A path, a wall, a gate – space into place into home

We’re closing on Monday. We’re going to do this! And even before it begins, I feel the urgent need to document it all. Hopefully I’ll have the time to write here more often again. Last week a new septic system was put in, which tore up the entire front and back yard. We knew about …

Projects Projects

I’ll let you know what I’m working on. I’m researching how best to teach reading. Fascinating that whole Whole Word – Phonics war. So much of the history and psychology of writing is involved, and then throw your own toddler and her talents and interests into the mix. I love a complex challenge! In advance …

Wendell Berry is my hero

Thanks to Moonmeadow Farm, this is Wendell Berry’s poem “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front” from his book The Country of Marriage (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973). I hope it’s ok to reproduce it here…  Oh but be fearless!  So: Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry (my hero) Love the quick profit, the annual …

I’m a Farmer Now

I got weed juice seemingly permanently rubbed into my fingers, dirt under my fingernails, my first case of “hoe-neck,” scratches all over my arm from the squash plants, a little back ache, a mild sunburn… When I proudly mentioned this litany to my friend, she said: – “Honey! You’re a gardener now.” I raised my hand to …

Sweet Family Memories

These are my dad’s parents, taken in 1999 at a typical family meal in summer. For me, the picture crystallizes “family”: the shared food, cooked by my grandmother (who was a great cook), the shared wine (note the three bottles!), selected by my grandfather, the unseen but imagined presence of many family members around the table, …

Homesteading for a Happier Child and Community

Dreaming We are dreaming about moving to a new place. For us that means selling this one and buying another one of approximately the same price, which means that, if we want to move, we need to move out- out of Brookline. We’re currently in a 1050 sq.f. basement apartment in a condominium. We adore …