Latest Posts
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A Tale of Two Sunflowers
With visions of an eye-catching row of tall sunflowers towering over the fence in my backyard, I carefully placed the seeds I had harvested from last summer’s blooms in a row of dirt along the fence line. I watered the area regularly and looked forward to the spectacular wall of yellow petals I would soon… Continue reading
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Chickening Out
As a general concept, raising chickens in our backyard seemed like a good idea. We had the space, the price of eggs was getting crazy expensive, we knew other people who were doing it… But lots of things can seem like good ideas when you only have a vague understanding of what it will actually… Continue reading
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Compost is Context
This past May, I bought a special oversized planter and dreamed of harvesting fresh squash from our backyard this summer. I filled the container with a blend of organic soil and carefully placed squash seedlings and a sprinkling of fertilizer into the perfectly balanced dirt. I watered those plants daily when we didn’t get rain… Continue reading
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Reservoirs
After a week of cycling in the cool and breezy weather of Nova Scotia, I was shocked when I came home to the brutal heat and humidity of a Tallahassee summer. Fortunately, my husband had kept our garden and yard well-watered while I was gone, so I didn’t find the death and destruction I feared… Continue reading
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Squirt
Last week my husband and I went to the local Tractor Supply store with our four grandchildren (ages 8, 9, 10, and 11) to let them each “adopt” a baby chick. It was the first day of a weeklong overnight summer camp we host for them every year and although we will be ultimate keepers… Continue reading
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Squirrelly – and White!
By Dr. Sissi Carroll Flat Rock, North Carolina, the village in Western North Carolina (WNC) where my husband, Joe, and I now live, is a destination town because it offers quick access to these, among other delights: Our white squirrels, to many visitors’ surprise, are not albino. They are leucistic; in other words, they have… Continue reading
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Becoming a Bean
I wasn’t planning to grow beans this summer, but a few months ago, I went to a Tractor Supply Store for the first time in my life in search of advice on raising backyard chickens (a subject for a future blog post). The staff were super helpful and generously shared their professional and personal knowledge… Continue reading
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A Nun’s Habit
Several years ago, a friend of mine with a connection to a local nursery gave me a plant that was being discarded because it was “a bit off”. She told me this particular plant was called a “Nun’s Hood Orchid” (Phaius Tankervilleae in gardener-speak) because its flowers resemble a nun’s wimple, which for decades was… Continue reading
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Sweet Songs
I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Sissi Carroll – a long time friend, fellow endurance athlete and travel companion – to this blog project! Sissi is an unapologetic gleaner and has always inspired me to look for big things in the smallest places. Among her many accomplishments, Sissi is Dean Emerita and Professor in the… Continue reading
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Poppies
I have always had a special fondness for red poppies. It isn’t just their eye-catching color – the contrast created by the brilliant red petals surrounding their deep black centers. It isn’t the way their long and delicate stems allow them to sway gracefully back and forth with the wind – or that they are… Continue reading
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