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Nature

Spring is Springing

/ Nature / By / 2 Comments

Spring is springing around here, worrisomely, a bit too early… If you know of anyone who doesn’t believe in global warming, just send them along to my place. With temps in the 70’s and 80’s for the past two weeks in the middle of March, Mother Nature is clearly a little confused. None of this should be happening for at least another month!


Peonies breaking dormancy                          Crabapple tree budding
 

All my trees are starting to bud too early. Grass greening … Read More

A Light Show to Beat All Light Shows

/ Life, Nature / By / 1 Comment

Space.com senior writer Mike Wall reports that particles ejected by recent solar storms are due to slam into Earth over the next few days, possibly causing super-charged northern lights displays and temporary radio blackouts in some areas, experts say.

Geomagnetic storms can also trigger dramatic aurora displays, which are also known as the northern and southern lights. So skywatchers at higher latitudes may want to look up after sunset over the next few days.

You know I’ll be outside … Read More

Best Pan Roasted Potatoes Recipe!

/ My Garden / Recipes / By / 3 Comments

organic potatoesNext to growing garlic, potatoes come in as a 2nd favorite on my list of most fun and rewarding things to grow. And they taste so much better than store-bought.

The other great thing about potatoes is that you can harvest them over a few months. So when I’m looking for stuff to throw together for dinner, I can go out, dig up a few, grab whatever else is ripe, and have a delicious vegetarian meal in no time at … Read More

Childhood Memories

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Memories…  Little treasures and traps that we collect over a lifetime. Longtime readers know that I’ve worked hard to help Cait focus on the treasures, as I try to do for myself. That’s because, as a storyteller, I’m keenly aware of the power of the stories we tell ourselves about where we’ve been, who we are, and where we’re going. Hence my desire to carry the treasures forward.

One of my favorite early memories is of going to my … Read More

How to Hill Potatoes

/ Nature / By / 2 Comments

Ah, the vagaries of gardening in the Northeast…  An exceptionally rainy Spring has brought more than a few false starts with rotting seeds, and slow starts with battered seedlings. Such setbacks are par for the course when you throw in with Mother Nature. It’s all part of the adventure.

Even with an uncooperative Spring, there are a few plants that are flourishing, including my potatoes, which are growing like crazy. Having just finished a second hilling, I thought I’d … Read More

Zucchinis or Squashes Setting Small Fruit? Absence of Bees May Require Hand Pollinating

/ My Garden / Recipes / By / 3 Comments

More than the economy is falling on hard times these days. A potentially huge problem is looming for gardeners and food growers everywhere.

Zucchini FlowerI just had a friend share with me that, in her area, zucchinis aren’t setting full fruits. So I checked my plants and , lo and behold, found some developmentally challenged zukes in my own garden. Confirmed in newspapers and online sources, many zucchini and squash plants are setting miniature or quickly rotting fruits.

The reason? The … Read More

One of My Favorite Recipes — Orange Salad

/ My Garden / Recipes / By / 7 Comments

With all the anticipation of getting ready for my gardening season, I’ve been cooking up a storm testing new recipes.  Cait is always very happy when this happens.  As she was munching and I was preparing, we got to talking about favorite childhood tastes.  For me, hands down, it’s my mother’s Orange Salad recipe.  It’s so simple and refreshing.

Orange Salad Recipe

  1. Peel skin off several oranges, leaving a fair amount of pith (the white inner skin).
  2. Slice and cut
… Read More

How Long Will it Take Them…

/ Cait and Me, Nature / By / 7 Comments

We’ve got a messy storm blowing in, so Cait and a friend wanted to get in what may be the last of the skating for a bit.

Cait takes a moment to tighten up her laces.

nightskate1

Even though the ice is 5 inches thick (thick enough to safely drive a car on) and we have a long-line rope on the fence post, I still wind up checking on them from time to time.  My old EMT safety habits die hard.… Read More

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