After all the snow is shoveled, Juana and Charlotte decide to take a tumble to make snow angels. They try to coax me to fall in the cold and frigid snow. I decline their kind offer.
Snow angels
A picture is worth . . .
I have learned as a writer that images can be just as important as the words in a book. That is why I am so fortunate to have Rosana Chinchilla @artbyrosana as the artist who brought life to my stories on the cover and 12 large plate illustrations that start every monthly chapter. In her […]
Foundation
My tiny greenhouse sits upon the foundation of the original greenhouse that used to supply food and flowers for the estate that my house, formerly a barn, used to be a part of. When we purchased our home over 30 years ago, I discovered that it used to be heated with a coal furnace. There […]
Early seedlings
Though it has warmed a bit, I decide to start some microgreens early. Prior to the big freeze we had last week, I brought in the two trays of Corn salad (Valerianella locusta) I had dug up in the fall. They had been surviving well in my greenhouse, but I did not want to tempt […]
Too cold!
The unrelenting cold is hopefully breaking but it is putting everything to task. The birdbath has but a tiny zone of water that the birds queue up to drink. I need to refill the liquid-zone at least once a day. I decide to take a look at the cold frame and all the frozen moisture […]
Winter chill
Bone chilling cold. Taking the compost out, the temperature, or lack of one, takes my breadth away. At 10 F in the shade, each puff hurts. When I exhale through my nostrils, little stalactites of ice form on my mustache. To me that is the sign of cold. Most the plants stoically stand, unmoved much […]
Bluebirds
In the dark and cold of Winter, bright colors are a welcome surprise. This pair of bluebirds resting and feeding on sunflower seeds are a lovely and uncommon distraction.
January bulbs
Every time I come back from the supermarket this time of year, I always return with a plant. Though spray roses from South America are always appreciated, I try to get plants that will live on in the years to come. Miniature daffodils (Narcissus Tete-a-Tete) are top of my list. Their bright yellow flowers brighten […]
A Therapist’s Garden
At the entrance of a drab, red-bricked building hidden in the woods, I push the buzzer on the intercom, identifying myself and the persons I am there to see. A crackly, static-laden voice acknowledges my request, and after a minute the large, gray steel entry door swings open toward me. I am led down a […]
Nature’s thermometer
You know it is cold outside when the melt off the roof is frozen coming out of the downspout. This morning it hit a low of 12 F and it is likely to get even colder later in the evening. One of nature’s thermometers that can tell you an approximate temperature is the rhododendron. There […]