skeedaddled on over, laid down on my belly and took a bunch of photos.

Don't you think Subaru needs to use this photo in their next ad campaign?

"What the World Needs Now is Love"
by Burt Bacharach
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.

It took me years to learn how to photograph snowflakes. And now, I am pleased as punch to tell you that the National Wildlife Federation has chosen one of my photographs for their popular line of greeting cards. (To see a larger image (and yes, even to order a few cards), click here.)

How do you photograph a snowflake? It took a lot of research and trial and error. First, using a wooden toothpick, I "capture" a real snowflake on a glass microscope slide coated with a liquid plastic resin, which has the consitency of corn syrup. The resin replaces the water, leaving a perfect replica which I then photograph under a microscope. In case you're wondering, I haven't found two identical snowflakes. At least not yet. From rainy, snowless Kodiak Island-- Cheers, Marion

Every week in Kodiak, Alaska, a small group of dedicated people stand in a clump of birch trees near the post office. Rain or shine, they clutch handmade signs. Drivers acknowledge them with a thumbs up, a honk or cold silence…   more »

Okay, so Ted Koppel gets to speak before me. Nonetheless, I will follow two days later with the panel/workshop, "Innovative Ways to Market Organic Products." Speakers include Perry Goldschein, Managing Director, SRB Marketing, Michael Martin, Prez, MusicMatters and yours truly, Marion Owen of PlanTea, Inc.

It's all happening at All Things Organic, touted as North America's only all organic conference and trade show. [Conference: May 6-9, 2006; Exhibits: May 7-9, 2006], McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois. Steve Levitt, author of the bestseller, Freakonomics, is the keynote speaker.

I've packed my camera, protein bars (not organic), recording equipment, smoked salmon and oh yeah, my notes for my talk on Tuesday. Of course, I'm not going anywhere if the wind and rain prevents me from getting off Kodiak island! I'll keep you posted...

Thanks to the Web, there’s a new way to find old seeds.

It's 15 degrees outside. I'm checking my garlic, which is covered with plastic and frozen in the soil. The sun hits my cheek, but there’s little warmth in its kiss.

To me, nothing provides more comfort on a winter day than sipping coffee and cruising through seed catalogs. In those pages rest the promise of spring and childhood memories of my Grammie's beans, hot and seasoned with bacon, salt and pepper.

Today, it's easier to sprout past memories in real life, because old is new in seeds. Heirloom varieties, considered new and improved in their day, are now old and reliable. That's because "heirloom," means varieties introduced at least 50 years ago that are open-pollinated, not the result of hybrids. People are re-discovering the diversity in color, texture and taste that heirlooms provide.

[Lend me your ear! To LISTEN to this article, which is only 2 minutes long, subscribe to my podcast feed (which let's you open the attachment below) or simply listen to the mp3 file now by clicking here]

Then again, you can keep on reading...
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For eight years, starting in the late 1970s, I worked aboard research ships and tugboats, first as an able-bodied seaman and then as a merchant marine officer.

Because we'd be at sea for 2 to 4 weeks, the galley crew was keenly aware that food was an important part of shipboard life. Sunday was prime rib day, Wednesday was steak day, and once a month (if we were working in the tropics) the cooks served a roast pig on the upper deck, complete with the apple in its mouth. (I can't remember what they filled the eye holes with.) Each dinner was paired with a salad.

Notice I didn’t say "green" salad, because at the end of a 4-week trip the lettuce looked anemically white. Yet, the stewards managed to keep lettuce from going bad by packing each head in a brown paper bag before storing them in the walk-in coolers.

Perhaps that explains why, when I switched my focus from the sea to the land, I placed lettuce at the top of my To Grow list -- even though I'd never grown it, or anything else. By late summer, the plants had bolted to 3-foot towers and when I finally got around to picking some greens they were so bitter we couldn't eat them.

What am I getting at?   more »

Would you like a little more cash in your pocket? Of course. But first, you might have to clean up the dog poop...

In the current see-saw real estate market, selling your house can be stressful. One way to reduce the stress and increase the odds of a sale is to make sure the landscape is in tip-top condition. Nice thought, but what if you're trying to sell your house during the middle of winter? These chilly months create unique challenges for yard presentation.

"You can transform a barren winter landscape into a lasting first impression," says Home and Garden Television’s master gardener Paul James. "You can punch things up a bit and enhance the appeal of your property. As a matter of fact, much of what you can do won't take more than a weekend and won't cost you a dime.   more »

In my early 20s I purchased every back issue of Mother Earth News. I devoured every article written by Helen and Scott Nearing, back-to-the landers who lived in Vermont and Maine. The authors of 50 books, Helen and Scott (they both lived long lives: Helen 91, Scott, 100) cleared brush, built stone structures, and raised most of their own food in gardens that were amazingly productive for New England. Today, their lifestyle continues to inspire and teach, like how to grow lettuce when it's freezing arse cold outside!

[NOTE: To listen to the 2-minute audio version of my article, subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply download/listen here to the mp3 file.] Otherwise, keep on reading. Trust me...
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This year, I came by my Christmas presents from various sources: the internet, home kitchens, the Salvation Army, Seattle’s Pike Street Market and local retailers.

Though I strayed off Kodiak Island to shop, I plunked more than a few dollars into local cash drawers, influenced by the gentle but firm “shop locally” campaign that began immediately after the Thanksgiving dishes were dried and put away.

But as I unwrapped gifts on Christmas morning, a creeping unease washed over me. Christmas in Kodiak was really Christmas from China. It began with the solar-powered yard lights. The box was stamped with the words: Made in China. Kitchen tools, slippers, a wooden, back massager: All made in China.
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Winter arrived early and the carrots are frozen in the ground. What’s more, it’s snowing and the weather man is calling for a foot or more of the white stuff, enough to bury any chances of fresh carrots over the winter. What's a gardener to do? Get your hands on the world's largest hair dryer! Listen to how we solved THIS problem!

TWO WAYS TO LISTEN: Subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply listen here to the mp3 audio file. [If you'd like a text version of this audio article send me an email to marion@ptialaska.net]

Stained glass is made of colored pieces of glass that are joined by lead strips to form a pictorial design. It is said to have originated in the Middle East. Today you can find beautiful examples of stained glass in the cathedrals of Canterbury--and in your kitchen. If you'd like to impress your friends, serve them Stained Glass Potatoes. They are easy to make, tasty and beautiful! Raw potatoes are cut in half and then baked, cut side down, on a bed of herbs and flower petals. The finished result is a show-stopper!   more »

In May, we hosted the Discovery Channel on our boat to shoot footage for the 'Deadliest Catch' series. In August, the History Channel came to shoot WWII Quonset huts and bunkers (series due out Jan. 2006). Then, last night, a special friend came over for dinner: Nick Jans, book author and staff writer for Alaska Magazine, USA Today and many other pubs. Over crab quiche, salad and beer, he talked about his new book, 'The Grizzly Maze'.

You may recall hearing about Timothy Treadwell, who, in Oct. 2003, was mauled and eaten (so was his girlfriend) by a brown bear on the Alaska Peninsula. Nick's book is very well written (is selling well), and is a much better accounting than the Hollywood-ized Werner Herzog movie, 'Grizzly Man'.  [Ironic note: Timothy had actually named the bear that eventually killed him. The name?  Mr. Vicious.]