Fall Harvest & Deep Colors

Autumn has passed swiftly. In one momentous sweep the mountains around my home turned from yellow, to gold, to amber, to ruby and then finally– with a last groan– to earth and brown. Here in the Blue Ridge we watch steadily for that first bit of color. It seeps down from the top…

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Lost in the Garden

For weeks now I have been utterly and completely lost in the garden. Planting, pruning, digging, and expanding– the pursuit of growing things has literally devoured my life. What began as a modest vegetable garden last year, is now in the midst of a transformation. For years I have been dreaming of pausing in…

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Handmade Valentines

This year I was inspired to make real, honest-to-goodness valentines. You know, those traditional heart-shaped treasures festooned with lace and smothered in floral and velvet. There is something about handmade valentines that strikes a forgotten chord in us, like the relighting of a candle. Once upon a time Valentine’s Day was all about the…

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One a Day

A friend of my mine recently shared this inspiring ritual with me. Every February this friend gets together with a group of people and they all decide on a One a Day. Every day for the entire month of February each person in the group chooses one thing that they will do (no ifs,…

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