Goldfinches in the morning

In the last few weeks, the coneflowers have started going to seed, and looking all raggedy. Part of that is just the flowers fading to grey-pink. Part of that is the goldfinches stopping by in the mornings, wearing such a bright yellow it wakes you up just to look at them, to pick the freshest […]

Collard love

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my collard plants? Usually when a crucifer goes to seed, that’s it. These collards got huge, went to seed, took a breather, and now they’re sending up new leaves, as tasty as ever. Since they went to seed, volunteer collards are turning up. Even the empty seed […]

Re: Nudge

Yet another in the current series of popular books with one-word titles, Nudge, by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein contends that we should apply recent research about human behavior to present choices to people in a way that will nudge them into choosing well. They call this “libertarian paternalism.” Libertarian in that they […]

Re: The Neddiad

In The Neddiad, Neddie Wentworthstein’s father decides to move his family to Los Angeles so they can eat at the Brown Derby. This is typical of the charming absurdities that fill Daniel Pinkwater’s books. Anyway, Neddie goes on an eccentric journey by train to the Hollywood of an earlier era: bellboy ghosts and retired cowboy […]

The evil weed covers tart fruit

So I’m hacking away at the Evil Weed up on the hill and I’m thinking, Hey, this is where I found those apple blossoms last May. Are they apples yet? So I pulled more swallowort off the tree and find one, three, four…

Time to weed the ragweed

Don’t let this happen to you! A few plants with attractive foliage, a bit like tansy or chrysanthemum, in a little-visited corner turned into a Giant Pile of Ragweed. I should have known better.

Re: Mars Is No Place for Children

It’s just about a year since I last paid a visit to Mars. This time I went via “Mars is No Place for Children,” by Mary Turzillo. I like the story’s depiction of life on Mars, and the neat little inventive twists. Considering that this was my desktop image for over a year, it’s no […]

A response to my past self

When Previous Me posted that note telling Current Me not to take rejections personally, I did so because had a feeling that I was due. I was right. Three hit my inbox last week. Previous Me also thought it was silly to do so, because I thought I was already pretty good at not letting […]

Raccoons

Unlike the skunks, who stroll by every night all bold and leisurely, the raccoons sneak around in darkness. You might get up for a late-night pee and hear gnawing and chewing and noshing; and when you peer down from upstairs, there’s a raccoon emptying the bird feeders. Or you might be sitting by the window […]

A Rose as Nursery

The heat let up just enough for me to cut down a rogue copy of my wild rose bush. After getting my hand stabbed and picking out bits of thorn from my fingers, I’m leaning toward thinking it’s a Prickly Rose. While I was cutting it down and hacking it up, I found all sorts […]