Filter posts by category

Nature

One of the Most Incredible Scents on the Planet

Flowering-black-locust

This is a Black Locust tree. Our property is full of them. And at this time of year, the most glorious scent wafts through the air. I do believe it may be my all-time most favorite smell. If only the web had a scratch-n-sniff feature… But come to find out, perfumeries have also discovered this heavenly scent and its used in many perfumes.

It’s also one of my all-time favorite wild edibles The flower clusters taste like the sweetest of … Read More

Bird Songs – How Many Could You Identify?

My long-time readers are probably almost as familiar with the road I daily walk on as I am. These two decades started with Kiera 1 and Lilly, and continued with Kiera 2. She has been gone 4 years now, but I have kept walking, I guess as much out of habit as anything.

Lately,  I’ve used the walk as a kind of meditation to help clear my mind of work pressures. One of the easiest ways to push away work … Read More

My New Year’s Wish for the World

My wish for all of us is that we remember that we are all connected. We all share the same home–Planet Earth. We all share the same gene strands that make us human. And we need to do a better job of remembering what we have in common rather than always focusing on our differences. There are no winners in war. Just one side that appears to lose less.

To help you remember the depth of our connection to ALL … Read More

Chop Wood, Carry Water

As my day begins in the hush of predawn darkness, as usual, I make my way outside with the dogs. Looking up at the stars, I listen to the muffled sounds of paws padding through dew-covered grass. And I think about how my life has changed over the years.

For someone looking from the outside in, the changes would appear fairly dramatic. So much so, that if assigned with the task of matching up my “then” with “now”, most people … Read More

A Garden Journal

gardenjournal.jpg

As I’m getting ready to harvest my garlic, I do what I’ve always done every year. I go grab my garden journal to get ready to record the harvest date, and the yield and quality of the bulbs.

I’ve been keeping a journal of my garden almost since I began. It’s a habit I picked up from the old woman who taught me.

She drummed into my head, “Karen, if you want to see if what you’re doing works, you’ve … Read More

Best Glass Cleaner. Period. And How to Stop Cardinals From Dive Bombing Your Windows

I’m going to be a fountain of useful information today and provide you with two invaluable tips.

I’m on a mad cleaning tear. Happens every few years. Clutter accumulates until I can’t stand it anymore, and then I go on an extreme purge. What doesn’t get thrown out or given away gets a good cleaning and/or properly put away. Which also means every window in the house gets washed inside and out. (I know many people have the time to … Read More

Too Optimistic…?

early gardening

Gardening season officially starts here on Mother’s Day. That’s typically when all chance of frost has passed. But, maybe courtesy of global warming, there is no frost in the 10-day forecast. In fact, I probably could have planted a week ago and still been alright. May be the first year that I actually get in two full crop rotations… Gotta take the good with the bad.… Read More

Scroll to Top