Going into this, I explained to my son that we had several challenges and unknowns and that the goal for the first year might be merely to raise enough seed for next year, preferably enough seed that we could sow it in a thick tangle with enough left over in case a late freeze killed… Continue reading The First Harvest 2018
The Pond in High Summer
The pond’s first summer was 2018, just a few months after it was dug, but the sprigs of plants we put in it grew explosively, and the frogs and insects colonized it immediately. It was surreal how quickly the pond established itself because I didn’t use fertilizers or tend the plants or do anything that… Continue reading The Pond in High Summer
Building the Tree House
I put off building a tree house for my son because I didn’t want to damage the beautiful maple tree in the backyard by hammering nails. (Nails in trees are an entry point for fungi and other diseases.) Then it occurred to me that I could support the framing for the deck in the Y… Continue reading Building the Tree House
Painting Rocks
I spend afternoons with my son, and now that the summer heat is here in full force, it makes doing things outdoors during our time less than ideal. Fortunately, I remembered that I had a box of studio-grade acrylic paints that I had saved from years ago, and I knew that my son liked finding… Continue reading Painting Rocks
Acorn Adventures
I wanted to teach my son about oak trees because I grew up learning about the outdoors constantly from my father and great uncles, who always pointed out different trees, plants, insects, animals, what animals ate, where things grew, if it migrated, was it native, etc. It was easy for me to take all that… Continue reading Acorn Adventures
Planting the Three Sisters
My son had to teach a lesson in third grade, some activity he was good at, and when I heard him propose something about video games, I immediately suggested planting the three sisters and pushed the idea hard. I didn’t give my son time to suggest other ideas and come up with his own, which… Continue reading Planting the Three Sisters
Blackbeard Island
Each year, my friend has a fishing trip with the guys from college at a house on the north end of Sapelo Island, the part that is completely wild with hogs and rattlesnakes and alligators. Except for one other small house owned by Georgia’s DNR, my friend’s house is the only house on the north… Continue reading Blackbeard Island
Native American Garden First Planting
Native American Garden We aren’t using any pesticides on our plants. We aren’t shooting the squirrels, although I have explained to my son that in a time of hunger, we wouldn’t have to worry about them because they would have already seen the inside of a pot. I only hope they leave us enough for… Continue reading Native American Garden First Planting
Seedlings
Germination Room 1: Formerly Known as the Dining Room Instead of buying plastic germination trays, I wanted to show my son how to reuse recycled materials like cardboard and the rolls from toilet paper in some totes on loan from the warehouse.
Digging the Tadpole Pond
The Yalobusha In the backyard, we dug a Yalobusha, a tadpole place. We dug it after school together between dirt-clod throwing contests.