grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Riding with a Farmer

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We were driving to church for my cousin’s wedding when Daddy pulled off the highway and stopped the truck. “What are you doing?” Momma asked, even though she knew the answer. Riding anywhere with a farmer meant factoring in lots of extra time. Daddy drove slow enough to watch cotton bolls open from the highway.

“We’re gonna be late,” I moaned and applied another coat of strawberry lip gloss. I hated to be late for anything, plus I was in charge of the guest book.

Daddy grabbed his hoe from the back of the truck, ambled across the shallow ditch, and waded through rows of knee-high cotton. He wacked down the annoying weed wearing his new sport coat from Westbrook’s.

Momma sighed.

All the Tate girls had been trained to scan the horizon for johnsongrass. Teasing and waving in the breeze, the offensive plants were easy to spot, a different shade of green standing taller than the crop.

Daddy had some of the cleanest fields in Mississippi County. Everyone agreed.

riding with a farmer...

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Lord I Hope this Day is Good, Don Williams

 

Deep Ellum Bark Park with Art

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Deep Ellum Bark Park -Six blocks from my house

East Dallas has several dog parks and many outdoor patios that cater to furry friends, but Deep Ellum Bark Park, with a view of downtown, is a unique urban park. Not only is it a great use of space beneath Good Latimer Expressway (between Canton Street and Commerce Street) it’s a dog art gallery. Twenty-five Dallas mural artists provided eleven foot high paintings on each of the TXDOT pillars beneath the freeway. All dog related of course.

Deep Ellum Bark Park - only Six Blocks from my house

The Bark Park is clean, bags are plentiful for poop scooping, and there is wide open space for dogs to romp and run.

The drawbacks: parking is metered (bring change) and there is no separate space for small dogs. Since this park is rarely crowded, neither issue has been a problem for me.

Deep Ellum Bark Park, six blocks from my house

City dogs need space to burn off energy, a place to feel free. Deep Ellum Bark Park provides it, along with a dose of art for the humans.

Deep Ellum Bark Park

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Six Blocks from my House - East Dallas

Musical Pairing:

I Feel Free, Cream

What Every College Freshman Needs to Know

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Tis the season of high school graduation. My Facebook feed is filled with pictures of fresh-faced graduates and proud parents. What an exciting, bittersweet time for the entire family. Even though it’s been thirty-four (yikes) years since I graduated from high school, I remember the feeling. Freedom. My unwritten life could finally begin.

What Every College Freshman Needs to Know

via morgueFile

 

In a snap, my own children donned caps and gowns and graduated from high school. How did that happen so fast?

Even though they grew up in a different place and time, I did my best to prepare them for college. So far, they haven’t moved back home.

Here is my list of thirteen essential skills for every college freshman. What would you add?

  1. How to Make Decisions. Your helicopter parent won’t be flying off to college with you. Make decisions, but don’t be afraid to change your mind.
  2. You are NOT a Rock Star. No matter how talented and brilliant you were in high school, you will be surrounded by many, many over-achieving freshman in college.
  3. Because you aren’t a Rock Star, you won’t be drafted by the NBA. Take time to learn who you are, but choose a major wisely. Preferably something that includes a paycheck when you graduate. If you graduate from college with a large student loan, will that job on the backend cover it? Ever?
  4. Learn to do laundry and clean a bathroom. Do both regularly. You weren’t raised in a barn, or maybe you were, but let’s keep that a secret.
  5. Understand how to budget money. It truly doesn’t grow on trees. No one (parents, government, professors) owes you anything.
  6. Work hard. It still may not be good enough.
  7. Not everyone will like you and that’s okay.
  8. Don’t be a know it all. Listen more than you speak. But speak up in class occasionally.
  9. Go to class. Simple.
  10. Meet your professors. They can be your biggest allies. If they don’t know your name, they can’t.
  11. Don’t worry about being best friends with your first roommate. But do be respectful of one another.
  12. Be careful and smart. There will be lots of temptations. The world is full of crazy people. Don’t be one of them.
  13. Call your mother. She misses you.

what every college freshman needs to know

Happy Graduation! Happy Summer!

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Unwritten, Natasha Bedingfield

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!