Weekly Photo Challenge: Roy G Biv (on the farm)
This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge theme is Roy G Biv and a quick walk around the farm revealed a rainbow of colors… red barn orange slow moving vehicle sign yellow baby chicks green unripened blueberries blue Ford tractor indigo Purple Beauty tomato violet flowers
When hate becomes acceptable
When hate becomes acceptable, we are all doomed. Why is there an unwritten rule that says “if I am different from you, I am unacceptable and if you are different from me, you are unacceptable.” Why is it that we’ve become so numb to human tragedy? Terrible violence just becomes ANOTHER shooting, ANOTHER terror attack,…
The bitter beetle battle
They came like thieves in the night and bushwhacked my tomatoes. {cue dramatic music} FLEA BEETLES… And so begins another chapter of the bitter beetle battle. Last summer, I successfully fought off an onslaught of Japanese beetles, only to be dealt a devastating defeat by the cucumber beetle. Now, flea beetles have laid siege to…
Weekly Photo Challenge: Off-Season
This week’s Word Press Weekly Photo Challenge theme is off-season. Winter was the first thing that came to my mind and I knew the exact picture I wanted to use. I took this picture right after one of the numerous snowstorms this winter. It’s a barn just a short walk from my house. But then…
The dirt on strawberries
Strawberries are a new addition to my garden. They’re something I’ve always wanted to plant, but never had the room until this year. I was also a little intimidated about growing them. It seemed complicated. A little research proved they were as easy to grow as my other garden plants. You just need ROOM. There…
It’s like trying to sew water
Why am I posting a picture of my JACKASS? Please, read on… Four hours. FOUR hours spent on the phone, being transferred from one government agency to another. Two hours on hold. TWO hours listening to the same 132 second music soundbite. Over and over and over. 54 times. Yes, I counted. After one hour…
Weekly photo challenge: Vivid
This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge theme is VIVID. And what better flower to portray that theme than the peony. They’re a garden staple that requires minimal care and produces the most brilliantly colored flowers. If you don’t have any peonies in your garden, you should definitely plant one. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Calf and cow series
Red fox and her pups
Spotted this beautiful little vixen sitting on my compost pile the other evening. She saw me, sniffed the air, barked a few times and was immediately bored with me. She was even kind enough to show me her beautiful tail. Then, out from the dead brush and rocks, popped a curious pup. And then, another……
Damn you to h*ll, beetles!
After the Great Beetle Battle of 2014, I have decided to take a different approach to planting cucumbers this year. Cucumber beetles have always been a nuisance in my garden, but last summer they outflanked me and left a path of cucumber devastation. I normally start my cucumbers indoors, in small growing pots, and transplant them…
It’s half past chittin’ time
It’s time to plant potatoes in my area. So when my organic seed potatoes arrived in late April, I let them sit out in a warm area to induce sprouting – or chit. Because I live in an area that has a shorter growing season, chitting (honestly, you think they could have come up with…
Garden beginnings
I moved my seedlings out to my little greenhouse last week, in order to start hardening them off to get them ready for planting in the garden in a few weeks. Normally, this time of year, the greenhouse keeps everything nice and toasty warm until early June, when everything goes into the garden. However, Mother…
Takin’ a break
This little hummingbird landed in the dogwood tree outside my kitchen window yesterday and took a long enough break for me to grab my camera.
Wild Violet Jelly Recipe
While spending a few days in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I happened upon a little farm stand, on a back road, in the middle of nowhere. Among the usual jars of chow-chow, blueberry jam and apple butter, I spied a small jar of violet jelly. After striking up a conversation with the lovely Amish woman who made…
The Farmers in the Dell 