Garden Misadventures

9 inches of rain?!

2011-06-13T18:37:00.000-04:00

Well, that does explain the daunting amount of weeds that I saw when I got there the other weekend. I accomplished only a limited amount of weeding then, as I had a stunning headache, but I returned with reinforcements (thank you, K, you know who you are), who provided both moral support and significant help yanking out the accumulated weeds that had sprung up in the intervening period and all

Excuses...and events!

2011-05-25T15:32:00.000-04:00

With all the rain we've had, it's hard to get out there and do maintenance during the few hours I have in any given day. Still, I guess it's just like this: http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2010-02-15 (As you may imagine, I've become a fan of Yehuda Moon bike comics; I encourage you to go over there and visit. They bring the funny, and are encouraging for those of us trying to build more

Welcome...

2011-04-26T19:04:00.001-04:00

Well, first of all, a belated welcome to all the folks who've stopped over to say hello from the recent Globe article about the Rock Meadow Community Gardens. ( I think it may tell you to register but it will let you view the article for free. ) I was puzzled that the Globe folks didn't wait a few weeks until some of the plants would start leafing out - here in zone 6a we're only in the planting

Rain, and a lot of it too

2011-04-17T15:34:00.001-04:00

I'm not complaining, believe me, but this year's "April showers" amount to 3.5" between sunday the 10th and Thursday 14th, and another 3.5" overnight last night. Here's my rain guage. This should be an interesting growing season...But I have bought a few more perennials to tide me over while the seeds are germinating. - Posted from my iPhone...

Rodents, and other mixed blessings

2011-04-11T19:22:00.000-04:00

They're so cute, really they are. I let the family of field mice stay in my compost wheel bin over the winter, because I felt badly they might get eaten by this (also very cute) stoat (short-tailed weasel, or Mustela erminea) image courtesy of Wikipedia Still, spring has arrived, and I served the eviction notice, and they scampered out the door and ... straight into the pile of dreck I've been

Opening Day

2011-04-10T02:50:00.000-04:00

Got a fair amount done this Saturday, ie, the official opening day for our community garden. The weather nicely obliged us, with sun, a light cool breeze, andno rain. I got a littlepink, just enough to cheer me up. Got a fair amount of cleanup done; Obviously there's still a lot to do. But I've cleared several of the plots, and even planted peas, And also a bed of mesclun greens. I moved things

Because my seedlings won't be up yet...

2011-02-24T01:09:00.001-05:00

I shall instead entertain you with a couple of gratuitous food and cooking shots. Just...because. Beets, pre-roasting. (very tasty. Just add a little oil, salt, and mace.)Peppers, with diced pear, sauteed prior to using them in soft tacos. Caramelized onions are in the container in background. 土豆丝 Spicy julienned potatoes. Trust me on this one. A cheese plate from a recent meal out with Dad. (

Soul Food...

2011-02-19T20:12:00.000-05:00

You know it's going to be strange when I submit a blog post with a title like that. This started when a friend on twitter, who lives in China, casually commented on a vegetable with an odd, hard to translate (i.e., cryptically idiomatic) name. The photo he enclosed of the feast he was having included a beautiful vegetable that I thought might be one of their local fresh pickles (fresh in the

Winter starters

2011-01-27T19:00:00.007-05:00

Hopefully, at least. It's always a gamble starting seeds in January/February, but I like to do it. When I was at C-Mart in Chinatown last weekend, seeing these seed packages inspired me just a little. We'll see what happens.When I've done this in the past, I used those little fairy lights to supplement what light they got. It helps - but of course I need to choose my containers wisely too. I used

More White Fluffy Stuff, Anyone?

2011-01-20T21:48:00.001-05:00

...followed by negative temperatures, according to the predictions I see. Whatever. Winter in New England. Moving right along! That only makes me want to work on my soup recipes. I've been eating ratatouille lately, but I'm craving that staple of Vietnamese home food, curried chicken soup (Ca Ri Ga). I haven't quite got the spices to my liking yet, but I'm close. Also it has the advantage of

Weather Fail

2011-01-17T23:02:00.001-05:00

It vaguely amuses me when I check the weather site to see how far off their predictions can be. I don't expect a lot of accuracy; this is New England after all, land of random 70ºF days in January and freak snow squalls in August. You would think, however, that they could decide what the current temperature is, right? Not so much. The various weather 'apps' and sites I check in with always cite a

