Creative Nonfiction by Andrea Badgley
11:30am. I’m at a miniature picnic table in the autumn sun and breeze at Pandapas Pond outside of Blacksburg, Virginia. My knees hit the underside of the tabletop’s planks, but the wooden bench is warm, and I don’t mind that the table is the proper height for children rather than adults. Wind rustles leaves around … Continue reading Meditation by the pond
Finally, fall. The weather hasn’t caught up to the calendar yet — the sweat dripping down my back when I walked the garden this morning told me it is summer not autumn — but the equinox was yesterday, a hot wind is blowing, and leaves have started falling from trees. There’s no break from the … Continue reading Ramble on
Our daughter gave up her seat in the sailboat this past weekend, and I took it. It was likely to be our last chance to sail before it gets too cold. Already it was chilly for a small, wet boat: sweatshirt and long pants weather rather than sweatshirts and swimsuits. “I don’t know,” my husband said. “There’s a wind … Continue reading Swirly sail
The garden is transitioning from summer to fall. The milkweed is mottled and scraggly, the sweet basil is yellowed and setting seeds. The parsley bolted, the Thai basil fell over under its own weight. It’s time to do some cleanup. Yesterday it rained all day. It was one of my favorite types of autumn Saturdays: … Continue reading Chrysanthemums
I’ve had “get firewood” on our family Trello board since we moved into our house in June. In July, when we had our chimney cleaned, I asked the sweep if he had any recommendations for where to get firewood around here. He tilted his head and said, “Most people don’t share their firewood sources. It’s … Continue reading The firewood debacle
I’ve been waiting for autumn to arrive, and it is here. I’m sitting on the couch in sweatpants, with a wool blanket over my lap and a kitten curled up next to me. The wind whips at our house, and it whistles over the chimney like when you blow air across the top of a … Continue reading October, and I’m happy
