Summer afternoon, summer afternoon;to me those have always been the twomost beautiful words in the English language. Henry James Midwesterners are blessed with four distinct and beautiful seasons. Do you have a favorite? For many the answer is summer. Long days, warm nights, friends, family, gardens, picnics, concerts, beaches, trips and more…we happily make the … Read more
Nothing is so beautiful as Spring— When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush… Gerard Manley Hopkins The weeds have arrived. Are we celebrating their beauty? In my garden they preceded the snowdrops. I’m not sure they ever really left. While weeds compete with desired plants for space and nutrients—and we do battle—you … Read more
In time of silver rain we gardeners sow our seeds. There would be no gardens, after all, if not for gardeners. Gardening is about setting life in motion. Seeds help us create the world anew—our own world, however modest. Whether planted in a window box or on acres, seeds unlock potential. When we sow a … Read more
Feeling light within, I walk. Navaho Night Chant “When this is over…when life returns to normal…when we can get together again…” Merriam Webster says to chant is to recite in a monotonous, repetitive tone. Haven’t we all been chanting? While it has been a dark, uncertain year, we have moved through it with quiet … Read more
I chuckled when I read the first line of Sandi’s message. “It’s February.” Need we say more? It reminded me of a well-worn children’s book handed down to us from my husband’s Aunt Mary. In it a chatty family of field mice living in an old stone wall were busy gathering nuts and grain for … Read more
While the 2020 holidays were unlike any others in memory, one tradition in our home endured. Celebrated every year on the day after Christmas, it’s called Wing Chair Day. I highly recommend you plan one for yourself. The idea arrived years ago. Faced with a marathon run of shopping, wrapping, cooking and entertaining, I would … Read more
“Hope is the thing with feathers— That perches in the soul— And sings the tune without the words— And never stops—at all—” Emily Dickinson According to both Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com, the word of the year is Pandemic. No surprise as COVID-19 has upended us globally, nationally, locally (our club! our club!) and personally. We are … Read more
Work of sight is done. Now do heart work On the pictures within you. Rainer Maria Rilke Another growing season draws to a close. While we clear our plots and store our pots many of us make mental notes of what worked and what we may do differently next spring. The more organized among us … Read more
To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3. 1-13 In Ecclesiastes there is the call to plant, to love, to live, to work and then to enjoy the fruits of our labors. It acknowledges a predictable rhythm to our existence, even as we experience the ups and … Read more
What’s this? Something new? An IDGC Newsletter? Well, yes and no. In this Age of Pandemic, I suspect we’re all beginning to see “new” as normal. So, the arrival of a newsletter at the time of our September Kickoff is both new and strangely normal. No kick-off; a newsletter in its place. Making the best … Read more