How would you plan your retirement if you had already received a degree from Wellesley College, earned a further degree in Russian and Middle Eastern Studies, hitchhiked to Morocco, lived in Paris, worked for the United Nations, as well as in the cable TV world, and for the Christian Science Monitor newspaper? Sue Bridge, with the urging of a Northampton friend, bought eight acres of hilly land in Conway. For the past seven years her retirement project has…
Cilantro is an herb with two names, cilantro and coriander. It is called cilantro in its leafy and flowering form, but the seeds are called coriander, hence it is known as both an herb and a spice. Cilantro has become a very popular herb that is called for in many, South American, Middle-Eastern and Indonesian dishes. In fact, it can turn up in almost any recipe. It has a complex flavor, and I tend to cut it…
The Wedding Tent is ready. Family and friends are assembling. Emily and Nick join hands. The wedding ceremony is beautiful. The bride is hugging everyone. Everyone is hugging the bride. The cameras are rolling. Everyone had a camera and everyone was snapping away. Here is Christina photographing me photographing her. We are all wanting to capture this moment forever. I was reminded of a song from the delightful, satirical musical Little Mary Sunshine. I was mis-remembering some of the…
'How (and why) to Eat Invasive Species by chef Bun Lai in the new issue of Scientific American proposes an answer to the economic damage ($120 billion a year) that invasive species cause. Eat them. Eat the wild boar, the lionfish and Japanese knotweed. Turn them into thin-sliced hot meat drizzled with ginger, garlic,roasted sesame and sauvignon blanc soy sauce, or thinly sliced raw lionfish sprinkled with lime juice, seven kinds of crushed peppers, roasted seaweed flakes, toasted sesame seeds…
Two years ago Irene came rampaging through the area turning the rivers into torrents overleaping their banks, washing away roads and buildings, breaking hearts and pocketbooks. Tony Palumbo, artist, owner of the Green Emporium and gardener, was at his easel watching the rain pour down. Neighbors came urging them to leave. Palumbo’s partner, chef Michael Collins, said they would wait it out. Their house had survived the storm’s of ’38 and ’87. It would survive this one…
Bella came to visit in time to prepare her exhibits for the Heath Fair. Baking for the Fair is almost as much fun as the Fair itself. At the age of 6 Bella is in a real competition which means that she has to make her cookies all by herself. No one else, not even Granny, can touch the cookies. She measured the ingredients, operated the mixer, and used a tiny ice cream scoop to measure the dough…
Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium, is a native plant whose range extends from Texas to Maine. It can be used in perennial flower beds, or allowed to flourish on the roadside or in fields. I planted a small variety in my garden this spring, but I love the 6 foot tall 'weeds' that grow in the fields. I am not successful of getting photographs of butterflies, but butterflies find lots of nectar in the tiny blossoms of the Joe Pye…
Kevin Hollister and his family live across the lawn and through the woods right next door to his sister Sarah Hollister. Together they share multiple gardens. Sarah has lots of vegetables for the two families, many of them growing on utilitarian or whimsical structures. Kevin hosts Tomato World and Blueberry World, dozens of trellised tomatoes of every sort, and a large patch of blueberry bushes, bent with the weight of the fruit and covered with old tobacco…
On this Garden Bloggers Bloom day there are some surprises. The weather should not surprise anymore, but it does, and often causes gnashing of teeth. In June we had a glorious 12 inches of rain. In July there was no rain! It was hot! An official heat wave. In August it has been much cooler and we had 4 inches of rain so far. Still there are lots of blooms in the un-irrigated flower gardens. The Daylily Bank…
PHOENIX by Xu Bing is on display at the Mass Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, Massachussetts. It is very difficult to photograph the whole with a little point and hope camera. But the details of the construction debris that comprise these two magnificent birds can be appreciated. The Phoenix is a mythical immortal bird that rises from its own ashes. Xu Bing's Phoenixes. which will eventually fly in Beijing , symbolize the rise from greed and corruption…