The Recovery Of This Place

This morning, a breeze that promises rain confirmed by upturned leaves is shooing away the humidity like beauty itself.  From where I sit, I can see a hummingbird sitting on our clothesline, taking a gander at her land.   I’m on our back porch, and I find myself...

The Dream of Farm Gardens

When I was a child, my parents converted a muddy mountainside lot in North Carolina to a lush, rock garden with trails lined by timbers and great patches of perennials.  It was my playground, my escape, my refuge. Then, when we move to Virginia, they did it again...

What You Trash, We Will Redeem

Right now, Philip is outside tilling the garden with the rototiller he just repaired in our driveway.  One thing saved. Next weekend, we’ll be helping to dismantle and old deck and the foundation from a trailer, and we’ll use those materials to begin...

Driving, Dreaming, Building

We spent this weekend on the road – taking a quick trip to see my grandmother and then staying with some dear friends at their timber frame house in Pennsylvania.  As we drove the quiet roads, we pointed out house after house – barn after barn –...