In preschool, we learn about seasons by assigning some simple characteristics:Winter: Snow and snowmenSpring: Flowers and green grassSummer: Hot sun, thunderstorms and swimming poolsFall: Colorful leaves and pumpkinsIt all seems so clear cut, with nice lines dividing up each season into clear periods of time. In reality seasons aren’t that clear cut. Time is a continuum — a continuum that stands out to me especially in my garden, where...

Have you ever experienced one of those times when something that’s really small, not a big deal at all in the overall scheme of life, just sets you off? That happened to me, around the middle of July, when I faced the realization head-on that I wasn’t going to get any tomatoes from my garden. We’d marched through one disappointment after the other like troopers: school closures, canceled vacation, a soccer season cut short (and by short I mean...

There are times when winter can really be depressing. Days on end of cloudy, gray skies. Darkness when you wake up in the morning and when you eat supper at night. Gardens empty of blooms, littered with dried up leaves blown about in wind storms. And then you have a day like this: It’s one of the things I love about living in the South. Sunshine and blue skies. While they don’t come every single day, at least we get them year round. I love how...

When Bill and I were newlyweds living in Greensboro, we were invited to supper at the home of a couple in our church who had been married quite a bit longer than we had been. I’m sure they had us over to help introduce us to people in the church, or to get to know us better since we were newcomers. I know we had a good time, because Mr. Hull was a great storyteller and always a lot of fun. But what I remember most about that evening is their...

I happen to live on a few acres of land, and while I try to keep a somewhat manicured lawn and garden up by the house, most of the rest of the property is left to its own devices. Trees fall down in the woods, blackberries grow along the right of way, and sometimes things like this pop up beside the driveway. I saw it start to grow and was going to pull it up, but Bill said to just leave it and see what happened. As it grew, the thick, spiny...

My favorite colors are red and orange. But there is a color that has crept into my life that I have to admit I sort of love, and it’s turned me into a hosta lover at the same time. That color is chartreuse, and my new favorite hosta is this one: I have a confession to make. I have never really liked hostas. When we lived in Marietta, Georgia, hostas lined the back of our house, from the back door to the driveway. These plants that are...