Fugitive Colors

2011-01-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

{originally written for posting on 10/4/10} What do murex snails, fugitive dyes, and my purple beans this season all have in common? Stay with me here, I'll get to it. I've been reading a number of books about color. How is it used in dyes, paints, pigments, and even in food; where did we get the original dyes that we now take for granted through modern chemistry? Why do some fade ("fugitive")

Haiku funnies

2011-01-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

A friend (who lives in warmer climes) and I occasionally trade wisecracking haiku when we're both plagued with insomnia. Here are a few I managed to save from twitter. Enjoy. He gloats about warmth while the climate obliges. Got a wool sweater? The sky is still pink silently blanketing us even blizzards tire. Arizona spring breezy, sunny, and some mist but, cold and orange! Your altiplano

Advancing the Pie and Preserves Agenda

2011-01-13T18:47:00.000-05:00

Yes really. And beer, too. I could blame the weather, or the fact that suddenly I have a ton of food coming out of my garden (happy surprise, that!) or the fact that I found a wonderful book on preserving fruit and making all kinds of yummy things like mint syrup and something intriguing called "fruit cheese" - but mostly, I want summer to stick around, and this November rain phenomenon arriving

Today's score,...

2010-09-15T18:52:00.001-04:00

Or reds: another batch of tomatoes, a pepper, some nasturtium and mint and the hopes of some more zukes.The rodents nommed on the last of the beans and the chard, the carrots, and the brassicae. :/ Oh well. More plans for the fall though. - Posted from my iPhone...

Post-vacation De-brief

2010-08-23T19:00:00.003-04:00

So, I had a short post ready on my phone to upload - and that's when I became pretty sure that there was no signal (bandwidth) available on the island. I'm glad for the local residents up there: the sheer volume of visitors was unusual - it had been quiet the past 10 - 15 years I'd been up to the island - so this was, in a sense, "back to normal" and businesses were doing well, from what I could

Tomatoes!

2010-08-15T11:35:00.000-04:00

So, after all the threats of heavy rain this week, instead we have powdery earth. I dropped by yesterday (in the company of dad, who nicely grabbed a pair of snippers and got after some of those pesky invasives while I watered, harvested veggies, and yanked weeds. Yay! I have a few veggies and I'm really pleased. Now I was able to share with dad, gave a few to friends Susan& Bob, and still have

Rain, oh when will it rain?

2010-08-04T19:38:00.000-04:00

Don't get me wrong. I'm a New England native, so I know just how strange and contrary and unpredictable the weather in these parts can be. It's just that I keep getting fooled by the little gadget that claims to predict the weather on the interwebs. See, for the past 10 days, each day when I look to see what the next couple of days are allegedly going to provide (considering that most days are

Purple beans!

2010-08-03T20:27:00.001-04:00

Yum, beans, tomatoes and peas, oh my! - Posted from my iPhone...

A zuke, a cuke, and a pepper

2010-07-27T20:03:00.001-04:00

And a few tiny tomatoes, some peas and some raspberries. :) and herbs. And my geraniums and rue and beans are all thriving. I couldn't quite summon the strength to weed as well as water, but that can be tomorrows adventure. Now, I must go home and cook! - Posted from my iPhone...

First cuke and pepper!

2010-07-24T16:43:00.001-04:00

All kinds of things on the verge of harvest now. Yay!! - Posted from my iPhone...

Mad dogs and Englishmen

2010-07-12T20:47:00.001-04:00

And me. All out in the noonday sun. In my case, to do a little garden work, but I plead temporary insanity. Gardening at that hour on a 90+F day? Yeah. At least I had the sense to stick my head under the water spigot each time I filled the 5-gallon bucket for watering. Still, got a fair amount done, and glad to see a few tomatoes and peppers showing through. Also, looks as though I'll get a

Ahhh, much better

2010-07-09T20:52:00.000-04:00

Tucked in the wormwood and some more creeping thyme; planted some more beans, and gave everyone a good soak. The bats swooped by to say hello as they munched on more bugs. :) - Posted from my iPhone...

Bats!

2010-07-08T20:50:00.001-04:00

There are bats at the garden eating bugs!!! *does a happy dance* Also blackberries, raspberries, and at last my tomatoes are showing fruit. Whew!Now to come back tomorrow and finish clearing out all the overgrowth from around the edges of the garden. - Posted from my iPhone...

