Susurration of the Sea I recently read a poem by Danielle Hanson in Last Stanza Poetry Journal Issue #13 (I'm in there, too), titled "Bringing Home the Ocean." Hanson uses the word sussering in her gorgeous poem, and much like the ocean itself, that word has been following me home all week. After a life … Continue reading Susurration of the Sea
How to Make Quickles That's quickles, not quickies. Quickies are a whole other blog post - stay tuned for that one. But this post is about quickles. Quickles are pickles, yes, but this not a homesteading journal. I'm not preparing you for the apocalypse (sorry, hubbie). I'm not a housewife-gone-wild, growing and canning my own … Continue reading How to Make Quickles
Coquina Soup Last week, I came across a quote in An Abundance of Curiosities: The Natural History of North Carolina's Coastal Plain (Bolen and Parnell), that took me back to the summers of my childhood. “With a little effort, gourmands can acquire enough coquinas as stock for a savory broth or chowder.” I call baloney, … Continue reading Coquina Soup
Stoneflies and Centipedes The downpour began in earnest at bedtime, which was convenient, since we were getting in the tent anyway. The tarps, over the rainfly, over the tent, blocked out most of the waning sunlight. It was dark - too dark for reading bedtime stories, yet I persisted, even as water seeped in along … Continue reading Stoneflies and Centipedes
Tramp Life I won't be posting next week, because I'll be living in a tent down by the river, with my husband, children, and the local insect population. The kids are really looking forward to it. So are the bugs. The current weather forecast shows rain every day. As a child, I loved camping and … Continue reading Tramp Life
Cancer Cure I didn't always plan on being a high school science teacher. Or a yoga teacher. Or a writer, or a mom, or whatever it is that I am. I planned on being a doctor. There was a time when that dream meant veterinarian, but gradually it shifted, to naturopathic doctor. That's basically like … Continue reading Cancer Cure
Tobacco Barns I was born in 1982, or as my seven-year-old calls it, the "nineteen hundred and eighties." No, you may not call it that. It wasn't that long ago. It was just the other day. It was "the eighties" - we can all agree to that, can't we? The eighties were the last decade … Continue reading Tobacco Barns
Super Power Cultivator Our neighbor gave my son a “Super Power Cultivator” for his fifth birthday. Here it is, in its Power-Concentrating Box: "How do I use it?" he asked. “Use your imagination,” she said. So, he speaks into it and tell it what superpowers he wants to gain. "I want to go faster," he … Continue reading Super Power Cultivator
Chick & Biscuit & Sean of the South What did you want to be when you grew up? A firefighter? A ballerina? President of the United States? Or maybe a rock star? A singer on the radio, in front of a crowd, belting out lyrics with everyone swooning – doesn’t that sound great?! Me, too. … Continue reading Chick & Biscuit & Sean of the South
Pollywiggle Pollywog I have a soft spot for amphibians, partly because they're so soft and vulnerable. Ask me my favorite animal, and I'll say "salamander." Unless I'm holding your Jello-boned cat; then he's my favorite. Or watching the blonde squirrel in my yard; then she's my favorite. But all the other times, it's salamanders. They're … Continue reading Pollywiggle pollywog
Jessi Waugh Writer 