Cedar and Pearl
In this column I will write at times about farms, given my passion for farming; and a little about politics, given my deep interest in policy and my past legislative service. Of course, I’ll also write about community, which both drives me and grounds me.
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- Cedar and Pearl
Two political choices I feel good about
By John Piotti - Oct 18Years ago, when the then-editor of The Republican Journal asked me take on a regular column, he pitched the idea that I could write about politics....
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Writing home
By Anna Piotti - Sep 13As a child, I never went to camp. I never stayed in a cabin with other young girls, roaming woods and singing songs by day, braiding hair and ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Fit to print
By John Piotti - Jul 05For the past few days I’ve been staying at one of those hotels that provides complimentary newspapers. I picked up a copy of The Wall Street ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Transition
By John Piotti - Jun 06I had a few different themes in mind for this week’s column. Two weekends ago, Susan and I varnished our old wooden boat, which we then launched ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Funerals: the stuff of life
By Susan Piotti - May 10Editor’s note: Susan Piotti, wife of our regular columnist, John Piotti, is writing this week. “I hate funerals, and would not attend my own if it ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Syrup
By John Piotti - Mar 29Susan grew up in Vermont — a state associated with maple syrup the way Maine is with lobsters. So I’d be ready to follow her lead if she ever ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Birthdays
By John Piotti - Mar 01I recently turned 55. I don't generally think much about birthdays, but I had been anticipating this one for years. The reason had nothing to do ...
- Cedar and Pearl
What makes us do what we do
By John Piotti - Feb 02Earlier this month, while Susan and Anna were in Germany, I traveled to Atlanta to present at a conference. I had no choice but to leave John ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Different but similar
By John Piotti - Dec 22The day that this column is published both our children, Anna and John, will be arriving home from college for Christmas break. Anna will be ...
- Cedar and Pearl
An afternoon with Angus
By John Piotti - Nov 23My first encounter with Angus King was maybe 18 years ago, when he was governor and I was running the farms programs at CEI, a statewide community ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Every morning is different
By John Piotti - Sep 20Over a span of more than 30 years, I have spent countless hours sitting on the front porch of our lakeside cottage. I’m usually on the porch ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Rocking
By John Piotti - Aug 30Editor’s note: Regular readers may have noticed that Cedar and Pearl did not appear two weeks ago, as it normally would have. We have moved the ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Building bikes
By John Piotti - Jun 21For seven years, beginning when I was 14 years old, my summer job was at Snow’s Cycle Shop on Nantucket Island, where I rented, repaired and sold ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Something to sing about
By John Piotti - May 24Susan and I traveled to Bowdoin last Saturday night to hear Anna’s roommate sing. Virginia is a performance music major. As such, she always gives ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Coin toss
By John Piotti - Apr 25Somehow, Anna held onto the news for several days. Our daughter was waiting to see us in person, which would occur the next Saturday at Maine ...
- Cedar and Pearl
A changing climate for farms
By John Piotti - Mar 15I found myself a few months ago speaking to a room of environmentalists at a forum about climate change. I had been invited to talk about farming. ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Guten Tag
By Susan Piotti - Feb 16Editor’s note: This week, John Piotti has passed off his column to his wife, Susan. Like Inspector Clouseau in a classic scene from "The Pink ...
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Give 'em what they want
By John Piotti - Jan 21It began at my office Christmas party, and long before drinks began to flow — so that wasn’t the reason. A guest (not a staff member) told me how ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Reflections on Paris
By John Piotti - Dec 08The recent terrorist attacks in Paris occurred a few hours before Maine Farmland Trust held its annual meeting; but none of us knew that until ...
- Cedar and Pearl
Reclaiming Maine’s lost farmland
By John Piotti - Nov 17In my last column, I wrote about how the revitalization of farming in Maine is leading some farmers to reclaim once-open fields that long ago ...
