It’s that time of year! The time when I take stock of my seed supplies and decide what to plant, when to plant, and where to plant. In past years, I’ve usually planted whatever I wanted, just for the joy of tasting new varieties and species, but these days I’m feeling external pressure to anticipate
The Dirt. A few weeks ago, after pondering all the chaos in the world, I decided to sow seeds for winter crops like beet greens, hardy lettuces, arugula, and cilantro. The rains hadn’t yet come, so I knew I was in for some hard work. I took my shovel and hori knife and turned
I’ve always had trouble sleeping, but in recent years it’s gotten much worse. I used to stay up deriving formulas on my ceiling before a calculus exam, or running through a piece of viola music in my head, to see if I had it memorized. Perhaps I was anxious, and rather than count sheep
All summer long I was terrified that my house would burn down, in fact, not just my house, but my whole town. Every day I scanned the weather reports, hoping against hope for rain. When I went on a trip, my husband had to stay home, in case of fire. He’d be home to
Emergencies make for an interesting and surprising journey. When I first heard that our town had declared a level 3 water emergency, meaning no outdoor watering at all, I went into my own emergency mode. I put buckets in the tubs and showers and sinks, declaring that no flush should occur with fresh water.
Yesterday we dug a grave for a much loved cat. She was hit by a car, and she was only five years old. She was a glorious creature, filling our garden refuge with her magic and playfulness, chasing butterflies, rolling around in the dirt, playing hide and seek with her squirrel friend. It seems
