06 Saturday Aug 2016
Posted in Garden, Odyssey Orchards, school gardens, Teaching
It has been over a year and a half since my last post. This site has been sitting on a bookshelf, so to speak, collecting dust. Sitting there while I created lesson plans, graded papers, met with parents, and managed a classroom of 25 fourth graders. Sitting there while my garden withered. No time. But, times change…. Continue reading
09 Monday Feb 2015
It is not uncommon to hear, especially from folks who have moved here from other parts of the country, that Southern California has no winter. People laugh at us when we pull out our knitted caps when the thermometer dips to 60 degrees. And we definitely don’t know how to drive in the rain (I will give them that). But, as someone who was born and raised in Southern California, and maybe more so as a gardener, I would say, “Yes, indeed, California has a winter!” It is subtle and beautiful.
02 Saturday Aug 2014
Posted in Garden, Odyssey Orchards, Teaching, Why I Garden
Late one afternoon I finally got to picking the dried black beans. As soon as I reached up to remove the first pods my daughter squealed and asked, “Are these different ones!? Don’t tell me what they look like!” She ran off holding a single dried pod like it was a present all wrapped up in pretty paper. Continue reading
19 Saturday Jul 2014
I recently had to spend five days in Las Vegas. Five days and four nights too many. Despite living just a four hour drive away for most of my life, it was my first time there. I was attending a teacher’s math conference, which was great, but I could barely tolerate my surroundings. To me Vegas (the strip in particular) shows off some of the most despicable traits of our capitalist, sexist society. Its excess invokes strong feelings in me. I won’t go into all the reasons I despise Las Vegas, but I will say for one, it all sits in the middle of a desert, which just adds insult to injury. It is like giving the finger to Earth. Continue reading
06 Friday Jun 2014
My daughter has four days left of school. Four short days. Due to a twist of circumstance, my son has been in preschool five mornings a week instead of three for the last month. These mornings, this time to myself has been a gift, the quiet before the storm. I see the end of this school year as an end of an era, a short era, but one none the less. In the blink of an eye I will be swimming in lesson plans and first day of school jitters. The quiet mornings to myself will be fewer and farther between. Continue reading
24 Saturday May 2014
Tags
garden, gardening, gardening with children, gardening with kids, school gardens, summer garden, sustainable food, sustainable living
It is amazing what can happen in the garden in just a few short weeks. There must be fairies visiting my beds every night sprinkling their magic dust over the plants. Continue reading
Growing Up in the Garden 