About Denny
This is a very old photo of Denny but it’s still my favorite.
Denny is my husband. In September of 2019, after 24 years together, we married in a simple and ordinary way, at our kitchen table, with a friend who is a Justice of the Peace. After 27 years together we have bought out first house and will be living together for the first time. Originally, I envisioned Denny and I doing a website together, but he has other pursuits that magnetize his time. Perhaps in the future he will be inspired to write some posts, but for now I am the scribe for any of our shared endeavors. Articles that I write about his interests in particular, will be compiled on this page.
Denny possesses a fierce independence – he likes the freedom to do his own thing. Over the years of being with him, I have gradually come to appreciate the value of nurturing separation and space. Our relationship thrives on this balance of intimacy with autonomy.
Many intimate relationships function as a reliable kind ground of nourishment. Denny provides this foundation of support for me. He picks up where I fall short, and I feel held by his kindness and love, especially when in crisis. He listens well and knows how to be fully present. His advice is trustworthy, as it arises from the meaningful space of listening presence. To refuel his energy, he connects simply with ever present silence and stillness.
One of Denny's most prominent attributes is his boundless, twisted sense of humor, which cuts through any staid decorum and taboos. His brain remains relentlessly caught in a wholehearted trickster channel. Being a willing gullible person, I serve as audience and subject matter for his nonstop creative entertainment. (When Billy our cat was alive, Billy shared this role with me.) Being with Denny has increased my range of comfort – I no longer am easily shocked or offended. He's taught me the invaluable skill of laughing at myself and taking life and all things less seriously.
Possessing a vivid imagination and acute love of animals, Denny thrives on all things anthropomorphic. (Billy the cat had a big fantasy life too. They enjoyed playing off of each other's mischievous tales.) Denny loves animals dressed in human clothing saying charming things. Years ago we did a beguiling photo series of dressed up animals, which I hope to revive in some way.
Evocative stories of Denny's life revolve around animals. He treats his pets with generous sensitivity and care, forming exceptionally close bonds with them. Denny is small in stature and has always been excessively thin. However many of his pets become enormously obese! He can't help but nurture his beloved animals with ample kind attention and favored food.
Throughout his life, Denny has frequently had meaningful sightings and encounters with wild animals. As a young boy he had his own animal cemetery and practiced taxidermy. Handling dead animals allows him to get close to the scents and softness of their wildness. My own comfort levels with death and other squeamish things has increased as a result of this exposure.
I have come to appreciate Denny's embodiment of contradictory extremes. He likes the freedom to be himself, without being locked into any one position or polarity. Most of the time Denny's range of expression is utterly entertaining to me. He doesn't mind that I laugh at his ranting stormy outbursts. He has the ability to find humor in almost any situation. My favorite example of his broad range of expression involves beekeeping. For many years, Denny has been a knowledgeable and dedicated beekeeper. Most of the time he appears the epitome of the gentle, kind beekeeper, and I never tire of watching him mindfully tend his bees. However, every once in awhile, and especially when a single bee out of thousands aggressively flies at his face, Denny flips into kamikaze crazed beekeeper mode, swearing and completely losing it. I've often fantasized about making an amusing film that flips back and forth between these two extremes. Besides being hilarious, people can relate to the humanness, of not always holding it all together.
Denny is mostly retired now, but he restored antique furniture for a living. I've always thought of him as a furniture doctor, who does elaborate surgery on old and valuable pieces. He especially loves working on Federal style furniture and fine inlay, and is not afraid to completely disassemble extremely valuable antiques, or countless other things in need of repair. In fact, Denny has a fan club of people who admire him for his knowledge of old-time woodworking skills and tools. Besides his expertise with antique furniture, he has delved into making a Native American birch bark canoe, European scythes, reverse glass painting, and antique black powder firearms.
Denny possesses an insatiable desire to get closer to the truth of what is actually happening in the world, especially in the political arena. Unfortunately for those of us in the US, much of what accounts for news these days is more akin to propaganda and lies. But due to the internet, one can find more credible first hand sources, and attempt to sort out the truth for oneself. Denny spends a lot of time investigating political issues concerning Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Palestine and China.
A number of years ago, a writer friend of ours did a photo shoot of Denny and I gardening. Even though we were each focused on our own tasks in different sections of the garden, in almost every photo our bodies line up. We unconsciously complement and mirror each other when gardening and performing other chores. Every article that I write about gardening, involves Denny in some capacity. But perhaps everything I write or do now has some touch of him in it. His influence and support has spun into the threads of my life, and been woven into the fabric of my being. I am grateful.
This is a sweet video that Denny made featuring his pet rat Mowgli. Denny sewed all those colorful, elaborate hammocks!
BIG NEWS!
We are relocating northwest to the other side of Vermont! I am listing possessions for sale here and on Facebook Marketplace. Here is the link to Denny’s ANTIQUE FURNITURE PARTS AND FIGURED WOOD
Subscribe to kindground.org to receive regular updates about our gardening, foraging, and animal endeavors.
For articles about our garden see: Cultivating Nourishment: The Heart and Roots of Gardening and Foraging
Our friend Janine wrote an article and took photos of Denny tending his bees: A Taste of Honey: A Day in the Life of Denny the Bee Wrangler
Here are the links for Denny’s youtube channel and Instagram page.
Articles with a focus on Denny’s interests:
October 7: I stroll into the woods to visit an old oak tree. It's a short trek that I've been making for about 17 years. This forest, like others in Brattleboro, feels more like a park than wilderness. Its trails are well traversed by a daily cadre of dog walkers, hikers, and bikers. This year I marvel at the quantity and size of the acorns. It's the biggest mast year for oaks that I've ever seen.