Barbara Kingsolver inspired me (via her fantastic book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle) to buy some heirloom seeds to plant in this summer’s garden. I bought a mixture of lettuce seed from Seed Savers, the names of which are almost as beautiful and tasty as the plants: Amish Deer Tongue, Australian Yellowleaf, Bronze Arrowhead, Forellenschuss, Lollo Rossa, Pablo, Red Velvet, and Reine des Glaces. The plants lasted a long time and provided us with a solid base for many a chef salad, but now, alas, they are going to seed.

Yo-Yo Boy delights in looking odd, grotesque, and weird, especially for the camera. Is this just a male thing? How long does this last? Judging from his father’s pictures, maybe forever. But judging from what other’s tell me, there will come a time, for several years when he’s a teenager that he will stare blankly, even hostilely, at the camera. So I’d better stop fussing and just enjoy what I have.