Can you see him? He’s in the middle of the two clumps of trees. (Sorry the photos aren’t clearer. He was all the way across the pond, toward the ridge. Even with the digital 12x zoom, it was hard to get a good shot from this distance at dusk.)
I called out to say hello, and he turned to look. He’s such a big boy now.
This coyote and I go way back. All the way back to a field … Read More
Barbara Kingsolver brought the idea of locivore food growing and buying to the fore with her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. In it, she speaks to the value of focusing on eating locally instead of using fossil fuel to transport food long distances.
While Kingsolver feels a moral and environmental obligation to do so, most people are starting to feel a financial obligation to do so. The price of fresh fruits and vegetables (especially organic) is … Read More
In my previous post, a reader had a question about seeds. My response was getting long, so I decided to share it here. I’m sure there are other would-be gardeners who also aren’t clear on the differences.
Jo at Ecology of a Woman asked about three types of seeds — Heirloom, Hybrid, and GMO (genetically modified organisms). I’ll add one more type — Open Pollinated (of which Heirloom is a subset).
Here’s the quick run-down:
Hybrid Seeds are produced by … Read More
Oh the weather outside is frightful.
It’s been hovering around -15 F in the mornings around here. And we’ve had quite a lot of snow already. Deep winter is upon us.
But the fire is so delightful.… Read More
I ask you, what does it take to get a real English Scone in this country? Those hockey pucks that our stores and eateries have masquerading as scones are an insult.
Okay, I know. I’m sounding like a bit of a snob. And while there isn’t another snobby bone in my body– when it comes to scones, I just want the real thing.
Why? You ask.
Well, long long ago and far far away, back when I lived in England, … Read More
I’ve lived on or near water my whole life — ponds, rivers, swamps, lakes, streams, you name it. And I’ve spent a good deal of my life swimming, sailing, and skating on it. So I’ve learned a lot about how wind, water, and ice work.
When it comes to ice safety, there are several factors that can affect ice stability. Like the size of the body of water (a pond will be safe long before a lake). How deep the … Read More
Sometimes the day races by before I get a chance to get outside. Kiera doesn’t care what time of day it is, she just wants to make sure that, at some point, we get in our three mile walk. You see, Kiera has taken it upon herself to act as my personal fitness trainer. She doesn’t care whether I want to go or not — in her mind, not going is not an option. In the past eight years, we’ve … Read More
I’ve always loved watching birds. Once you know how to decipher their signs, they have a lot to tell you about what’s going on around you. For instance, if you’re sitting in the woods, and all of a sudden you see a flush of ground birds (robins, pheasant, turkey, etc.) fly up, you’ll know that a predator of some kind is in the vicinity. Or if the insect-eating birds (i.e. swallows) are flying lower to the ground, it’s because the … Read More
