Category: Life in New Jersey

What is it about orchids that bring out the paparazzi? Forget the allure of the rose or plucking a daisy to figure out if he loves you or doesn’t. The allure of the orchid is strong (think Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief) and my impression is that orchids love being watched, like a model posing…

Decoratin’… Bakin’… Sprinklin’… Dressin’ up… more Dressin’ up… Dancin’…

Dear Anna, You may not understand the Ted Hughes reference in the title here. If I was really clever, I’d write this entry in iambic pentameter. Even so, I can already picture you walking across a manicured college campus with a copy of The Bell Jar tucked in your arm, your blond hair tied in…

Three weeks after building our snowman, Curley, we were strolling through the New York Botanical Garden, our coats dangling over our arms. Spring is less than a week away, and nothing is more encouraging after a long stressful winter to see crocuses and other pastel-colored buds poking their heads through a softening soil. Even the…

Meet Curley, Anna’s first snowman. After these photos were taken, Curley took a bit of a beating from the local street urchins, but then Mike and Anna went back outside, resurrected Curley, and like a Phoenix from the ashes, Curley stood strong again. Then his nose fell, and some kids–not street urchins–helped put his nose…