Slave Cabins on Ossabaw Island
On my book research trip to Savannah in October, I spent a day on a magnificent barrier island called Ossabaw Island. It is reachable only by boat and has a history that stretches back to when the Spaniards arrived, leaving behind heritage breeds of burros and pigs whose descendants still graze in the marshes. But I digress. Starting in the late 1700′s, rice plantations were established on Ossabaw. Today, the plantations no longer exist, but thanks to restoration efforts, it
What the *##@** is a Teaching Artist?
I’ve worked in the arts in education field most of my career, but it’s only been in the last 15 years or so that “what I do in the classroom” has been given an official and completely baffling moniker: teaching artist. Most people assume that means I am an art teacher. If you knew me, and had ever seen me wield a piece of chalk or crayon, you would buckle to the floor and wet your pants. Or something. The truth is that teaching artists are ARTISTS in the broadest sense of
How to harvest compost worms
In a previous post, I showed a photo of the worm castings I harvested last Spring from my low tech Rubbermaid bin…a whole bucketful! Today I harvested again, and here are some gooey wormy pictures to illustrate my old school technique. Step 1: Wait for a sunny day. Put down a plastic sheet. Get ye a bucket and the worm bin from yonder dining room. Step: 2 Find ye someone strong or agile to help tip over the bin in one swift motion. Bin upside down. Worms confused. Step 3