Howe Original Productions

"Maintain enough art in your life to prevent the science from becoming too stuffy. But always retain enough science in your life to keep the art from growing too weird."

Two Men At A Game, Oakland, 1982

This is the main web site for Jeff Howe. It was begun in January, 2009 and will remain forever under development. Some links are operational, some are not, but essentially it serves to link together a variety of loosely related projects.

• JEFF HOWE'S BLOG - One man's take on the little ironies of life. (I probably should have titled it: "You Kids Get The Hell Out Of My Trees".) It provides me with an excuse and opportunity to let all this nonsense out from time to time. I hope you'll check in regularly... and let me know if it moves you in one direction or another.

Click on the Projects section for:

• WHISTLE UP A ROPE - a sampling of essays, short stories and observations. I recommend The Best Ten Cents, The Perfect Ice, Like Herds of Buffalo, and Cowgirl With A Farmer's Tan.

• LITTLE BIG TREES - my thoughts on the science, art and horticulture of bonsai. Eventually I will also be offering custom soils and a wide variety of dawn redwoods, gingko, bald cypress, hornbeams and Chinese elms grown from cuttings and meticulously root- and bud-pruned as pre-bonsai.

• THE OLD ROAD - America's original road into the wilderness, The Great Minquas Trail/Old Conestoga Road passed through Lancaster County although its exact course remains a mystery. The dog and I have been pounding paw and shoe leather on this one. (It's not operational yet but should be soon.)

• HOW DO YOU GET A WHALE IN VERMONT? - In 1849, the skeleton of a whale was discovered in the sticky blue clay of the Champlain Valley. The interpretation of this find forced science to reinterpret the geology of northwestern New England. In 1993, it became the official State Fossil of Vermont. This link currently leads to the original site developed at the University of Vermont in 1991, one of the very first sites developed for the world wide web. Soon I will also be featuring chapters from my book on the "Charlotte Whale".

And finally - Mother Nature willing and my lungs don't fail - THE FABULOUS FICTITIOUS HYPOTHETICAL HARMONICA BAND should soon feature some original live and studio harmonica recordings including: The William Tell Overature, Sally Goes Bowling, Star Dust, Shenandoa, The Bullfrog Tune, and maybe even a bit of Four And One-Half Seconds In The Life Of Fat Frankie Rumford...