Creative Nonfiction by Andrea Badgley
Recipe (my first cocktail creation!) 1/2 lemon, squeezed, then cut into quarters Leaves from 2 sprigs lemon balm 3/4 oz honey syrup* 2 1/2 oz gin Squeeze 1/2 lemon into cocktail shaker. Cut the remaining lemon rind in quarters and drop them into cocktail shaker. Add lemon balm leaves and honey syrup. Muddle until the … Continue reading A cocktail from the garden: lemon balm smash
A friend asked recently what it is about gardening that I love so much, and with such intensity. What is so compelling? What do I get out of it? When we moved into our house, it was surrounded by nothing but mowed grass. A vast expanse of green blades, all the same height, all the same … Continue reading Welcome back, little critters
Pansy petals are flapping in the cold wind. It’s almost noon and it’s still too frigid for me to work in the garden. So I’m listening to Fleetwood Mac and writing instead. I don’t know about you, but I go through periods where I crave a certain feel in the fiction I consume. Sometimes I need … Continue reading Mood reading
Each year since we moved into our house and I killed all the grass, I take a week off around the time of our kids’ spring break to fertilize, mulch, and dedicate myself 100% to getting the garden ready for warm weather and flowers. This year, that week starts today. Originally I was going to … Continue reading My gardening vacation begins today!
We wanted to prepare a feast on the spring equinox to mark the final cold breath of winter. We hadn’t planned a meal or shopped for it, our kids were sick, and with a looming snowstorm (that resulted in 2-3 inches of snow on our garden), the weather was decidedly not spring-like on the first day … Continue reading Celebrating spring with snow, seeds, and a green feast
I’ve officially given up on resisting winter. It is day four of spring, 3 new inches of wet, sticky snow have fallen since 2pm, and it’s still coming down. I’m leaning into it now. I’m all in. I’ve got a blanket on my lap. I’ve drunk afternoon tea and afternoon coffee. I’ve positioned myself towards … Continue reading Snow, Boggle, and my new diary
