Over the summer I’ve been re-reading Wallace Stegner’s “Angle of Repose” and thinking how much more I bring to this reading now than I did when I read it in my 20s. Today I came across this quote near the end of the novel— “For several weeks now I have had the sense of something [...]
After reading Jackson Lander’s chilling account of being bit by a black widow spider, I’m cautiously eyeing the fall crop of spider webs around my yard. Though Landers writes that black widows are notoriously shy and likely to stay clear unless threatened, he was still caught unawares when he stepped into a water shoe to [...]
The night before our wedding, my oh-so-chic Aunt Carole and Uncle Curtis gave us an elegant bud vase made by the Stueben Glass company. Recognizing that we didn’t have a clue about fine art glass, they let us know that this little vase was something of value. That it might be an heirloom someday. We [...]
Like a tipsy party guest, oxalis—with its day-glo yellow blossoms and exuberant growth patterns—can be a pain to those attempting a manicured springtime garden display. Here in the woodland hills of Oakland, however, outrageously cheery swaths of oxalis are as welcome as a sunny patch of daffodils in a proper English garden. Also, did you [...]
