A smelly start
When I start a horticultural therapy session, I always try to break the ice with something unexpected. It can be some freshly picked berries from nearby bushes that the birds and animals have missed or slug-free greens that I just pulled from my garden. This time of year, however, the pickings are quite slim. When […]
Getting flat
I feel blessed living in the Northeast after Sandy as we only lost power for a week without major damage. Over 100 feet of fence did come toppling down but half of it was rotted and needed to be replaced anyway. So for the last few weeks I have been in storm clean-up mode like […]
A snowy remembrance
We must have done something really bad in the Northeast and even worse in my home town as Ridgefield seems to be the epicenter of nasty weather events over the last two years. We had just gotten over Sandy and had 100% power restored in the town when we got word that a Nor’easter was […]
Generating silence
As I go outside at 2 am to arm myself with a few logs to fuel the wood stove, there is an absence of silence. I am greeted by the roar of generators instead of the occasional owl screech or a soft rustle caused by wind. The evening is being interrupted by noise and needles […]
The immutable force of hurricanes and squirrels
I’ve been feeling rather smug with myself as over the past week as I have seen little evidence of squirrels able to thwart my bird feeding setup that sits somewhere between a Rube Goldberg contraption and a bizarre kinetic sculpture created by a youth with too many body piercings and too little (or much) sporadically […]
Flowers For Sandy
When I went outside this morning for the paper you wouldn’t have guessed that a Frankenstorm with the friendly name of Sandy is barreling down to whack the Northeast. Early morning in Ridgefield was partly sunny at a warm 54 degrees with the smell of rotting leaves being blown around by a light wind. With […]
Squirrels 97, Erik 1 (so far)
Educated as an engineer and having a father that was pretty handy, I take pride in my ability to fix or build most anything. When I didn’t have any money as a college student, I did my own brakes and rebuilt carburetors. As a young father with only a little money, I repaired TVs and […]
Multiplying mushroom madness
The last few weeks have been difficult in the garden as relentless rain and cloudy skies have kept everything damp and difficult to work on. Grass can’t be cut, leaves raked, and any activities are a damp and depressing mess. While this weather is lousy for people, it is great for mushrooms as has been […]
Catching up
It’s been over two months since I last blogged and it hasn’t been for lack garden tasks. It seemed that whenever I sat down to write, something came up. In the last few months I have run a number of therapy classes on pounding flowers, carnivorous plants, fall salad seedlings, flavored vinegars and invasive plants. […]
It has NOT been my pleasure to serve you
I remember that there is an old saying that you always sow three seeds for every plant you desire because “one is for the gods, one is for the birds/animals and one is for you.” Or something to that effect. The trouble with that saying is that few birds, animals or gods sign off on […]