Early April often comes at you with a slow comforting joy then a fast jolt. The snowdrops and crocuses have decided correctly or incorrectly that the snow is past and are flush with leaves and blooms. Daffodils are pushing upward with visible progress each day. Tulips are more tentative as is a cautious child peeking […]
A lone woolly bear
As I mentioned in a past post, there has been a dearth of woolly bear caterpillars in our yard. Both dedicated and casual searches have been in vain. We were ready to give it up for the season when Juana spotted a tiny creature munching on a chrysanthemum that was planted in a flower box […]
First fire
Late September is often when it is time to light the first fire of the season. A cold front swoops down from the North, temporally bringing an early-season chill that needs to be removed first thing in the morning. Letting the dog out, a cold air fills your lungs with little piercing needles telling you […]
The humidity is on
The first truly hot day of summer often happens in July and that is today. In New England we get heat sometimes in May or June but never with the oppressing humidity that defines an uncomfortable and sticky day. Most of us notice little as the air conditioned dwellings and cars make us immune to […]
A lost season
The last few months in the garden have been a blur. It was a mild winter but we experienced the coldest day ever at -16 degrees. The quinces flowered around Xmas, went dormant, budded again in March, went dormant and are now attempting to make good on earlier promises. The daffodils shot up early creating […]
Back in the garden
The good thing about summer is that gardening can be put off a bit if needed. In the heat of July and August the lawn doesn’t need much mowing. The propagation of weeds has slowed. And it is harvest time. We still have blueberries though the raspberries/thimbleberries have pretty much been spent. The blackberries have […]
Ramping up
With our expanded garden (more on that in a future post) we are beginning to find ourselves feasting on more vegetables than we can handle. The spring greens are still producing like gangbusters with only the slightly hint of sourness. Most seasons by now I would have dug up the garden to plant the late […]
Back in the saddle
I’m not sure why it happened or that I choose an altitude of 35,000 feet to reverse course. But after a year of sparse postings I am going to give it another shot. It is not as if I haven’t had lots to write about: the crazy winter, the non-existent Spring, the early Summer, new […]
Taking stock
This has been the longest stretch I have not blogged. Like other stretches where I have not written, it has not been because I have been resting on my laurels but rather there were more important things to get done. And when the end of the day came, I was either too tired or indifferent […]
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 […]