“The songbird nest boxes stood empty, while the trees and shrubs echoed with the chatter of the migrating flocks. There were so many birds that at times it seemed the trees themselves might take flight. The little homestead offered a safe haven amidst the factory farms that stretched for miles in every direction, with protection…
“Bins, baskets, boxes, and buckets filled with produce festooned the home in celebration of the harvest. The arrangements weren’t likely to be featured in an upscale magazine any time soon, but they represented abundance, and the culmination of a another season of hard work. The land took care of those who took care of the…
“As fall equinox approached, the sunlight slipped back into the house. Living in a passive solar home was a bit like living in a giant sundial. The time of day and change of seasons were impossible to ignore.” Even without a calendar, I could give you a rough date between September and June by the…
“The change of season whispered at the senses, quiet, but impossible to ignore. Each day the sunset crept earlier, and the dew on the morning grass held the chill of the longer nights. The air smelled different – ripe fruit perfumed the gardens and orchards, fallen leaves leant a musty odor. The pitch of the…
“September dawned as a golden month. Sunflowers planted by wild birds romped around the edges of the gardens; while wild goldenrod, primrose, sowthistle, and butter-and-eggs painted bold swaths through the uncultivated areas. Here and there in the gardens, calendula and black-eyed Susans punctuated the crazy quilt garden beds. The trees and shrubs were ornamented with…
“Every project is an opportunity to learn, to figure out problems and challenges, to invent and reinvent.” – David Rockwell We had a slight disruption last weekend when the power grid went down for a couple of hours, but thankfully it was just a tree on the line and the crews had power restored fairly…
“We would load up the yellow Cutlass Supreme station wagon and pick blackberries during blackberry season or spring onions during spring onion season. For us, food was part of the fabric of our day.” – Mario Batali Today late summer bathed us in sultry heat, creeping in during the wee dawn hours as a warm…
“August was nearly over — the month of apples and falling stars, the last care-free month for the school children. The days were not hot, but sunny and limpidly clear — the first sign of advancing autumn.” — Viktor Někrasov I’ve noticed the leaves starting to color, so I’m doing my best to soak up…
“Now summer is in flower and nature’s hum is never silent round her sultry bloom.” — John Clare We were finally blessed with more rain this past week than we’d had for the last several months, and the garden approved. I’m pretty sure the squash and melons doubled in size overnight, and everything else looks…
“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” ― Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine The open house was hopping yesterday. The first folks showed up a bit early while I was still out in the blackberry patch, and we stayed…