As the sun sets
through oak and hickory trees,
the cold fog brings
a new set of smells,
rich and deep,
as though you could
stick out a butter knife
and cut a little square
of the air
and pop it into your mouth
and let it dissolve
into rich, earthy flavors:
Fresh mown hay,
corn ripening in the fields,
tall grass
and wildflowers
all around us.
Recently, I relaxed in the water rapids and deep pools of the #WestChickamaugaCreek near my home in Northwest Georgia. It was a typical hot, muggy, sunny Georgia noon, and the cool water called my name. As I floated, wandered and sat in the creek — sometimes only inches deep, sometimes over my head — I…
Getting to the root of thistles is a lot like getting to the root of your self-defeating behaviors and negative self-talk. While clearing my garden spot this morning, I had to remove two very large thistles. Thistles are spiky things and they can go through your gloves. The best way I’ve found to remove them…
It is often so/ that when we clear dross and junk,/ we find wonderful. Using a loping shears to clear underbrush and non-native privet from around the hardwood trees in my back yard reveals an undergrowth of black-eyed susans and other hidden wildflowers. Sometimes you have to burn the grasses and weeds from large fields,…
I have to confess: With all the things he gets done, my “little” brother Gene (the West Coast Nature’s Guy) is sometimes a motivator … and sometimes I wonder if I can keep up with him in our rural life. His Live Innovations Farm and Education Center Facebook posting from Saturday said this: March 24 at 11:33pm Had…
Rather than throwing old pink shag into the landfill, I decided to use carpet as a weedkiller and a mulch. As my dad said: Deprive weeds of light, and they will die. Four months ago, when I ripped out some old pink carpet from my house, I put it over a large rectangle of my…
Canoeing, kayaking, floating, swimming — I was born to be on the water. Lucky us: We LIVE on West Chickamauga Creek, the boundary between Walker County and Catoosa County in Northwest Georgia. Our 6-acre Spirit Tree Farms property is across the creek from the #ChickamaugaNationalMilitaryPark (actually in the Southeast corner of the park, where there’s a…