September 28, 2025 My vegetable garden has reached the state of late season chaos it comes to each fall. Although I am still harvesting tomatoes daily, some vines are yellowing and show signs of disease. Others are growing wildly across the garden, intertwining with late season cucumbers and a solidary eggplant. Soon I will needContinue reading “A Harvest of Time and Effort”
Tag Archives: gardening
A Change of Season
September 14, 2025 There is a slant to the sunlight, even on an 80-degree mid-September day that tells me it is almost Autumn. The oak trees and hickories I pass on my walks are still fully festooned with dark green leaves, but the angled sunlight gives them a yellowish cast. Here and there I seeContinue reading “A Change of Season”
Fall Gardening
September 8, 2024 Gardening is a hopeful hobby. Each Spring I carefully select seedlings and seeds. I pull up the plants from the season before and turn the soil. It may sound silly, but I thank the dying plants as I remove them, for the produce they gave me and for the oxygen they addedContinue reading “Fall Gardening”
Late Summer Weeding
August 11, 2024 Come late August, weeding is one of my least favorite tasks. It is hot and sweaty work and even in drought, the weeds grow with gusto and flourish in every flower bed, vegetable garden and even my driveway. I try not to use chemicals, but sometimes resort to pouring boiling water onContinue reading “Late Summer Weeding”
Healing Through Service
April 14, 2024 In the midst of my grief, trying to work a full-time job as a school librarian, and helping run a household, I find that service work keeps me sane, especially when I end up feeling stuck or down. It is not surprising that I have felt adrift in the past nearly nineContinue reading “Healing Through Service”
Beginning Again
March 24, 2024 Last week in Richmond, Virginia we reached the point in the year when it is typically okay to plant potatoes, cruciferous vegetables, and other cool weather crops like lettuce. For many years, I have planted lettuce and kale in my tiny garden on the south side of our house right after St.Continue reading “Beginning Again”
When I got busy, I got better
December 10, 2023 It is December and I have not done a blog post since October. I have written every day, but in my intense grief, I have felt like what I write is too raw or too painful to share with others outside of my trusted writing group. Sometimes, I can only share withContinue reading “When I got busy, I got better”
The Value of Dirt Therapy and Good Friends
April 30, 2023 This was a hard week. My ex-husband died unexpectedly of a heart attack and my sons, and I were thrust into turmoil. Alex had the unfortunate role of meeting the police at his father’s apartment for the distressing welfare check. He was understandably shaken, and I went to be with him asContinue reading “The Value of Dirt Therapy and Good Friends”
Detach and Distract
April 18,2023 When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on. These are expressions I grew up with and they float through my mind when things get tough. One of my good friends tells me when everything I am doingContinue reading “Detach and Distract”
Digging My Ditches
March 26, 2023 Each March for the past 17 years, I have found a cool weekend to turn over the soil in my tiny garden, add some compost and plant lettuce and a few other “cold crops.” Truly, I end up spending several sessions just weeding and breaking up the soil before the planting everContinue reading “Digging My Ditches”
Mindful Musings 