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…
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…
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.
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……
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 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…
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…
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.
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…
I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Lancaster County, PA. The outlet malls and tourist attractions don’t interest me. Matter of fact, it makes me feel a little sad to see sprawling shopping malls right up against a beautiful Amish farm. Instead, I love to wander around the countryside and get lost.…
With summer on its way, the hummingbirds should be arriving soon! And attracting hummingbirds to your garden is extremely easy. So with the weather finally getting warmer, it’s time to get out the feeders. If you’ve never fed hummingbirds, try it – you’ll be hooked. HUMMINGBIRD NECTAR RECIPE Dissolve 1 cup sugar in 4 cups…
Donkeys… their stubbornness is legendary. They don’t want to do something – game over. Come back tomorrow and try again. But there’s more to these animals then them just planting their feet in the ground and refusing to move. They’re loyal, gentle, and protective. So, when the little guy arrived, it was an exciting time.…
Change is inevitable. Sorrow is a difficult part of life. The loss of a beloved animal is extremely difficult to bear. When we lost our oldest Australian Shepherd this past February, we were all heartbroken. But as human beings, we are able to reason and understand that loss. What added to the pain we were…
Yesterday was officially the first day of spring. Instead of being heralded with the arrival of geese and a crocuses poking through the thawing snow, we patiently sat through another winter snow storm. Having contracted an EXTREME case of cabin fever, I felt the only cure to my ailment was to lace up my winter…
The Farmers in the Dell 