“Blizzard for the Ages” a Bust in Heath

  • Post published:01/27/2015
  • Post comments:4 Comments

All was quiet and beautiful after a slight snowfall, but the "Blizzard for the Ages" was predicted. Everyone prepared to hunker down. Supermarkets and libraries were unusually busy as hunkering has many aspects. Pots of water set aside along with firewood and flashlight batteries. A state of emergency was declared for Massachusetts and all non-emergency workers  told to stay home. The snow, a fine dry snow, did not begin in Heath until 10 pm on Monday, January 26.…

My Amaryllis Mystery

  • Post published:01/19/2015
  • Post comments:6 Comments

I suppose my amaryllis mystery began on December 11, 2014 when I rather belatedly bought boxed amaryllis bulbs ready for planting and blooming. I knew they would not bloom in time for Christmas, but glamorous amaryllis flowers  are welcome in January and February as well. I potted all three bulbs up as directed. I did notice that the Athene white amaryllis seemed to have been pruned back more severely or more  recently than the other two. I kept…

Snowflakes and Photographer

  • Post published:01/14/2015
  • Post comments:2 Comments

Snowflakes on the car window early this frigid morning.  And the photographer's hands. Snowflake Bentley will tell you more about snowflakes and photographing snowflakes. Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin tells the wonderful story about a Vermont boy born in 1865 who loved snowflakes and learned how to photograph them. For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.

All Kinds of Books for the Reading Season on Wordless Wednesday

  • Post published:01/06/2015
  • Post comments:5 Comments

Where do you keep your books for the reading season that follows the delightful chaos of the holidays? I will show you my bookshelves - or at least portions of the ranks of bookshelves in my house. There are about 44 feet of bookshelves in the Great Room. This section includes nature refernce books, mysteries, essays and cookbooks and books on cooking. This array of cookbooks is next to the dining table that also serves as a worktable.…

My Indoor Rosemary

  • Post published:12/30/2014
  • Post comments:3 Comments

I have two rosemary plants that grow outdoors during the summer, and then come indoors for the winter. The plant on the left is a prostrate rosemary, bought in error when I was in a hurry. I grew it outdoors that first season adn then potted it in this handsome redware container. I did not put it in the ground again for no reason other than inertia. The plant still lives and I have been known to harvest…

The Last Christmas in Heath?

  The decision has been made. This is our last Christmas in Heath. Of course, life being what it is, nothing is certain, but we are looking for a house in Greenfield where we will celebrate Christmas 2015. Decisions like this are not lightly made, but for the past couple of years we have been thinking the time has come to be 45 minutes closer to our children, and where we will not have to hop in the…

Gifts for the Gardener – still time to shop

  • Post published:12/20/2014
  • Post comments:0 Comments

I have never thought it very hard to find gifts for the gardener. After all, what does a gift say? I love you? I understand you? I want you to enjoy your days? I want your dreams to come true? I share your passion and I know just what you need? No matter what your message there are garden centers and other kinds of shops that have just the gifts to convey these messages to the gardener in…

A Study in Silver – Iced Birch on Wordless Wednesday

  • Post published:12/10/2014
  • Post comments:6 Comments

Poetry doesn't have much good to say about ice - but here it creates a study in silver. I am glad to sit by the cheerful fire and admire the  beauty of the ice through the window. For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here. You still have a chance to enter the Give Away of Rochelle Greayer's Cultivating Garden Style: Inspired ideas and practical advice to unleash your garden personality by leaving a comment here. Rochelle combines creative…

Stone, Water, Earth and Sky – A Woodland Walk

  • Post published:12/03/2014
  • Post comments:3 Comments

The moss on the piazza in front of  the house begins to turn lush and green as we begin the walk into winter. I  went on a woodland walk  to see if I could find any more moss to photograph, but I found much more. I found moss on one side of the road and on the other, wetter, side of the road. I found moss on a rotting log, I also saw a rivulet running cheerfully through…