Skip to content

Monthly Archives: April 2020

Spring sunset

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Click here for high-resolution version. The weather was strange today. During the night, two inches of rain had fallen. Today the sky was heavy, and the wind was still. All day, there was the sound of rushing water from the stream below the house. At sunset, a break in the clouds near the horizon meant […]

Filed in The house, The land | | Comments (1)

Brochs again

Thursday, April 30, 2020

The Mousa broch in the Shetland Islands. Wikipedia photo. An article in Smithsonian Magazine says that archeologists are planning to build a replica of a broch. Brochs, found only in Scotland, are a kind of prehistoric castle. They are towers with very thick double walls. What a place to live! I wrote about brochs in […]

Filed in Culture, The way we were | | Comments (0)

Elbow patches

Sunday, April 26, 2020

I caught a virus on the Isle of Harris last summer. This virus causes an obsession with collecting tweed. It starts with one’s first Harris tweed jacket. But it doesn’t end there. Oh, no. Before you know it you’re scouring eBay for more, discovering in disappointment that there are only so many colors of Harris […]

Filed in Culture, Sustainable living, The way we were | | Comments (2)

April 20

Monday, April 20, 2020

The photo is from 7:50 p.m. Supper is over, and the kitchen has been tidied up after the wreckage of a wok supper. I am so lucky not to be cooking for one — or gardening or orcharding for one — during this quarantine. There is a certain reluctance, as suppertime approaches, for those who […]

Filed in Food, Sustainable living, The land | | Comments (2)

Spring mustard

Saturday, April 18, 2020

  Mustard greens, just washed through three waters The neighbors’ garden is a couple of weeks ahead of the abbey’s garden. They’ve got a big mustard crop, and they invited us to come pick some. That meant that last night’s supper was pinto beans, mustard greens, corn bread, and deviled eggs. This sharing from the […]

Filed in Food, The land | | Comments (0)

What a spring!

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

A very young pear One of the best parts of my day is the daily walkaround in the yard, orchard, and garden. I don’t always like what I see. A few nights ago, we had a late frost. We may have more frost tonight. But mostly what I’m seeing is a beautiful spring. Because of […]

Filed in Sustainable living, The land | | Comments (4)

First red clover bloom

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Click here for high-resolution version Nothing brightens the yard in early spring like red clover. I hand-scattered 10 pounds of seed last fall. Today I found the first bloom, on the day lily bank. Soon there will be much more. This is an iPhone photo. The iPhone is convenient for quick close-ups.

Filed in The land | | Comments (2)

It’s not winter

Saturday, April 4, 2020

A tiny peach I don’t often think of so-called scripture. I identify as a creature of the Enlightenment, not as a “person of faith.” Nevertheless, I know an embarrassing amount of scripture, because it was beaten into me as a child and because Old and New Testament were required courses when I was a student. […]

Filed in Sustainable living, The house, The land | | Comments (5)