The squash bugs won. Period. Continue reading

I can feel it in the air, the cooler evenings signal the end of summer and a new school year just around the corner. New Year's Day has never been the beginning for me, it has always been September, that time when an adventure awaits in the classroom. As a... Continue reading

I don’t know how many of you are aware that something happens to the space/time continuum when you are with a small child. For instance, eating a very small bowl of cereal can take forty-five minutes, whereas nap time flies by at the speed of light. I am going to... Continue reading

Well folks, despite all of my efforts to stay ahead of the dreaded squash bugs, I found about 100,000 nymphs sucking away at my lovely plants one evening last week. I filled my bucket with soapy water and shook as many as I could off of the leaves and into... Continue reading

It seemed like a good idea when I scheduled a visit to the Michigan State University Student Organic Farm. I have been interested in their program for several years and wanted to get more information. I was encouraged by Denae Friedheim, the program manager, to volunteer for a morning of... Continue reading

I dreamed of rain last night. It was very surrealistic, I have almost forgotten what rain looks or feels like. I look out the window at my yard, what used to be a lawn but is now a vast wasteland of bleached crispy plant material, and I wonder if it... Continue reading

Before moving to the country, I was happy with my basic lawn mower, a cordless electric drill, a circular saw and a few miscellaneous power tools. There wasn’t much that needed to be done around the house that I could not accomplish with the contents of my modest tool box.... Continue reading

The oppressive heat and lack of rain here on the northern edge of Livingston County have conspired to keep me indoors for the better part of the day. Though I long to be outside working in the garden, I have been limiting myself to three hours in the early morning... Continue reading

I have come to believe that the “Empty Nest” syndrome is highly overrated. I hear stories of parents, mothers in particular, who feel lost, abandoned, aimless, when their kids leave home. They haunt their children at college or in their new apartment, stopping by to drop off a plastic container... Continue reading

I have long felt that growing things organically is far better for the environment and for our health than the alternatives that Monsanto Corporation and others would have us believe. In the book Holy Shit – Managing Manure to Save Mankind by Gene Logsdon, the transformation from a manure based... Continue reading

My grandson Nicholas, having an autumn birthday, seemed a little young to go off to kindergarten when he was still four years old. His mother and I decided that he would stay home with me and be homeschooled for his kindergarten year. I was very enthusiastic about this. I had... Continue reading

I don’t think I was fully prepared for the challenges that I would face here on the farm. I had an idyllic vision of a life shared with animals of all sorts. I imagined gathering eggs every morning as I clucked along with the hens. I envisioned possibly milking a... Continue reading

I have always loved animals. As a child I collected turtles, fish, stray cats, and the occasional field mouse. My mother was not as enthusiastic as I was about these creatures. She did not encourage me in my attempts to amass a menagerie in our small house. At Easter time... Continue reading

As I said earlier, we were up to eight cats. I called my vet, the humane society and the local animal shelter, trying to find out if there was anyone who would spay and neuter for a reasonable price. I did not mind letting them live in the barn, but... Continue reading

At the closing I began to get this panicky feeling in the middle of my stomach. What if I hated living way out in the country? What if it was going to be too much for us to restore the place? How many times can you hear “money pit” before... Continue reading

grange /grānj/ noun 1. a farm, with its farmhouse and nearby buildings. 2. Chiefly British . a country house with its various farm buildings, usually constituting the dwelling of a yeoman or gentleman farmer. 3. Archaic . a barn or granary I figure if Scarlett O’haras house can have a... Continue reading

For years, far too many years, I have put aside my dreams and goals in order to care for and support others. Don't get me wrong. No one has forced or coerced me into ignoring the pull of my own inner muse. I have given in all too easily to... Continue reading