I'm sorry, the temperature is what?

2010-07-07T20:55:00.000-04:00

Well, my poor garden (and everyone else's, here in New England) is struggling with the heat. At least my peppers might like it, but apparently it's not my imagination - we've broken the 100 degree mark, but mostly it's stubbornly sticking around between 94 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Good times. Pardon me, but now I have to go water my garden, while it won't *immediately* evaporate away and

Rue, geraniums, and thyme

2010-06-15T20:04:00.000-04:00

Okay, and the usual gang of mosquitoes too. Still, I'm pleased with the progress so far. The main round of planting, both starters and seeds, are safely tucked into their beds beneath various ghostly (ghastly?) protective layers of wire cage material and row cover or plain plastic screening. I'm slowly digging out the mint that's in the way and freeing up the other beds. Today was just about

I regret to report that Eucalyptus oil

2010-06-04T22:32:00.001-04:00

...is not that effective when there are that many clouds of mosquitoes. I managed to get the door part of the gate nailed together, at least, but not a whole lot else done. It was pretty brutal. I may try to switch to an early morning routine - not sure how much of this I can stand, given the bites I've endured every time I'm out there. Apparently part of the reason the bugs are so numerous is

Mending the fence

2010-06-02T21:51:00.000-04:00

Got a fair amount of maintenance done tonight at the plot. Attacked the bittersweet that's been colonizing the fenceline, yanked out a lot of mystery tubers that grow 3' tall (hmph. If only my veggies would be so vigorous right?!) and mowed somed of the grass coming up in the walkways. I cleared out one of the smaller beds and that'll be my flower garden - it's already got columbine growing there

So many birds,

2010-06-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

...and I wish they'd eat more mosquitoes, but who's complaining? Okay, it's true. Now that my arms and neck are devastated by the clouds of mozzies that assaulted me at sunset, it's true, I'm complaining. A little. On the other hand, I really enjoy the sheer number and variety of birds that I see and/or hear at the allotment when I stop to rest a moment. For your amusement, and from the

Thunderstorms, weeding, and planting

2010-06-01T13:18:00.001-04:00

So, at last, an update. I seem to be an intermittent blogger these days, my apologies to those of you who check in regularly: you must be saying "now, why don't she write?" - but obviously the usual excuses of "busy" followed by "too tired to write at the end of the day" apply. You know how it goes - I imagine most of you are in the same boat, (and surely this spring, 'boat' is an accurate

Fences, rocks, snakes and some spring onions

2010-04-04T19:44:00.001-04:00

A short update, as one is overdue but I'm too tired to do a proper update just now. Among recent events, no doubt you've heard about our flooding up in Massachusetts; lucky me, I had some of it in my apt, although compared to many I got out alright: no evacuation, just a couple weeks of inconvenience while I stayed elsewhere during the repairs. Whew. Counts self lucky and moves along

Thinking healing thoughts

2010-02-27T01:43:00.000-05:00

Simply stunned and reeling that my friend Katie (GardenPunk blogger, flickr photographer, avid Twitter user, and all-around healthy soul and cheerful person) could ever be so abruptly and unfairly felled and hospital-ridden by what has turned out to be bacterial meningitis. Judging by the hundreds of signatures and lengthy thoughts left on her caringbridge.com site created by her sister, I know

Winter distractions

2010-01-27T22:19:00.001-05:00

Miscellanea: Sometimes I stop into the la-dee -dah store that has an attached greenhouse so that while I'm picking up a jar of spaghetti sauce, I can get a dose of tropical foliage. It's actually not very busy in winter, but it's nice to be able to wander in and enjoy the hanging plants and flowers, even though it's 8:30pm on a bitter cold Tuesday. Along my morning commute I get treated to a

Myopia dog sled races

2010-01-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

Meet... Snow Dog!!!We attended the sled dog race eventvat the Myopia Hunt club up in Hamilton, MA, and between racers going by, my friend K decided snow sculpture was in order. Bring your own fun - especially if you didn't think ahead to bring your own tailgate party: -This division was all young racers and they did a great job. Posted from my iPhone...

Carrot seedlings!

2010-01-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

Okay. It's official- I'm now excited. The carrot seedlings are up. Last time I planted some, they simply failed. Hopefully these will do better. - Posted from my iPhone...

More seedlings!

