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While clearing brush in the front yard I picked up something that caused a rash. My arm is red and it itches. I happened to already have a clinic appointment this week so I asked them about the rash. They prescribed a cream, and messaged it to the pharmacy approved by my insurance company. It’s… Read more
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If a person overnights at our home they are likely to be offered a breakfast of hash browned potatoes, scrambled eggs, and fruit in season. Add some coffee or homemade juice and it makes a fine breakfast. The meal in the photo includes tomato, a pear, and potatoes, all grown in our garden. We haven’t… Read more
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Contrary to what letters in this newspaper reported, the climate crisis remains. It is a crisis. It is peculiar to our time since the Industrial Revolution. Readers of the Gazette should know about it. Media stories covering the impact of a changing climate continue to appear: Canadian wildfires, heated ocean temperatures off the Florida coast,… Read more
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Late season kale takes on a special quality when overnight temperatures get cooler or freeze. Toward autumn, I begin harvesting the whole plant and use the leaves until they are gone. Then I harvest another plant. The same goes for collards. I cut the stalk at ground level and take the plant to the composter… Read more
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Birds may not like it but I mowed the plot where weeds grew after garlic was harvested. They flock in to feed on foxtail seeds. A person can’t see them until they are startled and fly away. Lucky for them, the next plot over, where I plan next year’s crop of garlic, has some weeds… Read more
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The Solon Economist reported about the Nov. 7 city and school board elections in its Aug. 31 edition. The article didn’t say much. In particular, the author did not say whether the incumbents were running for re-election. Local newspapers are under financial stress, yet we rely upon them for coverage of local elections. At the… Read more
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No single narrative describes my or anyone’s life. That said, I wrote my obituary, a two hundred word narrative intended to communicate generalities of who I was, and meet a specific public need without being too special. I’m not talking about this. I have a few other narratives in mind. I’m fortunate to have copies… Read more
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Rain fell against my windshield for the entirety of the 2-hour drive from Des Moines Sunday night. We need rain. The next day, on my walk along the lake shore trail, it was clear the Lake Macbride Watershed absorbed all of the rain without any extra. The culvert that empties from the watershed into the… Read more
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Fan of Emily Dickinson? You should know about this upcoming annual Tell It Slant Poetry Festival at the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. Online participation is enabled! Here is the direct link to learn more about the festival and sign up. Read Frank Hudson’s post about it below. Also, consider following Frank Hudson and… Read more
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My focus in the garden turned to apples. By weight, it is the biggest crop I grow. Doing something useful with them drives me to spend much kitchen time processing them. Zestar! and Earliblaze are finished with Red Delicious remaining to close out the garden season. Of the four varieties I grow, Red Delicious hang… Read more
Tales from the pilgrimage.
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