This was my last full week on paternity leave. I return to work next week. I snuggled Charlie as much as I could, including holding him for more naps instead of putting him in his crib like usual. It was a bit of a stressful week for all of us in the Grimmett house, and […]

Every week I think I did nothing, then surprise myself with how much I did once I finish this post. Spent lots of time outside this week. It seems like we had about a week of Spring, then jumped directly to Summer. It was in the mid 90s (Fahrenheit) all weekend, which is just too […]

Charlie is learning how to walk by slowly holding on to and pushing a small stool and stepping along with it. He is making great progress! He’s been trying so hard and we are very proud of him. Charlie seems to like chicken shawarma and pickled turnips. That’s my boy. The thing that has the […]

This week went by quickly. Lots of rain and time indoors. I didn’t do much during the week except take care of Charlie, cook, do dishes, and read. I did make up for that a bit this weekend by mowing, weedeating, and sawing and splitting some wood with my friend Jon that my neighbor let […]

Tough week. All three of us had colds the beginning half of the week (the first for Amanda and me since before COVID), then Charlie started teething again the latter half of the week. Seasonal allergies hit me this week, too. Nevertheless, some highlights: Caught up with Jeremy Felt, which is always nice. I now […]

New sprouts in the garden: Radishes, borage, calendula, bee balm, and more poppies. In the yard, wild violets are popping up and the forsythia and rhododendron look great. Black-eyed Susan volunteers came up all along the fence, self-seeded from the neighbor’s flowerbed on the other side. I’m going to leave them and weed around them. […]

Our radishes sprouted! We discovered that Charlie really likes oranges. He also discovered how to pull himself up to standing this week! I started a new batch of orange bitters, trying to improve upon the first batch I made a few years ago: Doubled the amount of orange peel Added more bitter botanicals (wild cherry […]

Our indoor seedlings are doing great and Charlie and I got out in the garden on Friday to direct sow some seeds: French breakfast radishes, peas, slo-bolt cilantro, borage, calendula, black eyed susans, hibiscus, moon flowers, and a pollinator wildflower mix. This year I’m planning on succession planting things like radishes, cilantro, and basil so […]

So, it is Saturday morning and I haven’t written a thing for this week’s update. I usually collect notes in a draft throughout the week, but not this week. Thankfully Charlie’s naps have been longer and I should have time to knock something out. Fingers crossed that this past week was the last 20F cold […]

Update on the seeds I posted about planting last week: Kale, Black Vernissage tomatoes, Cherokee Purple tomatoes, Ten Fingers of Naples tomatoes, Milkweed, and Hollyhock have already sprouted. We have another cold snap coming early next week that will probably include frost, so I’ve held off on direct sowing radishes, peas, and dill. I’ll probably […]

Every week I’m concerned that I’ll have nothing to write about, and every week I produce at least 1000 words for these updates. Big week for Charlie. His first tooth is coming in and he started saying “Da da” in relation to me. He still doesn’t ever want to be put down, but he is […]

More signs of spring: Crocuses are blooming, early signs are showing of the very beginnings of peonies, and when it was 60F one night I could hear the frogs in the woods at dusk. It is time to start seeds for tomatoes, peppers, and tomatillos. We plan to start ours this weekend. Better get out […]

I’m beginning my thirty-third year. You can read some reflections on my thirty-second year and the directions I’d like my thirty-third year to take. Regular reminder for myself: Remember the days when you wished for what you have now. It helps reframe your current feelings and helps you take a longer view. I met up […]

Small seasons update: The beginnings of crocuses started popping up in the front flowerbeds, trees are starting to bud out, and taps are in the sugar maple trees. Thanks to a reminder on Instagram from my friend Erin Carlson, I sowed poppy seeds during nap time this week. Hungarian Blue Breadseed and Icelandic Grey poppies. […]

Last week I posted about writing descriptions of the small seasons in the lower Hudson Valley. I now have a page going for that with two entries. You can find that over at https://notes.cagrimmett.com/outdoors/small-seasons-of-the-lower-hudson-valley/ Ice melts, daffodils start to pop out of the ground. Stink bugs wake up. Small Seasons of the Lower Hudson Valley […]

It is warm enough again to take Charlie on daily walks in the woods, which I’m excited about. I’m glad to be able to introduce him to nature early. We saw a couple of robins this week. Apparently not all robins migrate, but I haven’t seen others this winter, so I’m taking this sighting as […]

Thoughts Charlie turned six months this week! He is growing so quickly and gaining a lot of core strength and coordination. I bet he’ll be crawling in the next month. Public education suffers from many things, chief amongst them is the complete lack of autonomy most students face for the majority of their childhood. The […]

I’ve been reading Jeremy Felt’s weekly posts for the past year and decided to write my own. Thoughts Dinners go better when I plan them out a day in advance. Gone are the days when I don’t give dinner a thought until it is time to cook. Speaking of “gone are the days”, I now […]