my first wild ramps (with a recipe)

Although I’d heard of them, I’d never eaten wild ramps — until recently. In this post, I talk a little about ramps and include a recipe for broiled ramps and asparagus with champagne vinaigrette.

erosion mitigation: the price of procrastination

It was late summer of 2019, and it had been months since I’d made the 2.5 hour drive from my parents’ house, where I’d been living, to Joyous Gard. My work schedule had complicated things, and — frankly — I was at a loss as to how to prioritize the mountain of work I needed…

learning to ask for help

(hint: it wasn’t an easy lesson) One of the scariest — and most frustrating — parts of this journey I’m on is that I’m essentially walking it alone. I’m divorced, with no children, and I have no life partner to help me plan, make mistakes with me, allow me to lean on him when I’m…

live in a yurt, yes. but first…

Plot twist! (I think that’s what you’re supposed to say when you run smack into a barrier and have to change direction. Sounds way cooler than, Owww! Who put that barrier there, right in my path? Even if you add creative swearing to go with it.) In a previous post, I came clean about the…

one turn of the seasons later

Oh, hi there! Thanks for stopping by. It kinda baffles me since, once again, I’ve gone about a year without writing anything. Yes, I still see visitors pop by out here now and again. Usually, I just think they’re lost — took a wrong turn while looking for something else — but occasionally someone leaves…

bears, yahoos, and security needs

Late September 2018 “I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Sam’s words were difficult to pick out over the intermittent cell connection, but this one sentence came through loud and clear. My heart sank. I was an hour into the two-and-a-half-hour drive from my parents’ house in South Carolina, where I’ve been staying…