Wandering the Halls of Academia - Teaching and Living Today

(In this post, guest blogger Patience Meliora, a teacher and true citizen of the world, tells of her early introductions to nature and the life-long calming effects she's found, and discusses how she finds relaxation and solace within her gardens at home in Texas.) Memories of Maine in the Summer When I was a little girl, my mom and her best friend (our neighbor, Shari,) would send all the kids outside on summer days to thin the carrots. We were taught at a very young age how to thin carrots, and lettuce, and basil plants. We would sit for what felt like forever, but which most likely was about 15 minutes. I remember looking down at rows of tiny, fern-like plants in perfect lines in the dirt, figuring out which ones to pluck, and which ones to leave alone.  During those same years, we would be wicked children and steal Shari’s lavender flowers and run up into the woods to our fort, which we had built out of scrap wood and plastic sheeting. We covered it with pine boughs for ...