In the family traditions that I grew up in there was not much thought given to ancestors.  I was also handed the unspoken belief, by the culture I was shaped by, that my ancestors were dead and gone and had no real connection to me …

JUN 26 – As the day was dimming, I planted some very special plants; plants that traveled through a lot of adversity to get here.  They originally came to this country from Africa.  A humble plant that was thought to be a “woman’s plant”: the African Mint …

Often when I work on tasks, I tend to ponder things. This week I harvested peas for drying, and I thought about how much time it truly takes to produce your own food. It is not surprising to me that once most people began working …

There are so many challenges we are all facing right now that it is hard to know what direction to look in sometimes. Here in Nashville, March brought a tornado that destroyed or disrupted many of our family and friend’s homes and businesses, and then …

This is important stuff. Seriously. Many people complain about fallen dead branches or wood after a windy day.  It just seems like one more thing to have to take care of in our busy life.  We pick them up and then have to figure out where to …

The dark and the light. Thanksgiving is a day of dissonance. While many of us step away from the busyness of life to share a thankful meal with loved ones, there are others that know the truth of the day and mourn.  Normally, @the.spring.house, I …

Winter in Nashville is always like a slow waltz back and forth between fall and spring, with an occasion dash of winter. The days leading into this winter have been very different though, with more extreme weather events, both hot and cold.[i] Throughout all of …

We all love the explosion of purple in the spring as violets[i]welcome us to the warmer weather.  In the late spring and early summer we only see their dark green leaves flourishing, but did you know that they are blooming again? Violets actually have two types …

This delightful lemony soup, made from French sorrel, tastes like spring. Not only is this green plant (Rumex scutatus) nutritious, but it is also a perennial vegetable. 1 Kitchen garden (Alas if you don’t have one… go to the farmer’s market for the ingredients, but please, …

A few years ago I fell in love with loose-leaf tea.  Once you watch the leaves uncurl in the hot water, to happily sit in your cup while you drink it, you will never want to use a tea bag or strainer again. And then there …