Memories Coming Out of Mothballs

For some, the sweet perfume of lilacs drifting through open screened windows evoke spring. For me springtime can be conjured up with the toxic smell of mothballs. These past many months as I have been sadly consumed with closing down

Fractured Fairy Tales for Earth Day

Post War Pesticides on Parade Mid century America was the golden age of pesticides and it was love at first sight. Any thoughts about Earth Day and the environment lay far in the future. Thousands of new chemicals were put

A Post-War Primer on Mother Nature

Birds and the Bees First day of spring conjures up a childhood filled with  the anticipation of blooming flowers, budding trees  and a haze of pesticides being sprayed across my suburban neighborhood. Talk about March Madness! By the time I

Suburban Lawn Doctor

   Images of a green, velvety carpet of grass remain symbolic of home, family and the American Dream. In mid-century America a deep green lawn was evidence of nothing short of good citizenship. So what was  a patriotic suburban home