Slavery’s Gift

Just pretend a moment—you a Southern slave in the early 1800s. You get a decent master, you treated reasonable. You a woman, you might nanny the young’uns, cook, sew, or be midwife. You a man, you work long and hard outdoors—farming, picking cotton, livestock—no...

The Minor WHAT??

I DO read even the odd parts of the Bible. I’m currently squaring off with the Minor Prophets—you know, Hosea instructed by God to marry a whore, Jonah kicking and screaming all the way to Ninevah, Habakkuk complain, complain, complain… (But see his bottom line...

Shifting Perspectives

I used to be a pretty-good gardener. My mound garden looked like this: Last year, my tiny deck garden had 4-ft zinnias.   This year, unable to garden, my perspective has changed dramatically. The mound garden: Note late-blooming goldenrod, swaying majestically....

War of the Vines

INVADER VINES! They’re everywhere, fighting plantfully, each hoping to overpower the others. Virginia creeper—Has a bad reputation for its fast spread and tenacity, ruthlessly pushing aside other plants by stealing their sunlight. Poison ivy—I guess we all know about...

Beauty and the Beast

This is one of my favorite stories, with Beauty breaking the bonds of Ugly. Where does our sense of Beauty and Uglyness come from? We’re attracted to gardens over garbage, harmony over dissonance, fair skin over warts. Most of us are drawn to handsome faces of either...