One of my favourite flowers in the garden is the hollyhock. It splashes its colours all around, attracting birds, butterflies, and other little creatures. I don’t plant them; they just reappear every year from the seeds that have dropped into the rich, organic soil. They grow to a magnificent height of eight or nine feet, […]
Recently I heard from a friend who went to a relative’s one hundredth birthday celebration. The dear lady claimed that she achieved the century mark by eating lots of turnips and carrots, which she had stolen from her mom’s garden, first wiping off the dirt. Upon reflection, I realized that though I grow lots of […]
When I was in college, I had a summer job working at a plant nursery. I spent hours weeding and hoeing, and, when I had more experience, I was promoted to driving the little rototiller; from there I’d watch the rest of the gang out toiling in the sun. After two hours in the heat, […]
“The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.” These words, from The Merchant of Venice, still ring in my ears—though I have rarely encountered them since last I studied them in grade 12 English. Likewise, we never seem to forget hymns memorized as a […]
Once the first snow flies, there is a hum of activity around the various bird feeders outside our windows. In November, a pair of cardinals arrived, beautiful in their bright scarlet coats against the freshly fallen snow. Blue jays, proud and chattering merrily, dominated the large feeder, sending the little birds scuttling away. Early one […]
“I remember the first time that a grading rubric was attached to a piece of my writing. . . . Suddenly all the joy was taken away. I was writing for a grade—I was no longer exploring for me. I want to get that back. Will I ever get that back?” Claire, a student […]
Last November on a beautiful, sunny Sunday, my husband and I went for a long, leisurely walk through the fields. We heard a loud honking in the distance, and saw a vast flock of Canada geese in V formation. Suddenly the honking sounds escalated, and the entire flock made an enormous U-turn. Five minutes later, […]
I woke up this morning to the sight of two spectacular downy woodpeckers fully engaged in their calling. These two were industriously pecking into the soft wood of the Australian willow that was trimmed down to clear the way for the recent addition of several solar-voltaic panels. I argued to save the tree, but alas, […]
“Community then becomes the laboratory in which our hopes and dreams become real … A worldview, a mentor, a community—these are the habits of heart that grow and sustain a faithful life, that so nourish a soul that a career can become a calling that gives a coherence to the whole of life.” —Steven Garber, […]
“The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship … God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding” (Ps. 19:1, 4b–5a nlt). I’ve been thinking about rainbows lately: rainbow trout, the rainbow-colored Swiss chard that grew in […]