Did you know the girl from Sylvan Esso had another band? Yes! It actually predates Sylvan Esso, and the word ‘band’ feels a little less appropriate than ‘vocal group.’ In Mountain Man, Amelia Meath teams up with Molly Erin Sarle and Alexandra Sauser-Monning to sing sweet, Appalachian-inflected folk harmonies with virtually no accompaniment. It’s pretty sparse and even muted–creates a nice little environment but leaves space for the rest of your brain. Refreshing.
In recent years, “explosive attendance levels” at US national parks have led to a corresponding increase in volume of human poo, left mostly by newly enthused urban hikers who have not read the leave-no-trace handbook. If you’ve had to dodge poo piles on your hike, you’ll understand why this is a problem, but if you need some help, know that poop takes a year to biodegrade, and during that time can carry the kinds of bacteria and parasites that make you sick. Several parks are addressing the problem by asking hikers to carry out their own feces, but as a nation, we’re not really in the business of taking responsibility for our own shit, are we?*
*Bitter after last week? Absolutely.
Now, before you fully dismiss the city mouse, please consider the city bee, which is doing way better than its rural counterparts. New reserach says bumblebees in cities are better fed, less disease-prone, and live longer than bees in the country, probably thanks to all this great indoor plumbing. JK, the reason is that there’s actually much more biodiversity in cities, between various small gardens and wild plots, than there is on single-crop farms where bees are often bred. Also, city plants use fewer chemicals than farms, which makes for easy pollination. And let’s not forget those New York bee raves everyone’s talking about. Welcome to the big city, little friends, you’ll do great here.
