While some people view this plant as a fine wildflower, others regard it as a stubborn perennial lawn weed.
—Old Farmer’s Almanac
What’s up with violets?
Wild violets are a flower of contradictions. They’re common, interrupting suburban lawns in purple clumps. They’re pesky, a perennial rhizome that spreads rapidly through underground root systems and unruly seeds. They’re nothing special, just as easy to tramp on as grass or clover. But have you ever looked closely at a violet? They are extraordinary. So lovely in their shades of lavender and purple. They appear delicate, but they are quite hardy and difficult to eradicate. Left unchecked, they can take over a yard.
My interior life has always been expansive, but it has changed since having children and quitting my full-time job six years ago. If anything, there are more ideas, plans, nuance, feelings, opinions, ambitions growing than before—mixed in among the utterly mundane concerns of making a life and raising children. But amid all this growth, I have found myself writing less, staying quieter.
This newsletter is an attempt to say more: a dispatch from life here in the weeds, a commitment to exploring the pesky, the beautiful, and the ordinary things that take root in my mind. In each installment, you can expect to find a longer essay, along with other things I’m thinking about, reading, hearing, eating, loving, savoring. I hope to publish once or twice a month, but like all of us, I’m feeling my way forward in the dark. Thanks for reading and please do say hello!
About Me
I'm Kathryn Davé. I’m a writer with a background in advertising/strategy, as well as food and culture journalism. On the side, I collaborate with my husband Jivan Davé in a small food photography and styling studio. I live in South Carolina with my husband and our three little boys, where I enjoy late afternoon sunlight, natural wine, blazing hot baths, and toast with good, salted butter. Oxford comma forever.
