This is a sight we never want to see:
In the four years we have lived here, there has never been a problem with birds flying into our windows. Somehow, two days in a row, the fates aligned to invite disaster. I heard a whump, and when I went to investigate, there was this sweet little fellow, neck broken from the impact.
Several years ago, I did some research on this very subject. It seems there are several explanations for this kind of » READ MORE
…is not even a question. I love berms, and everything seems to grow bigger and better in a berm than in flat ground.
The moles are industrious little fellows. Whenever it rains, or wherever we water, this is a typical scene of their work. I might scoop up the light, fluffy soil as many as four or five times, only to have them push up another mound. I could grind my teeth and hurl expletives their way, but instead I praise my little crew » READ MORE
My thrifty tendencies lead me to gluing broken pots back together if the break is clean. This time, I decided to use a fairly large broken clay pot in another way. Not an original idea, but I quite like the way the golden baby tears seem to be spilling forth, mingling with the sedum and washing around the black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’). It took a couple of years to achieve the effect I was after. I began by half bu » READ MORE
By and large, we take a live and let-live attitude toward the deer. They provide endless entertainment from our dining room windows, and in return, they are allowed to browse at will. I will buy strawberries at the Farmers’ Market because the deer nibble the flowers before they can begin to develop in » READ MORE
April 17th, 2008 <!-- by ricki -->
My totem project got me to looking at cast-off household items through
new eyes. Back when I had an art deco-ish black and silver bathroom, my
kids gave me this black ceramic hand, which attaches to the wall and
becomes a soap dish. I have gone through several bathrooms since then,
but could never bring myself to discard the hand, even though it broke
into several pieces in removing it from its origin » READ MORE
I go to art fairs and shows every now and then, where I find myself admiring garden ornaments like totems and towers by ceramic artists. Alas, my budget, after plants, simply will not stretch to include original works of art. But wait! What about all of those odds and ends…lids to jars that have broken, saucers and/or pots with no mates, the wobbly pot that I threw in college (too weird to use, but too significant to throw away). I gather » READ MORE
I had a vision. A friend had given me three forsythia divisions. I wanted to use two of them to create an archway. I knew they were fast growers, so it seemed logical that by planting one on each side of a path, eventually they could be tied together at the top. It wasn't long before they were tall enough for tying, but they kept collapsing in the middle. Have you noticed how once a problem has been defined, a solution usually presents itself? W » READ MORE
