Spring! Glorious Spring!

It’s been a loooooong time since I posted here!   Quite frankly life has taken a few twists and turns and my heart wasn’t into gardening for a while and then an injury last summer rendered me unable to get around but I am back and chomping at the bit to get out into the garden!  But that was then and this is now.

Let the seeding begin!   More specifically and in keeping with ye olde blog name, let the experimenting begin!

Some are new to me (ornamental grass for one) and others I’ve grown before (like snake gourds – see my Halloween snake from a few years ago here.)

I am so glad to be back and pray that my ankle will hold up because I’m raring to go!   Right now, I’m off to get dirt under my nails as the great outdoors beckons!  Yippee!!!!!

The Ups & Downs of W-I-N-T-E-R

This past week has been a crazy ride weather-wise.   This is what was outside my front door last week at this time….

  

It may have stopped us in our tracks but by the next day….

These troopers were lurking….with their sights on the feeders.

….and then she was alone but not for long.

A saucy little wren made an appearance.

r And took over the joint!

With very few food sources, that’s how it went for the rest of the day.  In & out.  Back & forth.

Here a Titmouse waits patiently for the Mourning Dove to finish.  How polite!

Over the course of the next few days I cleared the deck to get access to the feeders to refill them.  Now here’s the kicker…… exactly one week later, the temps have been hovering around 60 degrees for the past 3 days!    When it comes to weather, New England is a crazy place.

Same view!

The birds don’t seem affected one way or another.

Even when the garden is not alive ‘n kicking, we are still blessed by nature.

I hope you are blessed with wonderful things in 2011!

Happy New Year!

Brrrr……One Warm Coat

It’s incredible how affected we are by the weather isn’t it?  Here in New England we flip flopped from unseasonably warm temperatures last week, to unseasonably cold this week.   Time to pull out the winter woollies!

The nip of cold sent me running for the coats, sweatshirts and socks!  I am kind of anti-sock and each year I put off wearing them for as long as possible.  Their appearance on my feet is a sure sign of things to come yet I feel fortunate to have what I need to keep me warm.  Not everyone does.

Each year when we pull our coats out of summer storage, we downsize the collection.  With three daughters, there are always a few to pass long.   Last year I found an organization that collects coats for those in need.  It is nationwide and you can donate a single coat or organize a drive.


How about you?  Need to free some closet space?  Want to help someone in need?  Want to do a green “deed”?

I am joining Suzan of Old*Grey*Mare for the November edition of Project Genesis.  Won't you?

Out & About – July 22 Edition - Fertilizer Friday

I’m joining the weekly Fertilizer Friday meme hosted by the wonderful Tootsie.  You can pay her a visit too!   By clicking here.

This week has proven to be a random happenings kind of week. 

I pruned back the petunias in my hanging baskets and collected seeds for next year.



The last of the Leeks were pulled.   I love to let them bolt and have the papery scape burst open to reveal the inside.  But that’s just me being silly (and experimental).



In my little neighborhood the backyards are kind of pie shaped and meet in the middle.  Thankfully, we have been blessed with the greatest neighbors.  Very “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”.  This is a view of one part of my backyard.  Looking right from the deck. 
About 20 minutes before this picture was taken, I mentioned to my husband that a mammoth vine had climbed the tree overlooking my veggie patch and the tomatoes were not doing as well as they should because they needed more sun.  Next thing I know, our neighbor is up the tree on a ladder roping the tree to take it down.  Do you see the diagonal white line in the center of the picture?    Well hubby is on the end of that rope (behind our SHARED compost bins) pulling the tree while our neighbor is on the chainsaw.  He is obscured by the overgrown grapevine and hydrangea.  Poof!  Done!  My veggies should be happy!

From this vantage point if I were to look left (wish I had taken a picture), there is a small creek with a bridge and pretty much forest on the other side.  I use it to store nursery pots and there is a compost bin there too.  While I was walking the puppy  a couple of days ago, I was startled (doesn’t take much to freak me out, critter-wise) to see this….
This guy has apparently taken up residence in an old kiddy pool.  A quasi Club Med for frogs and friends.  Knock yourself out buddy!

WARNING!
At the risk of boring you to death, be forewarned this is but yet another blurb about my daturas.    You may want to run off at this point and that’s cool.  Run!  Run!  (This is the first year that I’ve grown them from seed and I just want to keep track.)


What a difference a day makes!

Have a wonderful week but first,  head on over to see Tootsie and more garden aficionados!

