Despite the heat, I cradle a cup of dark coffee, and the familiar smell mixes with an earthy, balsamic smoke wafting out of a tin can on the floor. The source of the smoke, myrrh, has been vital in the Horn of Africa for thousands of years, but is also mysterious. Ethiopia is believed to be one of the world’s most significant sources of myrrh resin, the hardened sap from Commiphora myrrha trees, and I’m here with an international team which we believe is researching myrrh in Ethiopia for the first time.

AFCADDE, Ethiopia (AP) — The critical note in some of the world’s most well-known perfumes is myrrh, a tree resin from the Horn of Africa that is under pressure from what experts say has been a historic drought.

Threatened by the lack of water and nibbled by starving livestock, the trees that once formed a dense forest in the Somali region of Ethiopia are in danger, locals say.

An Off-Season Journey To The Timeless Azores Provides An Ideal Setting For Peaceful Island Explorations. The Islands Are Full Of Surprising Natural Beauty, Volcanic Formations, Natural Hot Springs, Enchanting Trails, And Historic Towns.

“Are you one of those fake news media from up north?” shrimper Wynn Gale asks me when I introduce myself, the camera slung over my shoulder not nearly as heavy as the oppressive heat of Georgia in June.

This is not an auspicious beginning.

Ballinskelligs hangs precariously off western most part of County Kerry Ireland, sitting on the Skellig Ring. Although not officially a town, the rural community is beaten out for westernmost part of Europe only by Valencia Island and the famed Skellig Islands, which sit like triangular shaped mirages on the horizon.

With shelter harder to come by during the pandemic, this everyday hero shifted her approach to helping Boston’s homeless.

“I can honestly say I have not stayed home for one day during COVID, besides Thanksgiving. It has been pretty wild,” says Mary Ann Ponti, director of outreach programs at St. Anthony Shrine in Downtown Crossing.

Last March on a sunny but frigid day, I joined owner Larry of Snappy’s Lobster, and Matt his second, out of Scituate Harbor on one of their lobster boats. I grew up in the region but realized that for all my travels I knew little about this now struggling local industry. Snappy’s responsibly harvests various seafood goods for many of the top restaurants in the greater Boston area including Juliet and Peregrine.

I wrote this last winter, about the magical day two summers ago when my mother and I spent our last evening at the beach together. It is a place which shaped both of us, the arc of each of our lives, has been the true north in our family and our greatest comfort, and this brief blessed time together helped me finally let her go, or who she once was.

Photography
While traveling through Nepal by bicycle we partnered with many wonderful brands, including Topo Designs bringing their travel apparel, bags and accessories with us. Photographs from the trip were featured on their social channels and in Sisu Magazines article on Topo Designs.

Photography
Sisu Magazine is a new publication for women out of Reno Nevada focusing on Grits, Guts and Perseverance. Founded by the fierce women behind Coalition Snow this quarterly publication enables women to share stories of their gritty honest selves.

This April I had the pleasure of returning to West County Kerry, the rural towns my mother’s family came from. An unforgiving but stunningly beautiful land of rock and sea, mountains and mist; the people are warm and open, the sheep are plentiful. It was lambing season, and every field was dotted with babies under bush-like tufts of grass or eager teens bouncing around on springlike legs.

When I arrived in Livingstone, Zambia to join African Spokes, organizer and veteran of the 70-day bike trip, Jen Gurecki, gleefully warned that I should be prepared to become “the most disgusting version of myself.”

It was a pleasure to have my work from African Spokes covering Jen Gurecki featured in Entrepreneur’s “Most Daring Entrepreneurs of 2018” November 2018 print issue.

Thank you so much to the whole African Spokes Leg 4 team, and the Entrepreneur photo and social media staff for my first major instagram series and print piece!

When I was a grad student, one of the most life changing pieces of advice I received was to book a vacation for after our thesis defense. If I passed, I could celebrate on vacation. And if I didn’t, I still was going on a vacation.

Late December I received an urgent email on a Saturday afternoon while sitting in a design talk at MIT. PAWs New England, an extraordinary group that rescues dogs out of high kill shelters in the south and brings them to the north, needed an emergency transport driver on Tuesday.

It is a pleasure to take the new 2020 Liv Avail on our Nepal adventures, and to see my shots land on the Liv Brand homepage no less, featuring the fierce athletes Roz Groenewoud and Jen Gurecki cycling in downtown Kathmandu on the new Avail AR 2020, along with posts on Liv’s social media and blogs. A great brand focusing on women cycling gear!!

Photography
When the mountains are legendary peaks such as Everest, you can only imagine what the hills might be like in Nepal.