Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste. –St. Francis of Assissi St. Francis of Assissi did not merely “love nature.” He was in fellowship with creation and taught us how to be.

Fifteen years ago, post-Hurricane Katrina flooding devastated New Orleans. Five years ago, I stored the 200+ feet of panels that comprised “WATERLINE: an interactive photo installation.” In the 10 years I worked seriously on that project, all or parts of it were installed 15 times around Louisiana and in Niceville, Florida, and Philadelphia. Of the hundreds of comments written on the panels by the thousands of people who viewed them, “Make levees, not war” is among my favorites. This year, Louisiana is rebuilding Lake Charles and much of the southwest corner of the state, devastated by Hurricane Laura. But Laura…

“And still, after all this time, the Sun has never said to the Earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look what happens with love like that. It lights up the sky.” –Rumi

Why do cypress trees have knees? Scientists propose two theories. The first is that, because they grow in very wet places, often standing water, cypress trees send up knees to help the tree absorb oxygen from the air. That’s what mangrove trees do. But research has shown that cypress knees are actually pretty ineffective at absorbing air. So maybe not! The second theory is that cypress knees, which can appear up to 10 or 12 feet away from the main trunk, greatly broaden the structural base of the tree and strengthen it. How else could this magnificent tree stand so…