Berlin's Whimsy

What is the proverb, "...Life began in a Garden...?" Perhaps. I'm not a wonderful gardener but I have aspirations. These photos are not from my own yard but I do have a quite pleasurable little space to call my own. But these photos are a result of a recent walk with my kids. We discovered a magical park nearby with community gardens ensconced within. I couldn't help but push open the...

We miss our chickens. We see them fairly often but it isn't the same as walking out to the chicken house in the morning and watching them flee from their confinement----a spectacle of legs, wings, and squawks, leaving feathers floating in the air. Or listening to their plucking grass and bantering back and forth. Yes, even Macho's gruff crow is missed. I especially long for sitting outdoors with...

Always cheered up by an impromptu stop at a yard sale, this past weekend proved especially cheerful. I found treasure----memories in the making. My daughter has wanted a manual typewriter for quite awhile. She is enamored with the keys and the thoughts of being a writer sitting at the ticking contraption----a quaint image. At a yard sale this past weekend, I wandered amongst clothes strung on a...

These last couple weeks have kicked me in the tush. I love my new house but I don't love my new job. It's not going to work out for me. There are a few factors involved but mostly it's the hours. When I was hired, I communicated my need for a schedule that is set ahead of time so I could determine my childcare needs. Today, after work, I made a few tough decisions. No more pussy footing...

Wow, I didn't set out to be absent for so long from this little space of writing. I guess my fingers were too busy unpacking those last complicated boxes from my previous life, and my writer's mind was too preoccupied with learning a new job with all of its new personalities. Through the last few weeks of sultry temperatures, we spent a few relaxing afternoons by the local river, dipping into its...

Our chickens enjoy staying "clean." That is, if one can call them clean after they flop around in the dirt. It's quite a spectacle. They seem to go into some sort of 'chicken zen' while performing their bathing routine. If someone was to come across them in this state, I'm fairly certain they would think they had found the results of some kind of tragedy, as they look pretty out of sorts....

A week ago, we followed the criss crossing back roads of the mountains to a pocket of mountain huckleberries. My Mom visits this spot each year and on one occasion she shared her berry picking session with a bunch of berry engorged black bears. On this day, my kids were tired of riding in the car and our drive was marred by "He touched me!" and "You started it!" However, when we reached the...