“Jim!” George, one of Dad’s favorite customers, calls from the front of the cafe all the way to the kitchen in the back. “You got yourself a new job!” He waves and smiles. Dad must have his hearing aids on, because he looks up from the three bay sink, where he’s spraying down some bowls […]
Bullfrogs and Graveyards
Jug-a-rum, jug-a-rum, jug-a-rum. I don’t think much of the Westchesters who own the vacation house next door. But I think a lot about their pond. My bedroom windows are up against the state forest, and as I fall to sleep at night, they channel in the songs of the thrushes. The clerestories above me […]
Lucky Dog
It’s nearly 11 o’clock at night. Bob and I pay for our food, push aside our plates and make our way to the exit of Gene’s, a brightly lit restaurant on the outskirts of Moncton, New Brunswick. We are the only customers there at present. A man watches us intently from behind the counter. I […]
Whiskey for Breakfast
It’s noon on Friday, and I’m pounding on the back door of the Green Wolf Tap Room. Bob and the kids are next door at the library with a homeschool group, and I’m demanding that Justin, the owner, open up early and serve me whiskey for breakfast. I haven’t eaten since lunch the day […]
Less Stress, More Profit
Lessons From A Kitchen Disaster It’s the middle of May, and I shuffle the bills like playing cards. It’s that time of year, when all the savings from the end of last fall have run dry, and I’m scanning due dates, matching them up with the the farm’s production and sales schedule: pairing feed bills […]
How To Darn Wool Socks
I’m getting a lot of requests for this post since the weather changed. Guess it’s time to re-run it… I usually get up each Monday morning and write about meat. But the first leaves have begun to change color on the trees, and I’ve begun carrying my knitting basket around with me once more. And in […]
Camping
Ula was reasonable the first time we told her we wouldn’t take her camping. That was about three years ago. I’ve learned that the key to being an always-(physically, if not mentally) present mother is knowing where my boundaries are. I’ll cook great food for them. I’ll read to them at night. I’ll spend my […]
Subsistence Empire
The floor of the car is littered with paint chips. Bob and I have been choosing colors for our newest Sap Bush Hollow enterprise: the vacation rental, to be located in the apartment over the post office, next to the cafe. We bought the post office building in our hamlet two years ago partly to […]
Must we eat the children?
I’m losing track of how many winters I’ve spent working on this novel. I think 2017 marked the fourth. And while that manuscript sits on my computer awaiting my attention, an outline for a new book is growing like a fungus on my desk, taking shape regardless of the lack of time and sunlight I’m […]
Chronic Hope
It’s 4 am, and I’m alone with a field of crickets outside my window screens, two dogs, one pressure canner, and 35 quarts of tomato sauce. It’s the week before Labor Day. Since 2011, I have a thing about canning tomatoes before Labor Day. It seems like we’re all learning special names that make our […]
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