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The Accidental Compost
Every year I say I’m going to start a compost pile but then lazy wins out. Whenever I toss a banana peel or an egg-shell I think, “if only I had a place to compost.” Part of my ambivalence is where I...
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The Plants are In!
We’re sore and tired but content with the satisfaction that comes from an honest day’s work. It’s been a few years since we’ve planted for the better part of a day but we did it. Mike prefers sailing...
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Happy Earth Day
I found an interesting quiz on the site Act Earth Day. It estimates your ecological footprint, based on a series of questions. At the end of the quiz you can explore ways to improve your impact on...
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The Joyful Gardener Turns 12
My cheerful, insightful, smart and creative son turns 12 today. As an infant we joked that he was born with the “happy gene” as he soaked up his surroundings with a positive, mellow and inquisitive...
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Birdhouse Gourd: Numbered Days?
The watched pot never boils, and the watched gourd never grows. Or so it seems… Now that I’ve filled one of the planting beds with an assortment of winter vegetables, I’ve turned my attention to the...
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Garden Sunshine: September Winding Down
A special thank you to all my gentle readers for your comments and advice. The birdhouse gourd vine will stay through the winter. I”ll keep you posted on how things go. Late this week I noticed one of...
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Harvesting the Gourds: I Grew a Pair
It’s pouring today. (I love it). Good thing I cleaned the garden box when I did. After a midweek frost, the birdhouse gourd vines shriveled up. I cut down the last of them and brought the pair of...
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A Compost We Will Grow
I popped the lid off the green compost bin and oh, what a surprise. Along side the rotting leaves and decaying kitchen scraps, there is a lot of growing going on. The first thing I noticed: the...
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Summer Camp for Sunflower Seeds
They’re not really at summer camp but it looks that way, doesn’t it? Keeping the sunflower seeds in the ground long enough to grow is an ongoing effort. They’re simply irresistible to squirrels. It...
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Itsy Bitsy Spider
The birds aren’t the only ones laying eggs this time of year. I happened upon a newly hatched ‘family’ of spiders today. I put family in quotes, because honestly there were hundreds of them. They look...
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Disneyland: If it Walks Like a Duck, and Talks Like a Duck…
Well…turns out it’s really a duck. Disneyland is known for its cast of characters: Mickey Mouse, his trusty companion, Pluto and larger than life Donald Duck. They’ve entertained children for over 50...
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Birdhouse Gourd: Open for Nesting
After all the worry and fuss about drilling holes in my precious gourds, the first of two is open for nesting. My resident handyman drilled a bird-sized hole on the front of the gourd, two small ones...
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Three Dogs: Clever, Sweet and Knotty
This is Titus. He’s a Doberman Pinscher by breed, but clearly a retriever at heart. I fell in love with him on the trail last week when he ran by carrying…a log! He’s still a puppy, just a month away...
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Sombody’s Watching Me
Do you remember the hit single from the mid-eighties I always feel like, somebody’s watching me? I snapped several photos on a recent hike, and the song’s lyrics came to mind. I watched the video, and...
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Results May Vary
The expression “results may vary” always make me laugh. Since the early days of advertising, we’ve been sold a bill of goods. One size fits all (ahem) Guaranteed results (or your money back) New and...
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