history pragmatic historian time

Trendspotting: Moving Beyond a Traditional Lawn

In last week’s post, I discussed how breakfast in bed seems to be disappearing as a common activity in the United States. In order to spot trends such as this, you have to have a good sense of the past … what has come before or been a part of the cultural landscape and now is shifting. (That’s an important use of history – trendspotting!) Another trend I have noticed recently is within lawn care.…

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art observations

Variations on a Theme

The lilies in our yard are just starting to bloom. Because of the combination of a few days of rain followed by a few days of sun, & etc., that we’ve had this summer, the leaves of the lilies are vibrant green and very healthy. There’s nothing I like better than taking my camera out and shooting dozens of photos, often of the same plant, but from different views or with different settings … variations…

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observations

What Plant Is This?

In front of our house is a large bed of perennial plants and flowers, mostly lilies with a couple of hostas, some violets, and chives mixed in. When I created the bed a few years ago, I thought of it as a rain garden, a place for water to fall off the roof of the house and flow into a space that would soak it up. Grass would never properly grow in that spot, on…

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