Dana Burland

B and I are back from a week-long trek to Arizona and California. We spent a few days outside of Phoenix at his grandparent’s retirement house, nestled into the middle of a 60+ retirement neighborhood with no internet or cable TV. Minus the 100 degree temps it was just the speed I was looking for. We went for walks in the morning and at sunset, slept like our toddler does, and did some exploring of nearby Scottsdale too. From Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and school The real reason we were out west was to attend a friend’s wedding outside of Joshua Tree in southern California. They had real hippy/desert vibes going on, with a relaxed ceremony and reception held on the sand at the base of the mountains, and eventually under a beautifully starry sky. The most noticeable (and most participated in) feature of the wedding was a weed bar, which to my brand of rule-following Midwesterners was just wow and hmm worthy. Unfortunately it meant me and my ...

Last Friday we did something unusual. We went out. At night, with no babe. Downtown. To a concert. Our normal babysitters were out of pocket when I did my rounds asking about the concert date. I had just about given up when I decided instead to push on and hunt for new sitters. So Friday night we tried to sneak out while the sitter had C occupied, went to a nice dinner, and made it to the venue with enough time to get snacks. I’m not a huge Avett Brothers fan, I like them but I hardly know all their songs. Ben didn’t know much from them at all. It ended up being a really good concert! Really great vocals, awesome energy, good songs. We left bigger fans than when we entered, and more relaxed and connected too.

It’s the unofficial start of fall, which feels like a good time to report on this year’s garden. 2018 was our first Spring in the house. I took a hint from chives that popped up in a flower bed near our A/C unit and threw a few basil and rosemary plants in the ground nearby. My herbs did great so in Spring 2019 I expanded my plans. We pulled out some perennial flowers to make room for starter plants I ordered from our YMCA’s veggie program. In early May my basil, rosemary, parsley, brandywine tomato plant and bull nose bell pepper plant arrived. I had them planted in the ground about a week before Memorial Day. Here’s a recap on their performance: HERBS My basil went wild! The 6-pack of pants grew tall (3-ish feet) and hearty. I have a lot of pesto to make. My parsley did well, too, though ended up overshadowed by the remaining perennial flowers. The rosemary, also in a 6-pack, did great standing up to nearby abuse from the tomato plant. BELL PEPPER My bell pepper plant, also...

It’s a wildly unpopular, dangerously curmudgeonly opinion to share--but I’m so glad to see this Summer season close. These last hot few months have hit like an avalanche. We’ve been jam packed with plans to the degree that finding a spare moment to weed the front flower beds have felt like a small miracle. There was so much good like summer trips and weekends watching out 2-year-old run through the sprinklers with his grandparents and the heck-yes accomplishment of intense double-header grad school semesters completed. And there was straight up muck to wade through too like hand foot and mouth disease for two and a rough first trimester of this second pregnancy . That’s all part of what makes this an easy goodbye. The good is past us now and the bad--peace, farewell, be gone with you. On Labor Day we woke up in our house after a weekend of traveling. C helped me make waffles and then we met up with neighborhood friends at a park for the boys to play and the adults to day...