Toward the end of summer, flowering mint drives the wasps and bees mad with delight. But this year, I made sure the insects were not the only ones delighted by the mint—or should I say mints—growing in our own back yard. Enjoying mint tea is nothing new to me. In my...
-Miracles in the Garden with Susan Yoder Ackerman
Zebras, Tigers and Hummingbirds—the Zoo in my Own Back Yard
I love the way summer dotes on us with its predictable and its unpredictable surprises. I look forward to the royal pink crape myrtle carpet in our back yard. When I see these buds as fat and orange as carrots, I know it’s almost Turk’s cap lily time. And sure enough,...
Wild is the Way
A dozen hungry goldfinches bob and bounce on billows of yellow coneflowers. A gray hairstreak butterfly, not an inch long, trails its delicate fringes on the surface of one of the brilliant blossoms. Bees and dragonflies of every hue teem on the flowers that grow and...
View from the Garden Gate
“You got strawberries?” A boy on a bike paused at the entrance to Lisa’s Garden. “Nope,” I replied. “Just flowers.” He rode on, with a puzzled backward glance. Crowds of people were parking along the street and strolling across the grass, stopping to admire a dazzling...
Sweet Pea Grandmother
A hundred years ago, my grandfather brought his wife Irene and their five little children to their new home. It’s the very house I live in today. My father was the littlest boy at the time, and all his life he remembered the delight of dangling his feet over the side...
…By the Chimney with Care
When Christmas rolls around, our fireplace is front and center. But it’s a place for knitting stockings, not hanging them. There is no mantel. The stockings would be toast in no time. On Christmas Eve, we usually line the stockings up on a nearby couch. On Christmas...
Just—and Justified–Desserts
“T’is the season! Kroger shelves empty of my favorite unbleached flour. I search from store to store for green candied cherries. Bags of chocolate chips and packs of butter spill over in my grocery cart. Dough is chilling for pecan dreams and molasses crinkles. A...
Season of Sweet Angels…
Sweet Potato Angel BISCUITS, that is! And a Nina angel to roll out the tender dough. At fall harvest time, and into the Christmas season (think ham or veggie accompaniment)—well, really, all year around–Sweet...
Tool Wars—Friendly Fire
We both stared at a crack on the surface of the small wood-handled pancake turner. I’m not sure if he offered, or if I requested, but it was agreed that he would take it to the garage and try to fix it. “Don’t ruin it!” were my last words as he headed out to the...
Magic Dust–Little Entrepreneurs and Me
Magic dust! The words caught my eye as I paid for my grapes at the vineyard farm stand. A small baggie of wonder-working dust to work magic on tired African violets–bargain at only one dollar! There was no mention of secret ingredients or even active ingredients. The...