by Marlene Bumgarner | Oct 23, 2026 | Cooking and Eating, Family, Gardening, Writing
Writing Again I’ve been away from my writing pursuits for over three months, and it feels great to be back. This morning I pulled up a picture book manuscript I crafted last year. My youngest granddaughter had developed a fear of the wind, especially of the...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Sep 18, 2026 | Gardening, Grandparenting, Travel, Writing
Hi, everyone! My last post was in June, just before leaving for Europe. Today is September 18, Some of you may have wondered where I got to. My trip to Europe was all I could hope for, if you don’t count the discomfort of flying Economy for 14 hours each way....
by Marlene Bumgarner | Jun 16, 2026 | Back to the Land, Community, Family, Gardening, Grandparenting, Travel
It’s Spring! No, It’s Summer It could be said, and probably is by people who move from the east coast to the west, that California does not have four identifiable seasons. My brain is still in Spring, and in fact the calendar tells me that summer...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Apr 25, 2026 | Family, Gardening, Writing
Lions and Lambs As a former Kindergarten teacher I’m familiar with many rhymes and aphorisms about the weather. March this year did not follow the ancient verse that the month would come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. In fact it came in like a lamb and...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Feb 13, 2026 | Cooking and Eating, Family, Gardening
Life Gave Me Lemons Once upon a time a friend convinced me to plant a Meyer Lemon bush in my garden. I was more of a mind to fill my indoor space with houseplants, but she was insistent: “Think permanent,” she urged. Think “feed your family.” Think...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Aug 8, 2025 | Community, Family, Gardening, Health, Nature
The Slough of Despond Following certain actions of the U.S. government around the beginning of July that I will not detail here, having a policy of no politics in my newsletter, I found myself wallowing in negative thoughts and being unable, or unwilling, to...