Dripping maples, full birdbaths, flowers bowing their heads. Since yesterday morning, the temperature hasn’t gone up or down more than two degrees. We leave the house open. Last night, we could hear the crickets. Rain or no rain, now is their time. Thoreau’s journal, February 1854. One day, he followed the tracks of a fox in the snow over a mile. No phone, no map, no app. Strolling vs. scrolling. […]
Crab grass has deep roots. If you pull me up by my hair, mine will break too. . [ 1811 ]
Riot of wildflowers, symphony of weeds — yes, little junco, the ladybug is pleased. . [ 1782 ]
Hummingbird air poppy fair long stem slender neck blood-red sipping cup . [ 1778 ]
Until the robin ate the worm, he didn’t know he was hungry. And he asked himself, “Maybe this is wisdom?” . [ 1775 ]
I found myself at shovel’s depth, sweet loam above and more below than I could imagine; first my knees, then my hands — I’d never felt such welcome; my face, my breath — I no longer cared to stand, let my limbs sink in as a favorite story might begin; and when I reached the end, I awoke to death, and pulled the shovel out again. . [ 1757 ]
Isn’t it interesting, and maybe just a tiny bit sad, that we don’t call a garden a garden until we’ve planted it, when we’ve been living in a garden all along? . [ 1750 ]
Wildflowers, nasturtiums, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, corn, okra, string beans, sunflowers, purslane, crab grass and everything else that wants to grow — this year’s garden will be interesting, especially since I’ve scattered seeds in places I’ve already forgotten in this sudden transition to sunny skies, bare arms, and warm feet. Under these enlightened conditions, spending the afternoon working outside is much like losing my mind, or would be, if I still […]
I’ve lived long enough to know that whatever I try to do is weakened by the effort. Whatever I try to say, is rendered less clear. I’ve learned that even before I begin, the doing and saying is already being done for me, and that by keeping breath in this body, life is allowing me to take part in a process as playful as it is timeless and profound. Life […]
William Michaelian 