Walking in High Cotton

Walking in High Cotton Working. Farming. Writing. Praying. www.walkinginhighcotton.net Sheep shearer, chicken chaser, kid raiser...enjoying the everyday grind...with boots on!

We were walking along the seawall in Hampton, and there were several Great Blue Heron spread along the riprap coast line...
06/04/2026

We were walking along the seawall in Hampton, and there were several Great Blue Heron spread along the riprap coast line. Like they were each staking out their own evening lookout spot.
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And for one of the first times in a while, my eyes were seeing things WAY better than my dumb phone camera caught them--Yea for me! Boo for you. They were BEAUTIFUL.
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But it's a reminder that I need to get back to my actual camera again. "Hobbies" so easily fall to the side when life takes over.
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Our phones can help us capture moments--and that's important!! But (especially as someone with poor eye-sight!) my camera really helps me catch the beautiful details that I just don't always see otherwise. I literally don't see them until they're in my lens. Even when I know they're there.

These two trees were literally twigs in a bucket when my father-in-law brought them to us 20 years ago for our completel...
06/02/2026

These two trees were literally twigs in a bucket when my father-in-law brought them to us 20 years ago for our completely bare front yard.
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And he kept telling us to give them plenty of room to grow (which I could hardly imagine) and not plant them too close to the house, or the road, or the driveway.
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And now they are magnificent.

Normally, I can go for weeks and weeks without ever leaving our county. But life being what it is, lately I've been zig-...
06/02/2026

Normally, I can go for weeks and weeks without ever leaving our county. But life being what it is, lately I've been zig-zagging all over Hampton Roads. And it's been a while since I've seen the 757 with fresh eyes.
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The line of brake lights at a bridge lift...the rumble of a dual exhaust Hemi thru the tunnel...the tang of brackish water and Shipyard iron and rusting connex boxes...the steam rising off new asphalt after rain...clanging railcars and whistling coal trains and the mucky smells of seawalls and fishing boats and oysters...
*.. And underneath it all the thick, sticky-sweet scent of honeysuckle twisting thru every fence line...
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And the white lines are four lanes wide...
Then 3...
Then 2...
Then 1...
And the stars come out in 2s...
Then 10s....
Then 100s...
*..and the tires kick gravel between the treads...and the air is heavy with the rustle of green leaves and cicada songs and the damp scent of dew rising up from the grass underfoot...
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And somehow, it's all the same area code.

I got some Pear trees and got them planted on Mothers Day. They're doing well, and came already pollinated and producing...
05/13/2026

I got some Pear trees and got them planted on Mothers Day.
They're doing well, and came already pollinated and producing.
How do you know when Pears are ripe?

My roses have come back strong this year. *I had to cut them all the way back to the ground and treat them for black spo...
05/12/2026

My roses have come back strong this year.
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I had to cut them all the way back to the ground and treat them for black spot last year. But they are almost 5 foot tall again, and looking very healthy so far.
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As usual, I'm kinda amazed.
I don't know what this thing is, but it's a survivor!
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If you don't know my rose bush story--we bought a "climbing yellow rose" from the garden store.
But when it bloomed, it was NOT yellow.
Or a climber.
Actually, half the bush blooms in a small, clustered, blood red rose. The other half blooms in a large, loose-blossomed blush peach.
Yep, same bush. You can see in the last picture, the back is all red, and the front half is kinda peachy.
It's bizarre.
And kinda huge.
And it's been super healthy for 20 years.
It needed some TLC last year, and here we are, good as new.
Welcome to The Lowe Farm. 🤷‍♀️🤣🤣

It's still the season for all the purple plants. It starts with lilacs and just keeps going thru Spring.
05/08/2026

It's still the season for all the purple plants.
It starts with lilacs and just keeps going thru Spring.

Haven't felt much like posting. Winter felt a bit over-long and Spring has felt a bit heavy. Still wrapping my mind aro...
05/07/2026

Haven't felt much like posting.
Winter felt a bit over-long and Spring has felt a bit heavy.
Still wrapping my mind around not having Grandma around to share my little daily adventures with.
And heading into our last high school graduation season.
And staring at a continual parade of silver hair popping up all over my head every morning...
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There are a lot of big things that have become entangled in this year for us.
Our 25th wedding anniversary at the end of the year.
The 20th anniversary of losing my parents.
Our youngest turned 18, and graduates high school.
My sister is moving back to Virginia after almost 20 years.

And a lot of personal dates, and milestones, and achievements, and memories we'll have to face through the rest of the year.

And who knows what else is up ahead.

But isn't that always the way?

Isn't that just life?

The same plant that stings the hand, feeds the caterpillar and grows the butterfly.

Comfrey in the Comfrey section of the garden. Looking good.*See also...Comfrey in the peppermint...Comfrey in the lemon ...
04/08/2026

Comfrey in the Comfrey section of the garden. Looking good.
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See also...Comfrey in the peppermint...Comfrey in the lemon balm...Comfrey in the bee balm...🤣🤣
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My "chaos gardening" is even more willy-nilly than I can account for.
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The only thing holding its own against this stuff is the Horseradish. Luckily, it makes great compost and fertilizer, so you just cut it and throw it around the base of your fruit trees every time you see it come up.

What a difference a week makes!
04/07/2026

What a difference a week makes!

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Smithfield, VA
23430

Telephone

757-255-2066

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