Published in A Bowl Full of Lemons·PinnedToday Is The First Day of the Rest of My LifeReflections on a successful career in grant writing — Today is the first day in over two months that I haven’t awakened with a drop-dead deadline looming over my head. …Writing4 min read
Published in P.S. I Love You·PinnedGardening Has Always Been My First LoveTips from my fifty-year long love affair with nature — I was born in a city, to parents who had lived their whole lives in cities. As a young child, I lived in Queens, New York. The closest I got to nature back then typically consisted of going to the beach and swimming in the ocean. One of my earliest…Gardening4 min read
Published in A Bowl Full of Lemons·Mar 17Create Your Own Piece of ParadiseI’m teaching an online class at the Volks Universiteit Amsterdam — If you have enjoyed any of my gardening articles over the past two years, you might be interested in the course I’m offering in organic gardening beginning at the end of the month. You can find out more about the class, which is offered by zoom on five consecutive Monday…Gardening2 min read
Published in Gardening, Birding, and Outdoor Adventure·Feb 21Ancient WisdomWalking through a food forest in Crete — Long before my birth, or my country’s founding days, these olives fed souls. … I recently visited a farm in Crete that was in the form of a diverse food forest. …Haiku2 min read
Published in Gardening, Birding, and Outdoor Adventure·Feb 13Abundance — a HaikuWhen there is more than enough — More than I can count, I pick all I desire, and am offered more. … A recent visit to Crete and a food forest included harvesting avocados and oranges. The trees were laden with ripe fruits, and we were able to fill two bags without seeming to have made a…Gardening2 min read
Published in The Brain is a Noodle·Feb 10The Pandemic Made an Artist AgainChildren help me remember my voice is my superpower. — I have always expressed my voice and my mission through my writing. My life’s mission is to help end violence against children. Somewhere along the line, I forgot that I didn’t have to lose my access to joy in the process. I started writing poetry when I was in elementary…Writing Prompts5 min read
Published in The Brain is a Noodle·Feb 7My First LoveThings have never been the same — I hit dating age in the 1960s and thought I was in love many times, but the day I became a mother, I knew what love really was. The moment I looked into my newborn daughter’s eyes, I felt as though I had fallen into a deep pool. I was…Writing Prompts2 min read
Published in The Brain is a Noodle·Feb 3Decentering WhitenessHow I’m learning to step aside — I spend a lot of time reading online, which provides frequent opportunities to engage in discussions about topics of importance, including race. This post is a response to a reflection prompt, detailed at the end of the piece. Because I’ve been doing antiracist work for the last several decades, I…Books3 min read
Published in Gardening, Birding, and Outdoor Adventure·Feb 1Spring is Just Around the CornerIt’s time to get down and dirty! — Now is the time to start a new garden or make new plans for your existing plot. Each spring we get the chance to start anew when we garden. …Gardening2 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION-Curated·Jan 31The Doctor is No Longer in the HouseHoward Hesseman was the nicest celebrity I ever met. — Howard Hesseman died today, at the age of 81. I chose the above photo because it reminded me of that iconic episode on WKRP in Cinncinati, when someone thought it would be a good idea to drop turkeys from a helicopter as a Thanksgiving giveaway. You can read about Hesseman’s…Howard Hesseman4 min read
