And now the first of many conversations I have with my daughter. This will be a recurring mini-post on the blog to memorialize the things I couldn’t make up if I tried. Me: “Tonight I’m going to tell you a…
Growing Season
Holy Moley! With the recent rains here in SoCal, the garden is literally exploding with growth. Last year my wife, in an optimistic fit of seed-planting, sowed some kale in our garden. Now it’s coming up with a vengeance, sending…
Moth
Sometimes your day starts with something unexpected and beautiful. This moth decided to alight on our front door threshold. It was unaffected by picture-taking and close inspection by Child Harbat. The next day it was gone. Who knows what message…
Easter Roundup
It started at 6:20 am. There’s no substitute for the morning joy of a child who’s found a basket full of candy and goodies in their bedroom. I was happy to get up at that early and godforsaken hour and…
Oh God, Not Another Baby Picture!
Baby pictures—honestly, who really is interested in them? Does anyone want to see a picture of my baby? Do I want to see a picture of anyone else’s baby? I’d say the unrequested baby picture ranks up there with the…
Both Sides of Child Vaccinations
When I was growing up I don’t remember either getting vaccinations or any sort of public controversy about them. I suppose children in the first half of the twentieth century said the same thing about smoking: I was nine when…
Pests, Invited and Not
Let’s start with the invited pests. We’ve always encouraged Child Harbat to get her hands dirty in the garden and be unafraid of insects and creepy crawlies. The potato bug has to be one of the most child-friendly insects, and…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: aliens, child harbat, garden, insects, parenting, pests, potato bugs, rat
Ireland in Southern California
Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day, a day for everyone to wade through the mists of time to find some long-distant ancestor from the old country, fair Ireland. For my part, my ancestry is from Scotland, making me both fond of…
Odd Things in the Neighborhood
A clutch of nuns arguing about laundry. An Asian girl with Down’s syndrome eating an ice cream cone inside a locked car. The slow death of bees. These are the things in the neighborhood of my office. What odd things…
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