2010-01-09T12:08:00.001-05:00

I can't help it. The more winter sets in, the more my little seedlings cheer me up. Here are a few more- hopefully future carrots. The second photo is of the progress of the 'zeolights' variety I planted. Posted from my iPhone...

Post-snow sunshine

2010-01-09T10:37:00.001-05:00

And cold. So say the rhododendron leaves outside my window. - Posted from my iPhone...

Seedlings!

2010-01-08T09:32:00.001-05:00

The first two tentative little seedlings showed this morning. Yay! - Posted from my iPhone...

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T22:45:00.001-05:00

Resting indoors and pondering the early seed catalogs (thank you Lee Valley and Johnny's) after having surveyed the damage the wind and snow wrought on my little plot. I'm glad to see all the various posts from gardeners talking about their spring plans. It's encouraging at least, even though I realize that with the soil newly frozen in my neck of the woods I can expect at least two to three more

Mountain lions, mold, and snow storms

2009-12-22T18:00:00.000-05:00

At last, an update. It's been far too long, I know, but this summer's monsoon and plague of mold on our tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants - along with everything else - was just too discouraging. Then, I had a lengthy business trip that took me out of state during a critical period at the garden when I would otherwise have tried planting for an optimistic fall crop. Such is life.I'm working on

Whut?

2009-07-12T10:54:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Whut?, originally uploaded by Margo and George. This is what I get when I try to do simple domestic things, like, laundry (these are actually bathmats trying to dry hung over the laundry basket). He gives me that funny look

snoot prints!

2009-07-05T11:07:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } snoot prints!, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Tuesday morning I came out to check on the containers outside my window, only to find everything tipped over, dug through, and generally in disarray. Some nocturnal

bean bed

2009-06-25T08:30:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } bean bed, originally uploaded by Margo and George. at least the beans are tolerating all the rain... so far.

A return to the humble container garden

2009-06-23T22:52:00.002-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } the humble container garden, originally uploaded by Margo and George. So, as apparently the rest of the country endures a heat wave, my part of the country has had a month straight of rain. No, seriously: I can count the

a nestful of cute

2009-06-12T21:26:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } a nestful, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Last weekend I got a wonderful surprise outside my window - literally a few feet outside my window, hidden in the upper branches of a large rhododendron shrub: a nestful

gratuitous purple

2009-05-28T19:56:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } purple, originally uploaded by Margo and George. After a grey spring, it was a real refresher to see these in a garden at the Smithsonian. It'll be another week though, before my oriental poppy deigns to bloom...

Vacation...

2009-05-28T19:39:00.003-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Veronica, originally uploaded by Margo and George. and then shortly thereafter, I headed out of town for a long weekend. I visited DC on my way south; stopping in to visit a few favorite museums - the Sackler /Freer Gallery

...after much digging

2009-05-28T19:36:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } after much digging, originally uploaded by Margo and George. this is how the first bed looked. I planted my early stuff here on April 15: lettuces and greens, radishes, beets, and nasturtium, peas and cilantro. As you can

Overheard while weeding...

2009-05-16T22:48:00.003-04:00

So, I arrived in the cooler, later part of the day to do some much-needed weeding now that we aren't living with rain all the time (although a t-storm was supposedly imminent, and I did have several things to plant)... guess what I overheard while weeding? Being gardeners you'll appreciate this one.So, we're at more than capacity at our community garden. Opening day we had 130 plots free, and

the Cute Patrol

2009-05-07T14:31:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } 0502091106, originally uploaded by Margo and George. ...or, how I'm continuing to postpone putting up a decent catch-up post... I was down in SC for a festival over the weekend. We lucked out with great weather, and I

And now...

2009-04-29T22:30:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } later, seedlings up, originally uploaded by Margo and George. ...and now the seedlings are up. peas,nasturtium carrots (ok, they're not up just yet, but imminently)arugula, spinach, lettuce, and mesclun greensbeetscilantroI

opening day at the Community Gardens...

2009-04-29T22:28:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } opening day: working on the soil, originally uploaded by Margo and George. a little photo catch-up, although I don't yet have the oomph to do a text catch up. Much has been going on. Here's how the garden looked on the 4th

Three bean plants

2009-03-08T21:27:00.002-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } beans growing, originally uploaded by Margo and George. So we had some of our strange winter weather this weekend: abruptly sunny and warm (for us, at any rate: 50 - 60 degrees F). I took advantage of the warm weather to

Shameless silliness.

