gratitude

Frosty Mallow, outlined in white on these cold mornings.

Garden Journaling

January 28, 2026January 27, 2026

A garden “biotime” journal can help you to slow down, be a better observer, and feel more connected to nature and its rhythms. It is not only an important tool for review, it can also change the way you see things — and it might also bring a sense of calm in a very chaotic world. I highly recommend keeping one.

Fruits of November

December 4, 2025December 3, 2025

Wind, rain, fog – wild weather! Piles of leaves, lots of bird action, and So. Many. Fruits! In November! Gotta Love It!

The Last Hurrah of August

September 1, 2025September 1, 2025

Is August crazy? The heat, bugs, smoky skies, and too little rain … so much fruit, we can’t keep up … with its tall, bold flowers, August is summer’s last fling. Got overwhelm? I’ve got a cure for you. Oh, and check out the photos of the new peachicks. Adorable!

June Tunes: A Song of Garden Chaos

July 24, 2025July 24, 2025

A lot going on here. What it is, ain’t exactly clear. June was garden chaos at it’s best, or worst, depending on perspective. Bee swarms, wild animal visits in broad daylight, attacks in the night…. I bushwhacked through grass, thistle, bindweed, and bramble to find my way through this thicket of life…

February Already! January Recap

February 7, 2025February 1, 2025

Recap of the January garden: backyard birds, berries and seed heads, skeletal living willow sculptures, and Yes! flowers! Half-way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox! Days are getting longer! Should you track the changes with a journal of some sort? Maybe!

A Time for Reflections

January 1, 2024December 31, 2023

The end of the year is often a time for reflections. Here are a few I found this morning. Enjoy!

Winter Solstice: A time to stop, listen, give thanks, and move forward

December 21, 2022December 19, 2022

This is a heartfelt post about facing death and also new beginnings. This solstice is an opportunity to join fellow creatures in saving the planet and all its miraculous wild places.

Garden Burnout, Letting Go, and Grasping the Now

December 25, 2023November 1, 2020

What happens if at the height of harvest, you just leave the garden to fend for itself? Garden burnout – and overwhelm with life, politics, and everything else – is a real thing. Put down the to-do lists. Let it go. Escape to wild places. Live in the Now. Return renewed. It is possible.

30 Things that Make Me Happy

December 31, 2023April 30, 2020

30 Things that Make Me Happy – Because we need happy things right now more than ever… so – coming to all of us in the northern hemisphere – here are some sure signs of spring!

Sense of Place

December 25, 2023December 31, 2019

My dog, Barkley, taught me about having a sense of place. This happens, he said, when we develop a sense of belonging; it becomes an extension of ourselves. When we connect, we care; when we care, we protect; when we protect, we try to heal, nourish, and help grow. It becomes our personal truth.

2018 Highlights; 2019 Goals, Strategies, and New Beginnings

December 25, 2023December 31, 2018

It is that time again to reflect over the year’s ups and downs, an exercise that has become cliché but that can still be quite helpful. It was a busy year! Here is a quick summary of what went down (or up, as the case may be) at Barbolian Fields, along with a few goals and strategies for the coming year. What will 2019 bring? What will we be able to do to make the world a better place? How will we help one another? How will we heal our planet? We can start by getting back to the garden.

Blooming in November: Flowers for Bees, Pollinators, Feathered Friends

December 25, 2023November 18, 2018

I am always amazed at what is still blooming in November. Such gifts! The bees and other pollinators are especially grateful. So am I! In the midst of the leaf-raking season, be sure to take a break to smell the roses! Hope your Thanksgiving is full of blessings, your life full of gratitude, and your garden full of whatever it is full of. It’s all good!

On the Wings of March

December 25, 2023March 14, 2018

Walk along a soaked garden path in early March and what do you see? Raindrops, birds, insects, and the world waking up. So amazing, it drove me to write poetry. Herein a poem for March, the wondrous transformations in a garden, and the miracles of spring. They’re everywhere. If we build it, they will come.

Rain!

December 25, 2023September 8, 2017

Rain! This post was written after we had gone 3 full months without a single drop. Living in the Rainshadow of the Olympics in the Pacific Northwest is sometimes a challenge for the garden. Now we begin our transition to a time of drizzle and gray…and I couldn’t be more thankful!

It’s Your Day

December 25, 2023December 6, 2014

Early December already! I realize I have not posted anything on here since May, and the picture of those creepy-crawly caterpillars greeting me every time I went to the blog site was enough to make me turn away. I was starting to feel guilty. I had let down “my people.” I watched the site visit statistics drop precipitously.

Solstice, Suntracks, Supermoons, and a Happy New Year!

December 25, 2023December 31, 2013

Dear Friends,

I thought I might write you all sooner. At the time of the last full moon of the year, for example, would have been appropriate, but the great white orb managed to boldly rise in the cold night sky and then set in quiet serenity the following morning without any website fanfare on my part (although I admit to a certain amount of cavorting in song and celebration, which is usually what happens when I whip out my harmonicas under a full moon….). (Not to draw correlations, of course.)

Thanksgiving Connections

December 25, 2023November 28, 2013

The end of November! How did this happen? It appears that we were so busy during the flurry of harvest activities and making sure things were getting tucked in before the coming chill, we forgot to look up! The days are not as long, you know; they are gone before you know it! We hardly noticed just how swiftly one turned into another while the sun skated low across the sky. What happened to high noon?

November Blooms

December 25, 2023November 22, 2013

The temperatures are dipping into the 20s, and yet… such miracles! The bees are so very grateful!

I think we, too, appreciate them all the more!

A Quiet Place for Peace

December 25, 2023April 17, 2013

The Willow Room in spring takes on a life of its own. Individually, the reeds are supple. They bend with the forces that shape them. Together, however, they are strong – forever interlocked. Recent events in Boston remind us how together we are stronger, and, too, how each of us needs an inner garden sanctuary in which to find peace and make sense of this world.