If you drive through my neighborhood in mid-summer, you will see wild morning glories in almost every yard. But here is the thing, they are not morning glories at all. They are bindweed flowers (Convolvulus arvensis} masquerading as morning glories. And the name bindweed tells you most of what you need to … Read more
My Sunday post is coming out very late in the day because I have been hanging out in the garden. Finally, I am done traveling. And the weather cooperated, making it a great gardening weekend. I also have a new planting area in my yard, created when we moved a fence out to … Read more
Like Bilbo Baggins, I am a reluctant traveler. There have been way too many travel days in the last few months. The reasons for leaving home-base have been positive – seeing the people I love and attending cool workshops. But at the end of it all, I’d rather be home with my … Read more
I spent the last week in Qigong teacher training at Kripalu Retreat Center. The training was wonderful, and I will write more about it in future blogs. But what I want to focus on this morning is simply cultivating our awareness of stillness, which is a part of Qigong and many other mindfulness practices. It … Read more
Not Getting Lost in The Storm Denver has been wildly windy this week. Prayer flags are rippling constantly, like the videos I’ve seen of Tibetan mountain tops. Wind-chimes are playing furiously. And the wind sounds spooky as it whips by the house late at night. It’s NOT snowing. But the wind has me thinking about … Read more
Everything Changes When I started gardening many moons ago, it was impossible to get organic produce at local stores. I also had a house full of children. Growing plants we could make meals with was a top priority. However, all of that has changed. Drifting Toward Easy My work schedule is hectic, there aren’t … Read more
Look Up – This Week’s Mindfulness Focus I’ve been busy cleaning up the yard and garden beds after a long winter. Green shoots of garlic, yarrow, lemon balm, and hops are making an appearance. And my new Black Knight butterfly bush has sprouted tiny leaves. It is easy to keep eyes focused down on the … Read more
Dandelions and Marches What do dandelions have in common with young people and the March for Our Lives? It’s not a riddle. They are prolific and beautiful. And they embody strength in numbers. Until yesterday, I was simply going to write about dandelions, one of my favorite weedy medicinal herbs. Dandelions have lots of attributes … Read more
An Octopus’s Garden for Real I always thought the Beatles’ song An Octopus’s Garden was kind of silly. Fun, but silly. Apparently, octopuses’ gardens are a real thing. I heard an interview with Ringo Starr on Breakfast with the Beatles recently. He explained he was inspired to write the song after learning that octopuses (yes that’s the plural) collect … Read more
The Strange Practice of Daylight Saving Time Those of us living in the U.S. (excepting Arizona and Hawaii) have lost an hour this morning thanks to Daylight Saving Time (DST). The reasons for changing the time seem a little fuzzy to me. Originally (1918) the goal seemed to be about saving energy, but research shows … Read more