2009-03-05T18:00:00.001-05:00

What, as if I need a reason?more animalsComic relief is my reasonbig fat justification: plus the fact that some of my online friends commented that they didn't picture me as a kickboxer (hey, I'm only just learning kickboxing, but it's fun!) -- I should say, my online friends who are gardeners and in the season traipse around flailing large, heavy metal weapons implements of weed destruction

I ordered some seeds...

2009-03-04T23:00:00.002-05:00

So, I ordered some seeds from Johnny's... I like Johnny's because they have so many heirloom varieties. The short & sweet: I'm looking forward to figuring out where to put a few of each of these plants. I ordered one packet each of these nifty neeto things:Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme), 60 days to maturity ...I love cherry tomatoes, and mine died last year due

Bush Bean Trio: progress

2009-03-03T22:15:00.001-05:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } tri-color bean mix, originally uploaded by Margo and George. So, I came home tonight to find this is how far the little green babies had pushed out of the soil. I can't wait: string beans! In my apartment! And they're the

The great seed experiment...part 1

2009-03-03T22:13:00.001-05:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } tri-color bean mix, originally uploaded by Margo and George. ...part 1 of several, apparently. So, as mentioned in a previous post, I was inspired by someone else's work with little tiny spare holiday lights. I came up with

Not exactly "bunday monday" but...

2009-03-02T17:20:00.002-05:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Whinnie, originally uploaded by Montgomery Area Nontraditional Equestrians (MANE). Thought everyone would appreciate this wonderful horse. I logged on to find something else on creative commons and instead found this little

You know you have spring fever when...

2009-02-22T18:14:00.004-05:00

...when garden and seed catalogs and planning out your plot aren't enough to distract you. You swing by the garden plot and traipse through the pock-marked and ice-ridden paths all the way to the back of the community gardens JUST TO LOOK at your own plot. Not, mind you, to accomplish any purpose; nor even to photograph it to document the change of seasons. Nope, just to look. Little wooden

Squid Ceviche for lunch

2009-02-19T13:04:00.002-05:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Squid Ceviche for lunch, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Who says comfort food can't be healthy?I found squid on sale at my local co-op; local and wild caught. I particularly favor the little tentacles, what can I

bad, bad thoughts about LED and seeds

2009-01-30T10:41:00.003-05:00

Thanks to someone from ravelry who's also in my local fiber guild, I have been shown this gardening post...and I am now thinking bad, bad thoughts about using LED lights and so forth to start my seeds this year. Plus it has the added bonus of keeping the little green babies safe from the curious paws (and occasional outright clueless flumping) of George, aka attitude-boy. If I succeed (i.e., if I

Tis the season for soup

2009-01-18T19:45:00.002-05:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } onion soup, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Foiled in my attempts to grow a winter crop of radishes, carrots and other root vegetables, I am at least still taking comfort in soup with root vegetables (note how this

onions & potatoes

2008-10-28T20:54:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } onions & potatoes, originally uploaded by Margo and George. I meant to get a photo of these up sooner, but it took me a while to catch up on my photo-taking. These are some of the onions (red) and potatoes (red, white [

Plum Island trek

2008-10-28T20:50:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Plum Island, originally uploaded by Margo and George. So, this is what I got up to on the Saturday this past weekend. I have always meant to head up to Plum Island, which is a national wildlife refuge (largely bird

inside the cold frame

2008-10-28T20:40:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } inside the cold frame, originally uploaded by Margo and George. So, it seems that my little transplanted rosemary plant objects strenuously to being moved. It appears to have root shock. I coddled it as best I could with

"Snow, north."

2008-10-28T18:00:00.000-04:00

According to the old farmer's almanac...that's what's predicted for this week. On the other hand, the weather forecast locally keeps indicating that Sunday is my best day for finishing up with the various tucking in and stabilizing of the cold-frame over at the old garden plot. Happily I scored some plexiglass from the junk pile so I can secure some of the drafts.Still, what with reports from the

Rescuing the Geraniums

2008-10-19T19:43:00.008-04:00

Sunday was garden-day, once more. Fortunately we had nice warm-ish weather, and the threatened rain held off; it kept a steady ~58* F most of the day with patchy sun. Not bad to work in at all.So, I cropped the rest of the tall weeds and uprooted them, leaving a big hay-stack of ex-weeds lying atop one of my beds. I haven't quite finished marking out those plants that I want to protect a little

A Ruckus in the Bracken

2008-10-15T18:00:00.001-04:00

Columbus day weekend we finally got a break in the weather; some warm, sunny weather each day, so I headed up to the beach with a book and my knitting to enjoy the sand and the Atlantic while it wasn't too windy yet. By November it will be rainy and windy and chilly, so this was a real blessing. On Saturday it was so still that there were plenty of birds and it was really quiet. I took a

In spite of weeds, some vegetables survived!

