Rural Living

My mind has been wrapped around our move, but was suddenly kicked into higher gear this past weekend when I saw the documentary on Netflix called The Biggest Little Farm. It’s about a couple who lived in Los Angeles and decided to start their own farm in California, north of LA. They bought over 200 …

Autumn is Here

These days are filled with wonder. We either have torrential downpours felling the leaves of the mighty oaks, maples, birch, elms, and other deciduous trees–or days of sun and warmth, along with the reds, golds, browns, and yellows swirling around us like costumed fairies. It is my favorite time of year. I’m like a kid …

The Light in August: My Time on Salt Spring Island

Light in August is a 1932 novel by William Faulkner, which took place in Mississippi and examined issues that arose in conflict between those alienated in society and the Puritanical white society. According to Hugh Ruppersburg’s Reading Faulkner: Light in August, Faulkner said of the title: In August in Mississippi there’s a few days somewhere …

A Beautiful Night

It’s weird in today’s world. Sometimes you don’t know your neighbors too well. We’ve lived in our current house for about four years, and have had some waves and hellos to neighbors but have never gotten to know any of them. However, lately, my husband–and not just lately, but for several months–has been walking to …

A Song of Fire and Ice

A couple years ago I got this bright idea to catalog every single plant, animal, and any other natural world thing in a piece about George RR Martin’s books/television series. I eventually re-read Book 1, taking notes in an Excel document. 151 rows later, with page numbers and things that occurred on those pages, I …

Happy Spring Solstice

This has been a wonderful but busy week so far, and spring solstice just makes me happy all by itself–but so much is going on that I wanted to pass it along. Here’s this week in a nutshell: The week started with my mother-in-law coming to visit on Sunday. She’s such a beautiful and happy …

Anger in Today’s World

Anger is making the news every day. It comes in different forms: shootings and other violence, social media vitriol, and more. After yesterday’s shooting at the GOP baseball game, the Washington Post remarks today that the shooter, James T. Hodgkinson, was “always angry”. I think anger is a weird thing. It’s natural for every single …