Spring, interrupted. In the midst of a global pandemic, we bring you flowers, a delightful weed, and many kinds of friends for our Buds issue. 

ARTWORK: Mary Heinemann, Caitlin McCormack, Nicole Michaud

OPENING SALVO
“Spring, Interrupted” // Art in the time of Corona // Editor’s Notes by Heather Shayne Blakeslee

STREETVIEW
Recommendation // Lov’n Fresh Flowers // Farm to table florals from Philly.

Destination // A place far from surveillance capitalism: Germantown’s Awbury Arboretum 

Constellations // “Saturdays at Sulimays” // True friends from True Hand Society and Sulimay’s in Fishtown talk community and pancakes

ART & IDEAS
“Housekeeping” // An excerpt on spring and loss by Marilynne Robinson
"The Nature of Crisis: On Not Quite Running with the Wolves" // Essay by Lauren Earline Leonard
”Flower Power: Carl Sagan’s Rhapsody on the Pleasures and Peace of Marijuana Use” // Essay by Heather Shayne Blakeslee
“Small, Big Worlds: Painter Nicole Michaud Opens Up Her Chest and Let’s the Seeds Spill Out” // Profile by Ginger Rudolph and Heather Shayne Blakeslee
“The Soote Season" // A close read by Joshua Mehigan on the sadness of spring with Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and V. Penelope Pelizzon
“Flora and the Rhizosphere” // Artist Spotlight on Caitlin McCormack
"Are Your Eyes Bigger Than Mine?" // Fiction by Ravneet Kaur Sandhu

SWITCHBACKS
“Becoming the East Coast Lus” // Diana Lu and Cousin Brian Leaf recount their ongoing journey together, including a windy road trip from Houston to Philly.