by Marlene Bumgarner | Jan 11, 2021 | Back to the Land, Cooking and Eating, Family, Gardening
Awakening to the Anger Abroad When I awakened on Thursday morning after the attack on our national capitol, I felt as if the world had tipped on its axis. I was disoriented and frightened. So I did what I always do when I’m feeling down. I headed for my garden....
by Marlene Bumgarner | Nov 9, 2020 | Aging, Community, Cooking and Eating, Family, Grandparenting
Remembering Past Traditions Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated with large family gatherings. We eat communally prepared feasts, share family stories, and spend hours indoors playing games, working puzzles, and watching televised sporting events. Even more than...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Sep 29, 2020 | Community, Cooking and Eating, Family, Gardening, Health
Doldrums in the Morning I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. That’s unusual for me – I usually bounce up, starving, with the beginnings of a coffee headache, open the blinds and the sliding door beside my bed so Kismet can go out, and head...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Aug 4, 2020 | Back to the Land, Cooking and Eating, Family, Gardening, Health
Help! My Lettuce is Bolting. The heatwave that hit Santa Cruz recently fried my chard leaves and caused the leaf lettuce to bolt. Looking at the gangly plants, overnight grown to four feet in height, I wondered why we call this sudden growth “bolting.” I...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Jun 23, 2020 | Back to the Land, Books, Cooking and Eating, Family, Gardening, Good Reads
From the Prologue: “We all worked together. Ate together. Sang together. Learned together. We had a good life. After living close to the natural cycles of the earth year after year, good and not good, we grew stronger and more resilient, learned to manage our...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Jun 3, 2020 | Back to the Land, Cooking and Eating, Family
A Sourdough Story Note from Marlene: Please welcome my new friend Tara Besore. She and I were both inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder to seek the simple life in our gardens and in our kitchen. Here’s her wonderfully honest account of the first time she attempted...