Author Archives: maryangelis

Last night I took a memorial walk to a coffee shop at the park. Why a memorial walk? For our neighbor who passed away and who liked this coffee shop, and this park. He was young, with a very hard … Continue reading →

Moonrise in our courtyard, edging in over the buildings and trees, came along at 11:19 last night. In most of my phone camera photos, even the most dramatic moon just looks like a paper dot from a hole punch. And … Continue reading →

This year the bags of new organic raised-bed potting soil felt like ground up particleboard, and (even after several rounds of sowing and planting) the garden seeds and plants just haven’t grown at all. This was disheartening for me personally, … Continue reading →

No Means No! In the library Ladies’ room, in the next stall, a mother and her little girl come bustling in. The child sounds about four or five years old, smart and verbal and confident and energetic. She orders her … Continue reading →

Every year it is remarkable to see public spaces overrun with unclaimed fruit. The cultivated apples in nicely tended yards, they’re each dressed up in neat mesh bags as protection from insects. But most apples are untended green ones falling … Continue reading →

Example 1. Earlier this month we had what passes for a heat wave around here. We also had some massive crowd assembly events with a whole new level of visitors to town. (Just one of the events attracted over three … Continue reading →

Another July, a few years back, there was a heat wave. This climate is not set up for heat waves. In some landscapes, the plants can have drama and grandeur even in summer heat. But here the plants just dry … Continue reading →

At Big Chain Supermarket, an outdoorsy looking man with backpacking gear strides up to me with a confident smile. “You do take gold, don’t you?” he greets me. Gold? Uh… Is he suggesting that I glow up my teeth with … Continue reading →

Here’s a memory that circles back every July 10th. In college we had a wonderfully cheerful assistant professor of Russian language. Russian was a terrible source of stress for some students, and a real struggle for us all. But the … Continue reading →