September 2026
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I Know a Spot
It had been a very quiet day on the puddle. Even the birds seemed busy somewhere else, off doing whatever bird things fill the hours when they are not visiting the feeders. We had just been talking about how still everything felt when two cardinals flew toward the tree beside the house and disappeared from… Continue reading
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Decluttering Decades | Whose Stuff Is It, and Whose Decision Is It?
How We’re Going to Think About Ownership, Responsibility, and Boundaries Over the past three weeks, we have been learning how Decluttering Decades approaches the work before asking ourselves to tackle the harder parts of our homes. We have learned to start where we are, to create systems that work for the people who actually live… Continue reading
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The Ones We Almost Miss
I did not make it outside until after three today. By then, the puddle had already lived most of its day without me, and from the patio it seemed unusually quiet. The rain gauge held the evidence of what had happened while I was inside, but there were no herons waiting at the shoreline and… Continue reading
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The Familiar Creature
Over the last several months, the visitors at the puddle have become such a familiar part of my days that I have stopped thinking of most of them as visitors at all. I look for Stella and Stanley along the shoreline. I notice when Pumpkin makes his run between the shed, the maple tree, and… Continue reading
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The Lookout
Apparently bird feeders are not just for eating. This little one settled into the feeder today and seemed perfectly content to use it as a lookout point. From there, the whole neighborhood was within view, including anything approaching the yard and whatever might be happening down toward the puddle. Maybe it was watching for danger.… Continue reading
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She Left Her Mark
Our little garden spider was apparently much busier than I realized after our visit the other day. She has moved along, but she left behind evidence that she was here. Tucked onto the wall beneath the patio ledge is what appears to be her egg sac, a small reminder that some visitors leave more behind… Continue reading
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Behind the Puddle | The Season of “What If?”
Two inches of rain fell before it finally decided it was finished. The gauge is holding the evidence, the grass looks greener than it did yesterday, and I have finally made my way back out to the patio for some fresh air. It has been a busy phone day. This time of year, the End… Continue reading
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Apparently, the Rain Brought Company
After spending so much of the last week watching the puddle get smaller, the rain finally did what I had been hoping it would do. Over the last two days, we collected a little more than an inch, and apparently that was enough to make the puddle look interesting again. Today, Stanley came wandering through… Continue reading
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Decluttering Decades | What Does Progress Actually Look Like?
How We’re Going to Measure Success If you have ever spent several hours going through belongings and looked around afterward thinking, It doesn’t even look like I did anything, you probably already understand why we need to talk about progress. Decluttering is often measured by what we can see. How many bags went to the… Continue reading
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Behind the Puddle | September Evenings
I love September evenings like this. The air finally has enough chill in it to make a small fire feel inviting, but not so much that you are ready to retreat indoors. There is something about sitting outside under a blanket, watching the little flames flicker against the growing dark, that makes the whole day… Continue reading
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