Oh Babies!

I was out doing errands one rainy day last week with my trusty camera in tow.   As I was driving, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this…

Three little glowing balls.

 

A whole family of Canada Geese!

How cute are they!

“Reproduction

Courting
During the second year of their lives, Canada Geese find a mate. They are monogamous, and most couples stay together all of their lives.^[5] If one is killed, the other may find a new mate. The female lays 3–8 eggs and both parents protect the nest while the eggs incubate, but the female spends more time at the nest than the male. Known egg predators include Arctic Foxes, Northern Raccoons, Red Foxes, large gulls, Common Raven, American Crows and bears. During this incubation period, the adults lose their flight feathers, so they cannot fly until their eggs hatch after 25–28 days.

Adult geese are often seen leading their goslings in a line, usually with one parent at the front, and the other at the back. While protecting their goslings, parents often violently chase away nearby creatures, from small blackbirds to humans that approach, after warning them by giving off a hissing sound. Most of the species that prey on eggs will also take a gosling. Although parents are hostile to unfamiliar geese, they may form groups of a number of goslings and a few adults, called crèches. The offspring enter the fledging stage any time from 6 to 9 weeks of age. They do not leave their parents until after the spring migration, when they return to their birthplace. Once they reach adulthood, Canada Geese are rarely preyed on, but (beyond humans) can be taken by Coyotes, Red Foxes, Gray Wolves, Snowy Owls, Great Horned Owls, Golden Eagles and, most often, Bald Eagles.”

Excerpted from Wikipedia

I found it interesting that the adults lose their flight feathers during the incubation period. 

If you are interested, you can read more here.

Then it was time to go!

What a privilege to spend a few minutes with this little family.

I had seen a few families before but never with my camera so when I spotted them, I had to “pull a U-ee”.  Safely, of course!

Duck.Duck.Goose - Fall in a Pond

I love the outdoors.    Mother Nature paints the most beautiful pictures.  In all seasons.  Last week I came upon this pond of ducks and geese in a neighboring town.  What a blessing to enjoy animals in their natural habitat.

Pictures from Norfolk MA….

Ain't life grand.  Reminds me to “stop and smell the roses”.

Tangerini's Farm

One of the fields

Yesterday, like today, was a hot and hazy day and the air was thick with humidity. What an odd summer. Rain, rain, rain. We'll be rolling into August soon and it feels like summer hasn't even begun. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the garden. Lot's of lush green foliage but that's about it. I will be pleasantly surprised if I get any harvest by the end of August. Time will tell. On the bright side, I picked a good year to be an experimental farmer. Experiments are "tests" and tests sometimes fail. Oh well.

This is the current shining star in the garden. And I do mean the only one. Sad but true.

So back to the hot and humid day...... I wanted to see how other local harvests were doing so I hopped in my car to go to a local favorite, Tangerini's Spring Street Farm. It's a great place - especially for kids. There are goats and chickens and cats wandering around which kind of baffles me because given the opportunity, my cats would not leave those darn chickens alone. The city girl side of me thinks that felines and foul just don't mix. Obviously that is not true on a farm.

So here is what was available tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, beans, zucchini, yellow squash and U-pick raspberries and blueberries. I guess real farmers are just that, real.

The farm stand and ice cream shop.

One of the residents.

The greenhouse wall. Pretty.

Piggy pottery. Very cute.

Happy Canada Day!

It's our birthday! 142, eh? Woo-hoo!

I started thinking about my roots and the history that I had lost due to the passage of time.

So I decided to google it and after spending a couple of hours reading, for those who might be interested, this is what I found:

http://www.linksnorth.com/canada-history/discovery.html

I've been living south of the border for 10 years and still miss so many things. No matter where you come, your country is always in your heart. Canucks included. I am grateful to be Canadian - we are good people.

Bees & Blooms

Weather is still not what it should be - cool nights with extreeeeeemely comfortable days. Great for stuff like lettuce but the warm weather crops are in a holding pattern. Oh well, such is the life of a gardener.

A few more shots of what is in bloom......

Graduation Day!

This is it! My baby girl graduated today! Miss Olivia is off enjoying the all night party at her school tonight. In my solitude, the tears are welling.

I really need to thank "Mr. D" (pictured) for all that he has done for all of my girls. He's a kind man who cares about "his" kids. It has not been an easy road but Mr. D was always there. For this I am grateful.

I have great confidence that she will soar. Happy life sweetheart.

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