The Redding Farmer’s Market, the first to be certified in California more than 34 years ago, was bustling this morning as my sister and I made our way through the early-bird crowd inspecting potential dinner and dessert ingredients. We thought it best to develop a strategy if we wanted to guarantee we’d leave with peaches...
Money gives us a good reason to work. It pays the mortgage, puts food in our bellies and allows us to purchase the very important, can’t live without, flower seeds in the spring. If we love what we do, the time we spend making a living is enjoyable. But what I have found to be...
A month or so ago my fellow knitters threw a birthday party for me. Betsy brought a delightful cheese plate, Shannon made a to-die-for vegetarian moussaka, Angie made a fresh garden salad, Lisa provided gourmet bread and Karen baked a decadent Texas sheet cake. As we sat in front of the fireplace, eating and chatting,...
Once again, I have been blessed with a day of exploration in Southern Oregon. To be more specific, Jacksonville and Ashland, two of my favorite towns. Autumn has painted the landscape with various shades of yellow, orange, brown and red. Here is what I spied as I meandered along paths and drove down sleepy backroads....
While clipping the oleanders this past weekend, I disturbed a baby praying mantis. Startled, he quickly jumped onto my arm and said, “Hello.” He then went on to say how much he appreciated my refraining from spraying chemicals in the garden. Had I sprayed, not only would I have killed the aphids, his food source,...
I needed inspiration in the creativity department. I needed a new look. Actually, my blog, which is an extension of me, needed a fresh look. So, I asked a friend if he could design a new logo for nature-drunk.com. He was was crazy busy and couldn’t swing it, but he recommended his friend Matt Briner...
Have you ever met someone and immediately knew the two of you would become friends? That’s how I felt when I met Rita. Rita manages the cabin and property where I stayed while vacationing in Colorado a couple of years ago. I had just arrived and was getting settled when she walked up the steps...
When I was eight years old, I asked my mom for a pottery wheel. After much begging and pleading, she bought the wheel and I set up shop in the small dusty room adjoining our garage. It was summer then and I had three school-free months to perfect my craft. I had visions of making...
The elements in the high desert can change in an instant. Light, wind, and rain all do what they want to do when they want to do it. One minute the sky is clear and sunny and so blue you can’t believe a color that vibrant exists. The next, a pregnant storm cloud booms overhead and...
When you care for someone’s garden, you get a glimpse of the depth of that person. You find a new appreciation for who they are and discover what is important to them. That awareness makes you feel closer to the one who has created the special space. My sister asked me to keep an eye...
