Something a little different this time. A short story. Lily and Destin: A Love Story “Mom, you don’t even know him!” she said, her eyes filling with tears. Lily and her mother, Sophie, were arguing again about her boyfriend, Destin. “You’re a monarch. He’s a spider. It’s just not right!” she said, more loudly than she intended. Sophie’s voice softened…. Read more →
Nature shows always get you to root for the protagonist, whoever that may be. If the star of the show’s a fox, you’ll find yourself cheering her on to catch the rabbit (although you may have cheered for the rabbit in a previous episode). If the subject’s a skunk, you’ll wish him well as you watch him go about his… Read more →
By growing borage (Borago officinalis), I’ve been feeding butterflies all along and didn’t realize it. I love Portland, but I’ve been lamenting its scarcity of butterflies since moving here two years ago. Back in the Ohio Valley, I raised monarchs, viceroys, tiger swallowtails, zebra swallowtails (my favorite), giant swallowtails, spicebush swallowtails, pipevine swallowtails, red-spotted purples, and American ladies from eggs… Read more →
“I’d like to visit the swamp.” My parents thought this an odd request when I visited my home state of Minnesota last week, but I’d recently learned that I’d grown up literally next door to one of the most unique plant communities in the world, and I had never appreciated it. So I set out to rediscover the peat bogs of… Read more →
If you’ve noticed that there don’t seem to be as many monarch butterflies around in the summer as there used to be, it’s not your imagination. Largely due to habitat loss, the monarch population has dwindled. I’ve learned that Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crops are likely the biggest culprit, causing me to question my earlier, overly rosy opinion on GM crops. These genetically engineered… Read more →
So, I’ve been looking for a plant to screen a gap in the hedge that looks right into the neighbors’ backyard (and trampoline). I thought a well-behaved clumping bamboo might do the trick, and I checked out the helpful website of Bamboo Garden Nursery near Portland, Oregon. It seemed the common and quite hardy (to Zone 5) Fargesia nitida looked like… Read more →
With MUCH fanfare, happy tears, hugs, and rejoicing, I am ecstatic to report that my garden buddy George the cat is home safe. That little fuzzy-faced muppet walked 12 MILES back to our old home after slipping out during the move across town. This is a cat who regularly locks himself in the bedroom when he accidentally nudges the door shut. This… Read more →
I’ve been off-line for some time, in a deep and sorrowful funk. We moved into our new house two and a half weeks ago, which was a joyous occasion, but it was also the day our youngest cat, George, ran off in all the commotion, and we haven’t been able to find him since. He is microchipped, but no one… Read more →
In much of the country, April is a frenzy of blossoms–cherries and magnolias, crabapples, lilacs, and tulips. The landscape is flooded with new flowers, and they receive all the glory. Another, more subtle season also unfolds now, however. It is the season of tiny new leaves. Out they come in shades of bronze, silver, mustard, toffee, and lime green: maples… Read more →
Spring, summer, fall, and winter. That covers it, right? Not by a long shot. The more I have gardened, and observed, and become attuned to nature’s rhythms, the less satisfied I have become with our clumsy, generalized words for the seasons. Four measly divisions?! It’s like trying to describe all the colors in the rainbow using only the terms red,… Read more →
