Brian Doyle was born in New York and attended the University of Notre Dame. He lived in Oregon and was editor of Portland magazine. A Song for Nurses “I have seen nurses praying by my tiny son’s bed before and after his heart was edited so that he could live to be a…
home schooling, kids are special, teaching at home, tuturing, writers workshop, writing with children
Help for Parents
Am I doing enough? Watching the news, learning about people reaching out to help others made me realize I too can help. To all the parents and caregivers teaching kids at home. The following is a lesson you can do with your child to improve their skills. Children learn needed skills from writing and reading.…
Stillness
“Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields…Watch now how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.” ~ Mary Oliver
My Cottage Garden
Longer shadows, and the continuous hum of cicadas bring back bittersweet memories of back to school and getting my classroom ready for another year. Excited to be starting a new school year, but sad knowing fall would soon be upon us bringing the end of the gardening season. Photography enables me to keep the memories…
Moments of Wonder
Heaven is my garden. It is the only place I can be in the moment without effort. My mind is still. I blot out noise of the world and hear birdsong. I block out worries of the day and find peace. I slow down and take time to see the beauty surrounding me. My camera…
Rain
Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby. ~ Langston Hughes ~ January tumbled into February and brought nighttime thundershowers, and daytime downpours of rain. The ground is saturated, and the forecast holds more days of rain. But I don’t…
It was Love at First Sight!
Was I ready? Did I want to devote time to raising a puppy? Would I have enough energy to be chasing him around, visiting pet stores, and teaching him how to play fetch the ball? Meet Finley! He became part of our family on August 10th. Finley was 2 months old when we adopted him…
A Hummingbird Magnet
Every fall I order seeds. And every winter when I can’t play in the dirt outside, I play in the dirt inside and sow seeds. I sowed zinnia and cosmos seeds in February. In early May I filled a large patio pot with soil and transplanted the seedlings into it. I pushed a few more…
Challenges
It hasn’t been easy. But, that’s a good thing. Gardening isn’t supposed to be easy. Challenges, setbacks, not knowing, wondering what went wrong, what I did wrong, searching for answers on the internet, in my garden books. Looking out windows, hoping for positive changes. Walking through garden beds, kneeling, feeling leaves, willing plants to good…
