Isn’t is so strange when the natural world around you is so very still? When the sound of the crickets and tree frogs are the only thing that seem alive. There is not even enough breeze to move one leaf tonight. And it is really not all that hot. Not for August. It seems surreal, almost like a movie set. As if someone pasted a photo of the woods right outside my window. And there is no life to speak…
bald-faced hornet nest
August 6, 2018We have quite the specimen in one of our trees right now. The man saw it while he was doing some string trimming and other sprucing for our cookout. He is way more observant than I am. Left to me this would have gone unnoticed, even though as the resident gardener I generally spend more time outdoors. We weren’t sure if it was a wasp nest or a hornet nest. As usual, I turned to the great google and I…
in the moment
January 11, 2018As part of my winter reading, I’m back to Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Maybe because the book is laid out by daily chapters, one for each day of the year, I tend to start reading it at the first of each year as part of the fresh start mentality, then drift away. I do love this book and am going to try and stick with it for the whole year this time. In today’s entry Sarah writes about…
snow!
December 31, 2017Do you love the snow? Or maybe you’re the type that gets filled with dread when those first flakes start coming down. I think it all depends on the circumstances…will I need to be on the roads or can I just stay home and appreciate the beauty. Better yet, is there a good place to go sledding nearby?! And don’t forget about snowball fights. Our first real snowfall of the year came yesterday. I use the term “real” loosely, as…
autumn glory
November 12, 2017back home
November 8, 2017How many of you no longer live in the same town where you grew up? Do you find it difficult to get back home to visit family and friends? Lately, I am finding this to be a challenge and it is bothersome, indeed. I got to spend a fantastic weekend recently in the town where I was born and lived for 34 years. It was so good to see my family! Life seems to get so busy and the time…
walnuts, part 3
November 5, 2017So continues the saga of the Great Walnut Harvest, which began here. Today was The Day to crack open the test walnut. It’s been a while since I’ve actually cracked a nutshell, what with the availability of shelled nuts pretty much everywhere. I whipped out the handy dandy nut cracker and prepared to do the job. Now, thinking back to the days when I used to have to crack nuts open using the same type of device pictured, there were never any…
spooky vs scary
October 31, 2017For many years Halloween was my favorite holiday. I did – and still do! – love everything about it. The costumes, the parties, the candy! The spookiness of it all! Or is it the scariness?? On a walk through the woods the other day, I got to thinking about what spooky really means. And, is there a difference between spooky and scary? All this time I’ve definitely been in the camp that says, yes, there is a difference. But I…
walnuts, part 2
October 30, 2017If you’ve read walnuts, part 1, you may know that I am harvesting and processing walnuts for the very first time. We have an abundance of them scattered around. I thought to myself, this is the year! Why let them just sit there. Some for the squirrels and some for me. Win win. Please join me in the next step of this process, otherwise known as “removing the hulls.” When I last wrote, the walnuts were sitting in hot water…
walnuts, part 1
October 28, 2017I am harvesting walnuts for the very first time and am reminded of a great quote: “All you can do is admit to yourself that yes, this is an adventure, and to accept it as such, surprises and all.” -Hugh MacLeod (Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity) We are privy to several black walnut trees and for the past few years, I have intended to learn how to process the nuts that fall to the ground in…
