Category: Uncategorized
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Not quite fall, not quite summer
The past few days, we’ve been in what is known as “false fall.” Though it’s still a bit warm for hoodies and hot beverages. Except in the mornings and evenings. “Second summer” will be here soon, with temperatures heading back up near 90 by this weekend. The leaves are still changing, and the hummingbirds and […]
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Fledged! And an update on fruit production
At our last house, we had robins and mourning doves nesting in our yard every year. It was fun to watch, especially after the babies hatched. Of course, we’re on a much larger property now. And I see bird nests all over the place. But none of them were in a good place for observation. […]
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The time I got someone fired
I have no idea what triggered this memory for me today. Perhaps it’s because it was around this time 15 years ago that my husband and I went on a Baltic cruise (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Poland, and Russia). Our time living abroad was coming to a close, and this was one of our last […]
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Drink in the wild air
It’s still very much summer, but I can see that fall is around the corner just by the changes in our yard. I am already harvesting ornamental gourds, for one thing. I am growing those specifically for fall décor. I broke in my dehydrator by drying some cherry tomatoes. It took FOREVER (more than 24 […]
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Our new addition
“For never was a story of less woe than this of Karyn and her Broomeo.”* Shakespeare, probably On Saturday, my husband and I were watching a video on YouTube of curious otters reacting to a Roomba. I mentioned how I’ve longed for a Roomba for years, though I don’t think this was exactly news. I’ve […]
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Summer Harvest
We’ve been here for nearly 7 months now — more than half a year — and while I’ve learned so much already, there is still much more to learn. Meanwhile, we are discussing what projects we need to do once growing season winds down. My main focus right now is the summer harvest. I have […]
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Remember and Honor
Shortly after I moved to Germany, I signed up as a volunteer for the Girl Scout troop at U.S. Army Garrison Schinnen in The Netherlands. One of the most rewarding experiences I had as a volunteer was helping the troop place American and Dutch flags on the graves at Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten. It […]
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Spring update
Two posts in one day! But a lot has been going on. For starters, I planted two blueberry bushes recently. Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits, and as many fruits as we are growing here, we aren’t growing those. So I figured I might as well. On Monday, I noticed that something snapped off […]
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An auspicious sign?
My passion for gardening extends to houseplants. Before we moved into this house, the previous homeowners asked if they could leave their split-leaf (tree) philodendron behind. It apparently went crazy in the corner of the Florida room, so they didn’t want to relocate it. But once we got the keys to the house, I understood […]
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Planting the seed (or, why I chose to be my own boss)
I’ve been a freelance writer and editor off and on since 2005. It happened by accident. We were living in Germany at the time, and I had a travel blog to keep friends and family updated on our adventures around Europe. Because of that travel blog, I was approached to write some travel guides for […]
Karyn Johnson | Writer, Editor, & Proofreader 