What was my favorite part about last weekend? It was the unstructured time I spent in the garden with Number Two as he found Items of Interest and explored. Once you get in the habit of “things to be done”…
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Unstructured Time
Posted in Gardening, Parenting, Writing Tagged with: character, garden, manu chao, number two, playing, productivity, time
The Sun Sets on the Year
By this time, unless you’re a horrible Grinch or slacker, you have some lights up, some decorations spattered on the door, and pine needles ground into your carpet. Maybe the cloying smell of paperwhites is filling a closet, or mulling…
Everybody Needs Something To Do
Boredom liquefies the brain. We are not only social animals but working ones. Don’t let the stereotype of slack-jawed youth fill your head–today’s young ones are energetic and ready to do their part! Already at one and a half, Number…
Foraging and Bad Haircuts
My boy learns quickly. On his regular wagon rides around the yard and garden, in which he thrusts his arm forward like a Roman charioteer, we often stop to pick fresh strawberries. Now when I put him down to roam…
Posted in Gardening, Parenting Tagged with: bangs, children, clippers, garden, haircuts, learn from my mistakes, number two, parenting, strawberries
The End of a Leafy Era
I can’t say I’m sad to see it go. The massive kale and collard green plants in our garden have gone to flower and having grown to umbrella size, survived a plague of grey dusty mites, weathered a blazing hot…
How to Meander
“Babbo, what’s meander mean?” asked CH about a word we’d just read together. “Meander is to wander without a goal, just to go here and there and enjoy yourself,” I replied. Some days are the best because they are unplanned…
Colors of All Kinds
I’m really excited about all this DOMA and gay marriage media coverage because it gets Americans talking about something other than the Kardashians. I want to focus on one angle of the gay marriage debate: saying that a Supreme Court…
Kale Monster
It has happened again. With the best intentions, my wife has planted some kale in our garden. Sure, it’ll provide some leafy green now and again. You might think of the neat bundle of kale you find in the produce…
Small Architecture
Sometimes architecture doesn’t have to be big or flashy. No massive cantilevered canopies, acres of unsupported glass, or soaring ceilings. No need for an entry plaza to rival the Vatican, or a grand boulevard that belongs in Paris. Unnecessary are…
The Ultimate Home Garden Crop
I’ve had my experiences with zucchini, have battled with overgrown kale and eggplant, and tried to stop the inexorable spread of marjoram through the garden. Through all this I’ve discovered one crop that may be the perfect thing to grow…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: child harbat, crops, flowers, food, garden, gardening, strawberry
