Sometimes it has to get really noisy before we can realize inner peace. Who could have guessed that a pressure washer would become my latest spiritual teacher, or at least a new favorite...
A Gift of Flowers From Me to You
Everyone has many associations with a flower - the idea of flowers. You put out your hand to touch the flower – lean forward to smell it – maybe touch it with your lips almost without...
Tossing My Cookies: Lessons From A Lifetime of Public Upchucks
The gravel cut into the palms of my hands and my knees as I crouched next to the garden shed. Cars sped down Virginia's Route 29 just a few yards away -- too fast, I hoped, to notice me on...
Wisdom: What Wizards Know and Wonks May Miss
Today's piece was originally published in the June 2013 edition of Soulwoman eMagazine, the theme of which was "Wisdom." Hope you enjoy it! And make sure to hop on over to Soulwoman for a...
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: My First Entry
"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." ~ Henri Matisse I just learned about this cool gig that garden bloggers have going. The 15th of every month is designated...
More Snake Lessons Shouted (Not Whispered) From My Garden
As my Facebook friends know, it's been a wild week. Wild highs, wild lows, the best and worst of wild. It really started a few weeks ago, when the wrens started nesting in the birdhouse...
How Just Showing Up Turned Me Into A Triathlete (Sort of) — Part 2
"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." ~ John Wooden It was the night before my first triathlon. Though I was still riding an emotional high after...
How Just Showing Up Turned Me Into A Triathlete (Sort of) — Part 1
"A ship in the harbor is safe. But that's not what ships are built for." ~ Anonymous I am a newly minted triathlete. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. It was touch and go there for...
Get Dirty! 10 Reasons a Mud Run Should Be on Your Bucket List
Life is made up of marble and mud.~ Nathaniel Hawthorne When was the last time you got dirty? Not just a little dirty (not even gardening dirty). I'm talking top of your head to the bottom...
Minivan Zen
I've ruined my 14-year-old son's life. For over a year, Jacob's been asking when we would get rid of our more than gently used Toyota minivan. The van had carted us through a dozen...
A Change of Plans: Writing Advice From My Garden
A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust. ~ Gertrude Jekyll "Timing is everything," my...
Decomposing Buddha: 10 Lessons For a Happy, Healthy Life Whispered By My Compost Pile
My whole life has been spent waiting for an epiphany, a manifestation of God's presence, the kind of transcendent, magical experience that lets you see your place in the big picture. And...