Chapter I The Cyclone Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. There were four walls, a floor and a…

The book Zen Seeing Zen Drawing is about the enhaced view of life that comes from unfiltered seeing and meditative drawing. It is a practic that demands of people that they truly see, as opposed to mere looking.  

1 “It was Old Bess, the Wise Woman of the village, who first suspected that the baby at her daughter’s house was a changeling. “For a time she held her peace. Many babies were ill- favored, she told herself. Many babies cried with what seemed fury against the world—though this littleSaaski had not done so…

Alice Walker The Flowers Alice Walker is the author of the powerful novel Color Purple, which became one of my favorite movies, but she also wrote a short story titled The Flowers. The Flowers By Alice Walker “It seemed to Myop as she skipped lightly from hen house to pigpen to smokehouse that the days had never…

Scarlet Runner Beans in Jacki Kellum’s Cottage Garden For years, I have grown Scarlet Runner Beans in my cottage gardens. I’ve said many times before, but allow me to repeat myself: The earliest cottage gardeners were peasants who had very little land, and much of their cottage and/or kitchen gardens were grown vertically. I subscribe…

When I was a tiny child, my mother and my grandmother taught me how to embroider. The highlight of my week was when I would get to go to the dimestore and pick up my design to embroider for the week. Embroidery is still the core of my textile art. The images that you see…

In the South, April Showers Bring April Flowers. As I’ve watched this allium mature and bloom in my garden–in the midst of this stand of bachelor buttons, I’ve been thinking about this expression all month. In essence, Thomas Tusser wrote “April Showers Bring May Flowers.” “…sweet April showers, do spring May flowers”  – Thomas Tusser…

In previous years, I have grown two types of green bean plants: Kentucky Wonder and Scarlet Running Beans. Both of these are climbing pole beans. This year, I am growing Contender Bush Green Beans, too–as well as Rattlesnake Beans. I hope to plant all these different beans this week–before the rains, and I thought I’d take…

Jacki Kellum – Lichen on a Water Oak Limb Normally, I am into more traditional gardening, but I am fascinated by a network of lichens that have attached themselves to my neighbor’s water oak tree. Look Closely! I see a smorgasbord of lichens. Usnea strigosa Image Credit: Ohio Moss & Lichen Association “Usnea strigosa, also…