Some years ago, I took down an old barn to salvage the wood. The wood was a treasure, hand hewn oak and heart pine that grew as saplings at least a century before. I thought so much of the wood that I stored it under a shed which had been built to keep my tractor … More Build to Last
They say life is more complicated today, though I suspect life is the same and it is the living that has become more involved. … More The Five, or Six, or Seven Stages of Grief
We won’t take up too much of your time this week. We have work to do, a garden to tend and some lumber to saw, and you have already spent enough time worrying about the condition of the world. We’ll venture a guess that just outside your door, the world is doing just fine, and … More Crabs in a Pot
Welcome to all of you who took a step back from the virtual world and bought seeds, plants, fertilizer, garden tools, even baby chicks during our recent cultural and economic shift. It doesn’t matter why you did it, fear of food shortages, frustration with high prices or just an abundance of time to spend at … More Back to the Garden
When I was in school, Georgia recognized three geographic regions: the mountains, piedmont and coastal plain. We have five now, since the north has been divided into Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge District and Appalachian Plateau. I’m not sure when the official labels changed, but aside from hosting a lot more asphalt and concrete, the land … More Collateral Damage
A frequently parroted headline in recent weeks has been, “The Food Chain is Breaking.” If you’ve been in one of our local grocery stores when the meat counter was empty, you might be inclined to agree. Another school of thought has considered the food chain broken for some time now. More accurately, over the last … More Creative Destruction
We weren’t sick very often in my family when I was growing up. Long before it became television lifestyle expert truth, my parents believed that a reasonable exposure to the residents of the microscopic world via puppies, toad frogs and good honest dirt, would lead to a robust immune system. More importantly, they stressed hygiene … More Embracing the “New Normal”
Last week some of you thought that the observations about select members of my own generation were a bit harsh, and some thought they weren’t harsh enough. I think we can agree that poor judgment and selfish behavior are not confined to any one generation, and neither are sacrifice and good citizenship. We’re another week … More The Price We Pay
The word “mettle” has fallen out of favor in many circles. A good working definition of the word is: “A person’s ability to cope well with difficulties or to face a demanding situation in a spirited and resilient way.” Courage, spirit, resolution and tenacity are excellent synonyms for “mettle.” You won’t have to look far … More Mettle
“Today the flu season is an inconvenience for most of us. It will be a death sentence for some. Some day the stakes may be higher when a pandemic stalks the public spaces.” We wrote that in December of last year, and we’ve had similar discussions here several times over the years. It was an … More Here We Are
Outside The Box 