We had the good fortune to spend this Halloween weekend in New Orleans. I took a bunch of garden photos to share with you later, but since this is Halloween, let’s look at something a little spookier. We walked through Lafayette Cemetery No. 1. According to www.saveourcemeteries.org, this is the oldest of the seven municipal, city-operated cemeteries in New Orleans. This is not the oldest cemetery I’ve visited, but might be the most interesting. The city is built on a swamp, so the…
seasonal changes
October 13, 2016Fall is progressing nicely here in Loveland, OH. We have had some unusually warm days, well into October. That is likely why there are still some peppers holding on. The average first frost date here is sometime in October, tending towards the latter part of the month. The garlic has been planted and covered with straw. I am hopeful for a good crop come next summer. I do have some lingering concerns about having planted it in containers, which sit…
fall gardens
September 29, 2016Fall has arrived. The temps are in the sixties, it is gray and rainy, and the leaves are coming down. The walnut tree in our front yard always seems to be among the first to start dropping them. That is the sure sign. This is not always the most fun time of year to be a gardener. There is the cleaning up and the putting away. This year, I am doing some new things to keep the garden going for…
wait it out
August 31, 2016Have you ever found yourself in a creative drought? It seems as if these periods just come upon us. Maybe they are the result of simple fatigue, overwork, pressure, the desire to sit on the porch for five hours on a beautiful summer day, or…who knows what. With so many projects on the (literal) drawing table and in the sewing workshop, I am finding any reason to do something else these days. The most creative thing I’ve done in the…
twists and turns
August 24, 2016Like most of us, I have worn a number of hats in my life…I’ve flipped burgers (never again!), helped heal many dogs and cats as a vet assistant years ago, and performed laboratory tests to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of AIDS patients. I did a brief stint testing used motor oil and diesel fuel for abnormalities indicative of problems with the heavy equipment they were used in. I’ve cut many a yard of fabric while working part time…
failure?
August 15, 2016Today in Simple Abundance, Sarah tells us that sometimes ignorance is bliss. She says that it can be a protective blessing. If we knew our work would fail, would we still make the attempt? Yet, she points out that failure is vital to the creative process. We might even say that failure is necessary to be successful at anything we are trying to do. When I first planted my corn seeds and then lovingly nurtured the seedlings all those weeks, dreaming of…
creativity
August 8, 2016I’ve been reading a book called Body of Work by Pamela Slim this year. While I’ve read it only intermittently, a few pages here and a few pages the week before, and so on, it has been helping me gain a new perspective as I reflect on my life’s work and my creative vision. On page 99, she writes of an interview that Piers Morgan of CNN did with artist LL Cool J in 2012. Piers asked him what we needed to…
a frog’s schedule
August 3, 2016I found this little guy while I was watering the garden. He was no more than one inch long, a tiny thing. He stood stock-still and I snapped a few pictures of him. Then I went on about my business. When I came back through to refill my water pitcher, he was gone. Going on about his frog business, which likely means the business of getting food, I surmised. Sarah Ban Breathnach writes about “catching days” in today’s Simple Abundance…
hospitality
July 19, 2016We are preparing to host a rather large gathering of friends and family at our place end of the month. Many preparations are underway. “List” and “task” are daily words in our household. In Simple Abundance today, Sarah speaks of hospitality and everything it seems to entail. She reminds us of how frenzied we can become attempting to create the perfect atmosphere and she offers suggestions for keeping it simple, such as hosting a potluck or keeping the fare minimal, focusing…
harvest
June 23, 2016The dictionary defines harvest as “crops that are gathered.” While that is true, it is much more than that to me. When I prepared the soil weeks ago and sowed the seeds, these healing, nourishing vegetables are what I envisioned. Feeling connected to the food that I eat is very satisfying. Providing loving care to the earth, means providing loving care to myself and my family. It was my goal in recent years to eventually get to the point where…
