humor
-
Real Men Vacuum
The mud room is loaded with bees. There are clusters on the door and window. A few bees buzz around the room. A few more linger on the honey boxes in the center of the floor. Even though Beekeeper Man put a bee escape on the hives to minimize the number of bees clinging to Continue reading
-
Another Tale of Wild Food
There is a reason why humans began to cultivate food. Cultivated food is within human reach. It comes at predictable times. And you know exactly where it will be—right where you planted it. Foraging for food requires eyes constantly alert because you can never be sure when or where you will find an edible treasure. Continue reading
-
The Lure of the Porch
How am I supposed to get anything done today if it is going to be such a glorious sit-on-the-porch rainy day? I can count on one hand the number of days before I report back for the new school year. I have a to-do list of to-do lists and I have been dutifully checking my Continue reading
-
I Am an Expert—I Bet You Are, Too
I came across an article promising to make me an expert. According to a Tedx Talk expert on expertise, David Mitroff, I only have to do three things to be considered an expert: Spend three years learning about my area of expertise. Build my confidence. Take action. (This can be as simple as nominating yourself Continue reading
-
The Vaccine Games
Who knew, in the spring of 2020, that the battle to find toilet paper was just training for getting a Covid vaccine? Who knew that our lives would begin to ressemble the Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies as we scrambled to get a vaccine appointment? Who could have imagined that we would even Continue reading
-
Propolis: Bane of the Beekeeper’s Wife
There are many things that set me off on a rant but the worst ones involve Any Other Person messing up My Stuff. It doesn’t have to technically be my stuff. If I use it and/or clean it, it counts as mine. Any beekeeper wife will agree that beekeeping presents some challenges with protecting stuff. Continue reading
-
Surf and Turf
Not yet 8 a.m. Vacation Man heads to the beach to set up camp for the day. He’s not the first. He has been spurred to action by another Vacation Dad hauling beach gear down the street. Yesterday, he set out after eight and barely found a good spot. Today, while he claims his turf, Continue reading
-
Trees Must Die
Another tree made it onto my hit list this week. It must come down. It has attacked and offended me. The tree is perfectly healthy. For years it has grown near the corner of our house, sneakily growing taller and reaching smidge by smidge over the driveway toward my car. And then, just as my Continue reading
-
A Sauna-dweller travels to Colorado
I should have packed eye drops, but I forgot that Colorado air is dry enough to suck out all your eyeball juice. In Colorado, no one says, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” like they do in Baltimore. In Colorado, when it is hot it is dry hot. Sweat doesn’t stick to skin like Continue reading
-
Three Things I Would Bottle
Three things I wish I could bottle for later: summer sunshine, the restorative powers of vacation sleep, and the energy of a child. Probably in that order. I crave sunlight. I love sleep. And with every passing year, it takes more energy than I naturally have to carry me through the day. I don’t want Continue reading
Slightly Off the Grid 