A few weeks ago, I planted seeds for tomatoes, leeks, onions, basil, parsley, peppers, and eggplant. I’m expecting to buy plants for most of those veggies and herbs at local plant sales when I give up hope on my seedlings at the beginning of May. I’m not being pessimistic here, but realistic. For the past […]
The approach of spring is an excellent time to think of gardening. One of the projects on my bucket list is to create a beautiful flower garden in my “sacred space” near the statue of Our Lady in the forest adjoining our home. As my children were growing, then as I began writing fiction, this […]
If there is one area of life most people can change in order to return to the Shire, in a metaphorical if not literal sense, it’s their eating habits. You can live in a 20-storey high-rise in Manhattan or Paris and still adopt a Hobbit lifestyle when it comes to eating. That’s because Hobbits are different from […]
Without any kind of a deep freeze this past winter, the weeds have had a field day (pun intended) this spring. I don’t know about your neighborhood, but ours is totally infested with chickweed. Now, chickweed looks innocent enough, with its dainty little white flowers and delicate stems, but don’t be fooled. It’s a cold-blooded […]
It is a Catholic tradition to acknowledge and honor the unselfish and holy life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One way of doing that is for a family to plant, maintain and enjoy a Mary Garden. In the Middle Ages, missionaries and travelers spread stories across Europe about flowers named after Mary and various times of […]
A citation and 93 days in jail. That’s what planting veggies in your front yard could get you, at least in Oak Park, Michigan. Ridiculous, you say? Hardly; it’s a reality, and it’s happening to Julie Bass. Julie and her family live in an average neighborhood in an average home in Oak Park, and a […]
The economic, political, and cultural challenges facing the city of Detroit are well-known, and have received international coverage in recent months. And while hope springs eternal, there are still signs that the city’s culture of stifling bureaucracy and corruption will be difficult to reform. Nowhere is this simultaneous promise and peril of Detroit’s future more […]
