Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Day lilies are aptly named for their ephemeral flower. I became all too aware of this upon my return home. When I left 10 days ago, there were just buds. When I returned, there were hundreds of flowers in bloom and even more that were spent. Time to dead-head. It’s important to do this for […]
Mullein is one of my favorite garden volunteers. This biannual starts out as a large rosette of velvet-like green leaves erupting into a tall, colorful yellow spike in the following year. It’s been used as a medicinal herb for centuries for a wide variety of ailments. But I think the coolest use is as a […]
It’s easy to forget plants stored in the basement. Such was the case with nearly a dozen amaryllis bulbs that were sitting in a dark corner. I brought them out about a month ago, now discovering Christmas in July.
Back at home, I can see that the garden has been growing unabetted in my absence. The next few days will be spent weeding, trimming, and cutting filling large cans of the excess. I have missed the end of strawberry season, but the blueberries have started to come in. As the girls are away this […]
It is coming down in sheets so we need to delay the final leg of our travels. We finally get out of the motel a bit after 9 am and settle down for a great breakfast at Deb’s Place. We linger over our omelets as the rain picks up. Around 10:30 we are on the […]
It’s a beautiful clear day with not a cloud in the sky. I approach today with both excitement and trepidation as 61 miles will be our longest pedal so far with temps in the upper 80s. But I am leaving such thoughts in the background as the waitress at our hotel, Auberge Sutton Brouerie, brings […]
The church bell in St. Albans rings nine and we start our way to Canada on a cloudy and cool morning. This trip is only 38 miles so we should be able to handle it easily. It’s a quiet Sunday with only a few people walking the trail and even fewer cars on the roads […]
Rain, rain take a hike. Erik wants to ride his bike. This was the refrain going through my head this morning as we woke up to varying intensities of precipitation that continued until 10 am, delaying our start. The sky spits at us as we mount our bikes, coasting down to the LVRT. We take […]
After a great breakfast at the Danville Restaurant and Inn (Ted had blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup), we start our 49-mile day by entering the trail next to the old Danville train station. The morning is sunny though unseasonably cold in the 50s. Our tires crackle as we pass through a grove of white […]
Much like Blanche DuBois, Ted and I have very much relied on the kindness of strangers when we find ourselves in a pickle during one of our road trips. That happened again today when we experienced four flat tires between the two of us. I led off the puncture parade two miles into the day […]