We’ve been harvesting chamomile flowers.  The slender stems slide between our fingers. We pop their citrine heads free and dry them in a tray.  A couple of plants supply us with enough flowers for a year of yellow tea. There’s a lot of good stuff in chamomile.  It’s supposed to relax you, making it a lovely tea to drink on a cold winter evening.  And it can help with digestion and stomach issues, though it may also be linked to... Read more

When’s the last time you looked down as you walked the streets of Moundridge?  Did you notice the manhole covers?  According to their stamps, they were forged in foundries near and abroad.  I’ve spotted Oklahoma, Indiana, Hutchinson, KS and strangely enough: India. That’s right: India–as in the Asian nation with a billion people.  We get at least some of our manhole and water meter covers from India. Apparently Moundridge isn’t the only city to use iron covers from India.  New York... Read more

My greatest fear is living a life that doesn’t count for something. (OK, I’m also afraid of bad things happening to my children, Zika virus, and large, hairy spiders–but that’s another story).  I’m afraid of living a life that doesn’t matter, that amounts to a shrug at my funeral.  I’m afraid of  counting for nothing. If you’re anything like me, when you graduated from some place, some time (it doesn’t matter where or when), they told you to go out... Read more