2008-08-14T18:00:00.000-04:00

Seriously, I brought the secateurs, warned by the humor with which my friend the Duchess of 78A had queried just *how long* it had been since I'd succeeded in getting some garden time...I should have brought a machete. I kid you not, the weeds - in particular the 'fat hen,' milkweed, and yellow foxtail grass were as tall as I am. Sadly, I am not one of the more diminutive examples of my gender,

I feel famous!

2008-08-07T13:26:00.002-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } tiny handknit gift stockings, originally uploaded by fOllyfOliO. I feel famous! Follyfolio decided to use the little pollinator-bee house I gave her as a prop in a recent photo of her creations.

In spite of the rain...

2008-08-05T21:42:00.003-04:00

Well, in spite of all the rain and lightning-storms we had while we were up camping at Acadia National Park in Maine, I must report that we did have a restful vacation. Maybe more restful since we simply couldn't attempt any hikes (again, the lightning...).So, instead, we discovered a lot of little local fun: a local farmer's market in Southwest Harbor, where we picked up yummy local eggs, bacon,

Solutions for the Urban Gardener: Hothouse on Wheels

2008-08-05T17:35:00.002-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } hothouse on wheels, originally uploaded by fOllyfOliO. Now why didn't I think of this?A local farm, the Codman Community Farm, owns (and presumably constructed) this rolling greenhouse. Now if I had one, not only could I

Gone Hiking!

2008-07-17T19:00:00.001-04:00

Well, hopefully the garden will survive another week of neglect and weed-jungledom, because I'm heading up to Maine to hike and pick blueberries and sit on the beach. Yes, there is *one* sand beach on an otherwise rocky island, not that I object to rocks, klinker, or 50F degree Atlantic water. It didn't stop me as a kid, and it won't keep me from swimming now!Thanks once more to the Duchess of

Stealthy cucumbers

2008-07-15T22:37:00.002-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } cucumber plant..., originally uploaded by Margo and George. I just realized I have a tiny little cucumber developing, in spite of having been neglected, and shaded by the surrounding potato plants. I'm so hopeful!

What I do when I can't get to the garden...

2008-07-15T22:32:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } cable knits..., originally uploaded by Margo and George. It's true, I knit. Since we've had so much rain over the past month, and because my community garden plot is over a mile away (I do not have the luxury of gardening

borage flowers

2008-07-15T22:15:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } borage flowers, originally uploaded by Margo and George. I'm too embarrassed at how overgrown my garden got while I was preoccupied with other things, so instead I will post these borage flowers and hope you don't notice!

This blog not equipped with Smell-o-vision, sadly

2008-07-13T20:06:00.001-04:00

It's been a complicated month, starting with a complicated couple of weeks, what with helping my mom with her medical difficulties (she's doing well now, and resting). Over the second weekend, I stayed at my mother's to be available to help, and we had some quiet time; we also got some rain - which gave me the opportunity to re-experience the wonderful aroma that the ferns on the east side of

Weeding until dark

2008-06-13T01:02:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } herb garden and trellised raspberry canes, originally uploaded by Margo and George. So, I managed to get over to the garden plot to take another shot at weeding, and to pull some of the now truly invasive raspberry canes

It's not my fault...

2008-06-13T00:52:00.002-04:00

Katie over at gardenpunks got me sucked into this travel map thang. man!!!Seriously I'm a sucker for maps, so here's mine. I still hope to fill in more. Maybe Vancouver, Montreal/Quebec and Alaska for starters...

There's a resident garter snake!

