There’s a Big Purpose Behind Every Small, Unseen Task

Big Purpose Behind Small Tasks

Every year in late spring, we till up an admirable crop of rocks as we prepare the garden soil for planting. Some years I have been diligent about collecting them. Other years . . . not so much. Regardless, there always seems to be a plentiful supply, and after twenty plus years of gardening in… Continue reading There’s a Big Purpose Behind Every Small, Unseen Task

Nurturing Dreams of Green with my Late Winter Seed Order

Nurturing Dreams of Green with my Late Winter Seed Order

Planning a seed order in Maine in the month of March may be the ultimate act of optimism. Even so, I started dreaming about a row of basil back in February when my Colorado daughter-in-law introduced us to the wonders of pesto on pasta, initiating a string of questions for which I’m still seeking answers: What… Continue reading Nurturing Dreams of Green with my Late Winter Seed Order

The October Book Talk Where We Are Celebrating Abundance!

October Book Talk

My joyful sunflowers have bowed their heads in the garden, waiting for the long winter to begin, but I have picked my last tomatoes and green beans, dug up the beets with my grandkids, and all the pumpkins and squash can sit on the deck for a bit longer while we wait for the first… Continue reading The October Book Talk Where We Are Celebrating Abundance!

The June Book Talk Where We Welcome Summer with Reading Friends

Morning by morning manna

The gardening challenge here on the hill every summer for the past twenty-seven years could be summarized in four words: Big Garden, Small Well. Watering the garden has always taken a back seat to laundry and showers, but this year, with our nest officially empty on the date of our son's July wedding, I have… Continue reading The June Book Talk Where We Welcome Summer with Reading Friends

The Quiet Miracle of Roots and Leaves

The garden is running late this year. Cold nights (making for cold soil) have resulted in pea plants that sprouted on schedule, grew to a fixed point, and then sputtered and stalled out, stunted. The prophet Isaiah had things to say about who is in charge of growth, both in the garden and in the… Continue reading The Quiet Miracle of Roots and Leaves