It’s getting very cold here — twenties at night and only low 40’s in the day — and we just got about ten inches of snow. I must admit that, mentally, I’m not prepared for winter this year. Maybe it’s my age or too much sitting or just left over inertia from the COVID days, […]
Author Archives: stevetarlton
Utopias have always been a part of our human delusion, a product of our constant desire to dream big and win. ~ Ruxandra Guidi I took a walk into our backyard, ostensibly checking the garden for ripe veggies, but really just to chill out in the early fall warmth. Seeing I was not doing […]
“Once upon a time, I was falling in love. Now I’m only falling apart.” ~ Heart I’m still in love, but the falling apart bit rings true for me. The recent eclipse reminded me that time and the universe move on, with or without us. I’ve had various aches and pains for as long […]
Often, we hunted or fished on underused farm or ranch land owned by one of my Dad’s clients — usually with a field lying fallow or a lightly grazed prairie. There would be old buildings we could peer into, watching for snakes and other nasty critters. Hand-dug wells, dangerously covered by rotting boards, offered an […]
“It’s likely that the first use of compost — or at least manure — took place not long after the start of cultivation … After all, a people who lived close to nature would soon have noticed the grass grew greener where an animal had deposited its poo.” ~ Compost Magazine I’ve been composting for many […]
The cooler autumn weather allows us to turn off the window AC in our bedroom and keep the windows open, instead. Things chill down overnight, causing us to keep blankets handy and encouraging snuggling beneath them. The dog and cats also appreciate the opportunity to snuggle up. Our second-floor bedroom faces the alley, but we […]
And now I lie with them upon this hillMingling with Texas earth as seasons come and go.Chilling northers bend grasses almost to the ground;Low-hung clouds are misty blanketsDropping days of rain upon the earth.Then wild flowers make sweet the air in spring”Old Cemetery on the Hill” — Epitaph by Susanna O’Docharty in Laurel The green […]
My garden is kind of a mess this year, even more so than in prior years. The raised garden boxes we built a while ago to save my old back are wonderful to help avoid the kneeling and bending, but have also reduced the garden area to a more defined space. The earlier garden sprawled […]
“The United Nations estimates that humans produce 400 million tons of plastic waste every year.” ~ Susan Shain “Plastic recycling only exists in the minds of public relations agencies that are promoting plastics,” ~ Judith Enck, former E.P.A. official and founder of Beyond Plastics I’ve pretty much quit trying to interpret the little triangles on various products. […]
“The forest is the root of all life; it is the womb that revives our biological instincts, that deepens our intelligence and increases our sensitivity as human beings,” ~ Akira Miyawaki, Japanese botanist and plant ecologist Our 1872 house sits on an old lot in an old neighborhood in a small town sandwiched between the […]
Writes of Nature 