Molly Goatwax

I repurposed a thrift store painting for Aprils' Fools. Enjoy the day!

Home Improvement

We had a medicine cabinet hung in the powder room.

Lessons learned with a cat

Taking deep breaths I tried to explain Pranayama to the cat, Homer. From his perch on the kitchen stool he looked skeptical. Then from a clean dish newly filled with filtered and aerated water, he drank freely. After that he was refreshed enough to brave the gloppy snow outside.

The world of finance

I get a lot of invitations for employment applications in my emails. Most of them are seeking accountants of one flavor or another. Someone thought I'd like to be the bill collector at an Hospice. Every so often I have to be reminded that mortgage banking is not so bad.

The seasonal tides

It's Spring! The teenager is out playing softball in the harlequin socks of her varsity team. Go Quakers!

First sprout

I see a variegated jalapeño is coming up! I hear church bells! Not cause and effect, but a nice coincidence.

Taking Air

Today I walked the municipal labyrinth at Coldspring Newtown and then I walked around the Guilford Reservoir. They are both so serene and quiet you would not know you are in Baltimore. The tile on the pumping station is so lovely. I wish my mother could admire the blue glaze with me.

The Commute

On my morning route I often see walkers, runners and other exercisers by the side of the road. Trends in gear can shift by season or by fashion. It seems day-glo colored running shoes are popular now. That makes sense for visibility and safety. For that reason runners wear reflective garments also. But! None of that arrests my attention as a driver as much as the rather podgy middle aged man running along in black bicycle capris, gloves, sneakers and nothing else as he carries his briefcase to work. When I see him I check the temperature on my dashboard. Today it was 41 degrees.

Memories of Spring

It must have been windy last night. I had a dream about flying kites, then I remembered my dad taking three of us girls to a park we called "the hill". He could get a kite into the high skies on a still day, it seemed. He understood the air currents and told me about the clouds. Before he married my mother he studied the weather in the Dakotas. I think of him when I see a Mackerel Sky.

Back on the Farm

Newly planted trays of seed cells are nestled next to the studio radiator, Scotch Bonnets, Joe Parkers for stuffing, yellow Marconis and Sante Fe Grandes. I also have a tray of varigated Jalepenos from seeds sent by a school chum. After I asked his advice about liming the soil, my friend the indoor landscaper recommended bone meal. "Everyone says so." He told me. "So how come I never heard it before?" I asked.