2008-06-12T22:00:00.000-04:00

...and he's fast. I just caught sight of him slithering into the shelter of the now-towering raspberry canes. He deserves a name too, but since I didn't see him, it's hard to name him as I didn't properly see him. The name 'Sam' has been suggested, and I think I'll let the issue ride for a while to see how it works on him. :)Sadly, no photo: he was far too quick slithering under cover for me to

Birthday salad

2008-06-11T23:22:00.003-04:00

mesclun greens, purslanearugula and mintlettuce and borageemails and meetingsmiscommunication, oopsstill, celebration.

weeds have taken over; or mea culpa, mea maxima culpa

2008-06-10T22:22:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } weeds have taken over, originally uploaded by Margo and George. I think this shot says it all. At least the potatoes are running amok too, and seemingly outcompeting the weeds, if that's possible? Not that I'm complaining

herb garden, with weeds

2008-06-10T22:17:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } herb garden, with weeds, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Well, it's nice/reassuring to know that at least most of the herbs withstood the onslaught pretty well. Look at the dill and chamomile! Mint, simply needs no

weeds run amok

2008-06-10T22:14:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } June1008 024, originally uploaded by Margo and George. and critters. I see that someone, I say someone with four feet nibbled my peas right off at the middle! varmints!!! Plus because I went away and then didn't brave the

and for my friends who work in IT and threaten dire events all the time...

2008-06-10T14:45:00.002-04:00

Resume Razors pain you;Rivers are damp;Acids stain you;And drugs cause cramp.Guns aren't lawful;Nooses give;Gas smells awful;You might as well live.--- Dorothy Parker

for ilex

2008-06-10T11:59:00.002-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } angry camel, originally uploaded by Margo and George. If Herman the frog is the heart of "Whatev" - camels are the soul of disdain.:)Enjoy!(btw, the original statue can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC)

bladderwrack and klinker

2008-06-09T20:00:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } bladderwrack and klinker, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Should have brought a bag of this stuff back for mulch. dangit.

Haiku for a Saturday night...

2008-06-07T22:52:00.000-04:00

"Autumn Moon":Beneath the full moon of autumn, my neighbor plays his flute out of tune.Ozaki Kôyô

mesclun greens, about to bolt

2008-06-07T20:37:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } mesclun greens, about to bolt, originally uploaded by Margo and George. So, clearly I'll have to nab the mesclun greens for a lunch tomorrow: they're close to bolting, what with the abrupt heat we've had. I was visiting

french breakfast radishes

2008-06-07T20:32:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } radishes: french breakfast radishes, originally uploaded by Margo and George. I was so psyched to find these - in spite of the fact that my garden - whilst I was away hiking - had not only grown like mad, but in fact had

Evil deer...

2008-06-05T21:28:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Evil deer..., originally uploaded by Margo and George. Maine has evil deer :) Actually, I just thought it was hilarious that my attempt to take a quick shot of a small family of four deer while they strolled back under

Obligatory Sunset photo

2008-06-05T21:22:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Obligatory Sunset photo, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Voila! Here is my obligatory sunset / ocean photo from where we were sitting, reading our books, near Otter Cliffs.

...and after

2008-06-05T21:03:00.001-04:00

Lobster dinner: before

2008-06-05T21:02:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Lobster dinner: before, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Yes, after hiking 12 miles or so the day before, I earned this lobster lunch/dinner (yeah, it did serve as two meals in one) at Beal's Lobster pound.

alpine plants

2008-06-05T19:52:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } June0408 110, originally uploaded by Margo and George. See if you can pick out the: alpine cranberry, blueberry, alpine raspberry (I think), as well as the lichens and a couple other alpine plants. All of them crammed into

Mr. Loon

2008-06-05T19:50:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Mr. Loon, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Towards the end of what turned out to be a ~12 mile hike on Sunday, we got to see a loon fishing in/on Bubble pond.

flower-filled tarn

2008-06-05T19:49:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } flower-filled tarn, originally uploaded by Margo and George. This is to make up for the icky wood-tick photos from yesterday. This is from Sunday's hike up the South Face trail up Mt. Cadillac. It had rained all day on

camp dinner, friday night

2008-06-04T22:17:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } camp dinner, friday night, originally uploaded by Margo and George. Friday gave us decent weather, but we were moving around the island, and later setting up our campsite at the Blackwoods campground. Dinner was low-key:

Lichens, several spp.

2008-06-04T22:04:00.002-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Lichens, several spp., originally uploaded by Margo and George. Acadia is incredible for its sheer number of lichen species growing on various substrates. I won't go on at length here about them, but suffice to say I've

Lady Slipper orchid

2008-06-04T21:47:00.003-04:00