Category Archives: Backyard Nature

The Wisdom That Does Not Cry

Posted on November 29, 2020 by aamontgomery

Wisdom is not a monopoly held only by adults. There is so much we can learn from the deep wisdom of very young children. May we stoop from our greater height, bend our ear close, and listen. Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Nature, Beauty, Childhood, Family, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Joie de Girls, Op/Ed Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Collateral Damage

Posted on September 30, 2020 by aamontgomery

Throughout history humans have sought easy answers to complex issues. When things go wrong, how can we protect the most vulnerable: Women, older people, the poor, and our children? Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Childhood, Courage, Dementia, Family, Home, Ideas, Knoxville, Op/Ed Thoughts, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blooming Out of Season

Posted on January 31, 2019 by aamontgomery

Nearly a decade ago I planted two camellias in container pots just outside the front door of our home. I never thought they would live for long–in containers, mind you– in the mercurial climate of East Tennessee. But my sister, … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Beauty, Blooming, Dance, Happiness, Ideas, John Irving, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Stage, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Backyard Excavation

Posted on June 27, 2018 by aamontgomery

After 15 years in a house we loved but that had grown too large for us, we decided to downsize and drag fewer possessions through life. We wanted to move to an area (1) we could afford, (2) in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Beauty, Family, Freedom, Happiness, Home, Ideas, Knoxville, Love, Music | 8 Comments

A Blue Moon Easter Eve

Posted on March 31, 2018 by aamontgomery

I haven’t written a blogpost since January because the last two months have been a blur of  packing, downsizing, moving, and all the details that such a nightmarish task entails. At times we have wondered if we should have left … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Happiness, Home, Knoxville, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Taking Along Our Ghosts

Posted on September 22, 2017 by aamontgomery

When I was young, I saw the 1979 movie “Being There” starring Peter Sellers in his most provocative role as Chance, a simple, uneducated man who grew up and tended the garden on a great estate, and had never been … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Beauty, Courage, Creativity, Freedom, Friends, Ideas, Love, Screen, The Arts, Wonder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Birds a la Hitchcock, Ballanchine, and Boogaloo

Posted on February 20, 2015 by aamontgomery

On Wednesday I woke up and looked out our front door to find snow, ice, and swarms of birds (and I mean hundreds, not just a tweeting few) raucously flip-flapping as if they were reenacting a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s … Continue reading →

Posted in "Pets", Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Books, Childhood, Courage, Freedom, Love, Screen, The Arts, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Breaking the Code

Posted on May 18, 2013 by aamontgomery

The other night I was watching a particularly ingenious, forgive the phrase, network television program, (yes, unlike some of my friends, I do watch television from time to time, i.e., most nights) that will remain nameless (Elementary) and I began gathering epiphanies in … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Knoxville, Music, Photography, Screen | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Our Free-range Pet Spider

Posted on January 30, 2013 by aamontgomery

You can say it is a stretch to have a pet spider who comes and goes has he (or she) pleases. But no matter how strange it sounds, we apparently have drawn into our home a tiny, webless, very comfortable … Continue reading →

Posted in "Pets", Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Beauty, Freedom, Knoxville | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Zero Dark Ice Storm

Posted on January 25, 2013 by aamontgomery

Yes, my hometown of Knoxville continues to have one enterprising weather system after another in my least favorite month of the year: January. We have had 75 degrees, the freaky and fast-moving snowstorm that proved that some Knoxvillians can indeed … Continue reading →

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