childhood, Naturalist

Inimitable Spider

Phiddipus audax, the Bold Jumping Spider, on a Prickly Pear pad. He was doing a threat display for me as I leaned in to take his portrait. The audacity of the wee beast! To take on a human thousands of times his size! You have to respect the unflagging courage of it.  It’s no wonder… Read More Inimitable Spider

childhood, family, motherhood

Mae Ploy

It’s funny, the little things that parenting entails. I was talking to the Little Man the other day, about when he really was my little man.  “I used to make airplane noises to get you to eat.” I told him.  “Really?” He’s sitting next to me in the car, and out of the corner of… Read More Mae Ploy

childhood

Scorpions and Cherries

  One of the benefits of having been a military brat is having been there, done that. I was chatting with a colleague about the vagaries of military life, and assuring her that it had done me no harm to move while I was young. She is waiting for her husband’s first orders, packing house,… Read More Scorpions and Cherries

childhood, writing

Pony Memories

  The First Reader and I were talking about ponies. I don’t recall how it came up, but we were sitting on the porch sipping coffee and blathering about nothing and everything, as you do. Now, I grew up with horses. Mom loved the big brutes, and I think I was six when she got… Read More Pony Memories

childhood, motherhood

Violets in a Storm

  This morning as I was sitting here looking up a recipe for crystallized violets I was thinking about the way children grow.  I should elucidate. The Jr Mad Scientist is turning 18 in a few short weeks. For her sixth birthday, I believe, I decorated her birthday cake with violets from the garden. That… Read More Violets in a Storm

childhood

Back to School

No, not me. Yes, I’m planning on doing grad school. But that’s another time, another post… this is about my baby who just started highschool. He was sitting on my bed last night while I was working on paying bills and sorting paperwork, and he was talking excitedly to me about the extra credit his… Read More Back to School

childhood, motherhood

Parenting is Hard

August is trembling on the brink of existence, and with it comes the end of summer. The Little Man goes to high school, the Junior Mad Scientist is already planning her curriculum for her senior year of homeschool, and the Ginja Ninja is working like a fiend to save up and move out. The First… Read More Parenting is Hard