To Electric-Fence or Not To Electric-Fence?

When I was a kid, my dad strung an electric fence around our horse pasture. It was seldom electrified, so I suppose the horses learned pretty quickly to avoid it. I don’t ever remember the horses getting out, so I’d call it a success. I will also never...

My Shame in Being a Homemaker

As far back as I remember, all I’ve ever wanted to be was a homemaker. And for all that time, I’ve been ashamed of it. Perhaps I was born at the wrong time. During the era when I was growing up, in the 1970s, being a homemaker was being devalued....

Bagging For Bug-Free Fruit

Did you know you could keep the birds and the bees and still have no spots on your apples? Fruit bagging is an age-old practice in Japanese orchards. After the fruit clusters have been thinned, bags are carefully placed around the remaining fruit as soon as they are...

Gearing Up For Fall, Fingers Crossed

I’m very insecure about my fall gardening game. Whenever I’ve had a good fall/winter garden, it’s been largely by accident. Yay! I’m eating spinach in December! How did that happen? The trouble with accidental success is that it’s very...

Too Much of a Good Thing

Of course it’s wrong. It’s misguided. It lacks discipline and demonstrates poor planning, shows impulse control and neglect. I’m letting passionfruit vines take over my yard even though I know it will end badly. This vine is establishing a...