Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
There are a few signs that Spring has arrived in my yard rather than merely the calendar. We had our first BBQ yesterday dragging the grill through the snow. Two-thirds of the back patio has been cleared off though a persistent layer of ice that is shaded by a short wall of stone is hanging […]
With Spring at my front door, I have always looked forward to an early harvest of wintered-over greens that I had planted in the fall. Kale, Swiss Chard, spinach, Miner’s Lettuce, mustard and the like have been ready for the picking and sampling. Tender sprouts of sorrel are ready to taste and enjoy. These late […]
After a long absence, I’ve returned to giving classes at Ann’s Place. It hasn’t been from lack of desire or planning but from a combination of illness, vacation and bad weather that has kept me away for two-and-a-half months. I decide to start out with an easy exercise in making vanilla but as it takes […]
Well not really. Back in the Nutmeg State after nearly a month in Florida I am typing between shoveling expeditions as we are in the midst of yet another Nor’easter. Apparently after I left for warmer climes, Connecticut like much of the country, had been hit by wave after wave of bad weather. In the […]
You rarely appreciate how good you have it until your creature comforts disappear. To a degree, that’s how I now feel as I have returned from a 9-day kayak trip to the Everglades in Florida where I paddled from Flamingo to Everglades City. This is one of those “bucket list” kind of things that people […]
About a week ago, the skies finally opened up to deliver a few inches of much needed rain. For most of October and November we had barely three quarters of an inch of the wet stuff over the past two months reminding me of a similar drought in the Spring of 2012. Mother Nature continues […]
This morning we had our first snow of the season. It was the type of snow event that you can appreciate and enjoy. The shovel remained in the garage as the snow didn’t stick to the driveway or roads. Lovely white flakes floated down coating the bird feeder with a thin cotton like blanket. Titmice, […]
Before the frost, I took stock of my garden and started to bed down and clean up the soil. We have had an unusually warm and dry fall and yet to have a frost by the end of October. But such luck was about to run out as the forecast predicted an evening in the […]
The other day Juana, Charlotte and I walked into town to visit the local Farmer’s Market. It was an usually warm day that was counterbalanced by the falling leaves and the colors of fall. There were only a few stands with produce but they were thoroughly stocked. We were expecting the fall crops of peppers, […]
We came back from a two-week tropical in the land of mangos, papayas and tropical fish to falling leaves, colder temperatures and a lower, less intense sun. While the warmth of the past week or so has been welcome, it is but a last gasp tease of what we had will no longer be. A […]