Want to read this email on the web? Click here. Cultivate the root; the leaves and branches take care of themselves. ~Confucius Dear Reader A month ago, I planted 12 lovage seeds. It would be my third seasonal attempt. The first two times, the story was the same. I tapped the seeds into soil blocks and patiently counted down fourteen days, then twenty-one days, and eventually gave up. The soil blocks were then repurposed for more "cooperative seeds". The problem was that I really wanted to...
11 days ago • 3 min read
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. ~Henry David Thoreau Dear Reader April tugs and nudges me with an increasing force. Wake up she calls, enough with your drowsy slumber. Here I am dancing along with all that bursts forth, keep in step, and I’ll be your guide. Allow me, and nothing else, to be your conduit to what is real and true. In this way of being, duplicity, deception, and...
18 days ago • 3 min read
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders. ~Henry David Thoreau Dear Reader Most of my days continue to be filled by the intimate act of seeding trays of future plants that will feed my body, mind, and soul. I fall in love with this act over and again each day. March’s slow and sporadic ramp-up to the spring...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. ~Rabindranath Tagore Dear Reader Although there are still pockets of snow, the arrival of robins en masse tells me our winter has passed. Mama fox has also been sighted now on a daily basis, darting the edges of the garden fence with her mouth full of some catch to share with her kits. Thursday night, the spring peepers...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. March, when days are getting long, Let thy growing hours be strong To set right some wintry wrong. ~Caroline May Dear Reader On the first full day of spring, the view out my window reveals scattered remnants of seasons past. Waving in the blustery wind are threads of bean vines still attached to the summer trellis. Towering seed heads of Bee Balm nod, and a patchwork of snow remains. And yet when I slip on my muck boots for a wander, there are...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. March is the month of expectation, the things we do not know - Emily Dickinson Dear Reader Depending on which window I choose to view the garden from, I discover a strikingly different scene. To the south, there are long swaths of white, still glistening in the sun, but to the west, along the tree line, all is revealed with barely a sign of the snow that once was. Before life begins to burst forth, there’s still time to take a moment and pay...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. In March the earth remembers its own name. Everywhere the plates of snow are cracking. The rivers begin to sing. - Mary Oliver Dear Reader Let's face it, March is not a month prepared to win any popularity contest. October and May, with their showy leaves and blossoms, certainly have a competitive edge. Even December has its fan club. It’s likely that March might rank ahead of January, but that’s not saying much. To be truthful, the weeks that...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. The work you do here might seem to be nothing more than chores, but in fact, over time, you are cultivating a space fit to receive great things. ~Hilary Barrett Dear Reader, Today, the sun completes its transit through Gate 37, the Gate of Friendship, the I Ching hexagram of The Family, or People in the Home. Questions may have arisen for you regarding home boundaries, your inner relationship with home, or what growth your home environment...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. Dear Reader, It is certainly apropos that as I write of this seasonal transition, our latest snowstorm would arrive. The wind was so strong moments ago, swirling the flakes in every which direction, that I was certain it was rising from the earth rather than falling from the sky. Given the other abnormalities we are witnessing, perhaps it was. Asit settled into a rapid yet steady downfall., I got down to work with thewood stove glowsing and my...
2 months ago • 2 min read