"In braiding sweetgrass -- so that it is smooth, glossy, and worthy of the gift -- a certain amount of tension is needed. Of course you can do it yourself, but the sweetest way is to have someone else hold the end so that you pull gently against each other, all the while leaning in, head to head, chatting and laughing, watching each other's hands, one holding steady while the other shifts the slim bundles over one another, each in its turn."

• Robin Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass