As my teen grew up and away from me, a sweet little bundle of fur brought us back together My girl slips in the back door after a long day at the end of a long week. She looks weary and defeated. Her big brown eyes are dragging suitcases under them. It’s tough to be aContinue reading “The Kitty Connection”
Category Archives: Everyday Essays
Even the Bricks Don’t Seem the Same
Who knew how different our home would feel as the kids grew? When I click through old photos on a whim, I am always astonished. My kids were that tiny? The floors were that messy? And the house. Is that really our dining room? Why does it seem like someone else’s? Except for the kitchen,Continue reading “Even the Bricks Don’t Seem the Same”
Eating Local Is My ‘Diet.’ What’s Yours?
To any of you who’ve been reading what I write for awhile, the story of how I cleaned up my eating act is a familiar one. In a nutshell, several forces converged to push me toward a healthier, more plant-based life than I’d grown up with: my husband and I put in a garden and weContinue reading “Eating Local Is My ‘Diet.’ What’s Yours?”
Mushroom Adventures
It was about this time of year, several years ago, that my husband and I decided we were ready to take on a new botanical project. The garden was winding down and the season of dreaming of spring was nearly upon us. Maybe a catalogue came in the mail? I’m not sure what our inspiration was. ButContinue reading “Mushroom Adventures”
Celebrating the Season
For my family, this week began with Halloween, continued with two kid birthdays and will end with back-to-back parties on Friday and Saturday. And, as we all know, it only gets crazier from here. I have, pretty much every year, dreaded these busy months of travel and connections, of events and hosting, of anticipation and tears andContinue reading “Celebrating the Season”
A Hankering for Honey
Right around mid September in these parts the heat of the summer winds down, and for those who keep bees, it’s the perfect time to gather that golden elixir they’ve been nurturing for months. So the beekeepers haul out their equipment and prepare for a sticky weekend of cutting open portions of their hives — not too much, mindContinue reading “A Hankering for Honey”
Wisdom from the Flock
It’s been about a year now since a quick stop at the hardware store to pick up some, you know, duct tape and grass seed, turned us into part-time poultry farmers. Not that I blame my husband. Those little balls-of-fluff are enough to melt any man into a can’t-say-no-kind-of puddle. And those downy cuties madeContinue reading “Wisdom from the Flock”
Tangy Tomatillos
We pulled out the tomatillo plants a few weeks ago. I’m missing them already. For years we had talked of growing these delightful cousins to the tomato but had never found the plants when we needed them. So we’d move on, regretfully. Next year, we’d sigh, we’ll try those tomatillos. Then this spring, it allContinue reading “Tangy Tomatillos”
An Okra Adventure
My husband is the magic behind our garden. It was his idea to begin growing our food the first summer we owned a home, all those years ago. He is the planner and planter. I’m the second-wave worker, on maintenance and harvest. But every now and then, I pipe up with a suggestion. What aboutContinue reading “An Okra Adventure”
Pesto Possibilities
The basil came late to our garden this year. We planted it, same as always, but for some complex convergence of heat and rain, sunlight and nutrients and pollinators, it took awhile to get going. It was the same with the carrots. But now that a little rain has arrived, the carrots — and even moreso, theirContinue reading “Pesto Possibilities”