The four-dozen roses bought from the expensive on-line purveyor arrived promptly on Thursday, February 4…
Our Own Private Maryland Money Pit
It was so thrilling in January. The worn, stained carpeting in the family room and the tired vinyl in the kitchen had been replaced with warm oak from one side to the other. Suddenly the space seemed brighter, lighter, bigger. Even the addition of a large area rug and...
The Inferno That Destroys Democracy
I read newspapers, always have. Always one every day; oftentimes two or more. When I was a child living in Cleveland OH, the choice was between the The Press and The Plain Dealer. My left-wing parents subscribed the The Plain Dealer. At my maternal grandparents’ home...
Dying For What One Believes?
It is Sunday, July 19, 2021, as I write. I read the COVID statistics published in The Baltimore Sun every day, have been since they began printing that little gray box in the paper. I noticed today, with shock, that the death toll had jumped by four in Harford County,...
Monuments, Memorials And Me
The Mall was quiet earlyish that Sunday morning as I hoped it might be. Little traffic, few tourists, plenty of parking. The weather report had not been encouraging but rain held off, clouds suppressing the sun that would have made the humid air intolerable. Abraham...
One Day At A Time
Some summers back I bought a couple of bedraggled hemerocallis from Home Depot, hoping they might fill a couple of awkward spaces in my garden. A deep discount added motivation. They were quite a lovely color, too, shades of purple and yellow. I seem to have lost the...
The Chapters In This Story Are Still Being Written
I learned about the English-Speaking Union at Emma Willard School where, freshman year, our ESU was the tall and soignée Julia. Three years later, I applied to the program; our headmaster, William Dietel, at that time chaired the selection committee. I still remember...
Carry On Into Midsummer
Sixty-four degrees under light rain after too little precipitation and days in the nineties? That’s a gardening day. I pull weeds from the forgiving mud, deadhead the foxglove, penstemon, columbine and roses, and contemplate the possibility of adding a few plants...
The Longest Seven-Tenths Of A Mile
My Dear One and I headed out that sunny Memorial Day to Swan Harbor Farm. A pleasant stroll down by the Chesapeake Bay. Just the thing. Swan Harbor Farm is administered by the Harford County Department of Parks and Recreation, has agricultural education opportunities...