This afternoon the smell of newly cut grass suddenly and surprisingly carried me back to my childhood and all those times Daddy pulled out the old push mower and mowed the lawn.   It's amazing how quickly smells transport us through our memories.    Mingled with the fresh smell of cut grass there was always the smell of gasoline too.   That combo carries a real one-two memory punch.  

Once my nose was tuned in this afternoon, I started smelling lots of other spring aromas.   The…

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I love dirt - always have, always will.    What joy there is in running crumbly loam through my fingers!   As a little girl, I can remember making mud pies, constructing frog houses by mounding dirt over my foot, and even eating dirt (it was our Pop Eye's spinach, if you can imagine).    With gardening parents and grandparents, there were also many hours of planting and harvesting while barefoot in the dirt.  Here in the Southeast, we have a hefty amount of clay in our soil so there is much… Continue

Just as we're inching daily towards the spring solstice, this beautiful Southern land is warming and changing daily.  Nowhere is that more apparent than traveling along our country roads.   The woods are already showing tinges of rose and saffron as buds and whirleybird seeds are on the verge of bursting forth.  Blustery February winds whip the loblolly pine boughs back and forth as the last of the now dry autumn leaves scurry across the road.   Overhead, billowy alabaster clouds race across…

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My 2011 garden year officially began today when I started herb seeds indoors - dill, parsley, cilantro, basil, catnip & chives!  I feel as if a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders (I don't do winter very well).   It was a beautiful day in central NC today - 65 degrees with a nice breeze.   It's supposed to be lovely the rest of the week, and I can finally be outdoors in the sunshine and warmth.   Today I started moving a mulch pile.  It doesn't take much to make me happy.   Today,… Continue