Finally, I have been able to start my spring garden chores. The temperature got up to 50 degrees yesterday and there was some sun. I raked the front lawn and beds, including the Daylily Bank. I can never decide whether it is good or bad to cut down daylily foliage in the fall, but whatever I thought, I didn't do it last year. Fortunately, a steel rake is all it takes to pull out most of the dead…
The view from my bedroom window on March 1 was snow covered and cold. 5 degrees at 7 a.m. March 9 and the view wasn't much different. 20 degrees at 7 a.m. but daytime temps haven't gotten much above freezing. Because it is so cold the snow is not melting. No reason to take more photos. It remains cold and the view doesn't change much. 22 degrees at 7 a.m. and windy. 30 degrees at 7 a.m. but…
It snowed and rained last night. As the first day of spring dawned the plow came through, but mostly they were sanding the road because things were a bit icy outside. The temperature was already 34 degrees - and climbing. More showers. The rain stopped! Only the roofs are dripping, dripping. The sun came out and raised the temperature to 45 degrees. The snow will melt some today. I am not discouraged because I know it could always…
As a liberated woman I have made sure that my grandsons have had a few cooking lessons over the years. Rory was 13 when this photo was taken, but it is not his first lesson. Perfect scrambled eggs was probably an early lesson, but by 2009 he had moved along to the perfect omlette. Saumon en papillote, a Julia Child recipe, amazingly simple, but a dish with dash, has become Rory's specialite. I cannot begin to tell you…
This is my post for the View from the Bedroom Window for the month of January. A continuing record. By January 5 we had 10 inches of snow and temperatures of minus 10 degrees last night. A Polar Vortex is promised in the next couple of days. On Monday, January 6 it was rainy and foggy and 50 degrees. The Polar Vortex arrived on Tuesday, January 7 with temperatures of minus 18 and WIND. The trek to the…
Before I end my discussion about garden planning, I want to add a few words about the view from the house, or more specifically, the view from a window. We spend time in the garden working, and time socializing in the garden, but we can also enjoy the garden when we are inside the house. Do you have a kitchen or dining table by a window that looks into the…
Garden Planning takes a new direction after you have decided how much time you have, what activities you want to enjoy in the garden, and what the garden needs in terms of soil improvement. You will also have decided whether you want a strictly ornamental garden, or if you want to include edibles. In urban and suburban settings the first consideration is the front yard. Most front…
What is a mystery melt? Yesterday morning we had snow showers, and cold temperatures all afternoon. When I went out to the henhouse I noticed this mystery melt that ran from the top of the slope towards our wellhead. I thought it was so strange to have such a clearly demarked area when the cold temperatures kept the veil of snow intact everywhere else. We have a lot of water on our hill with intermittent streams that have…
December 8 - The view from the bedroom window has been varied all this month. Temperatures ranged from a windy zero degrees on December 17, but on December 8 it was mild with a mere dusting of snow. December 15 - Three or 4 inches of snow on the 13th and another 10 inches on the 14th. We barely made it home after Gourmet Club that night, the road was unplowed and the snow was still falling thickly.…
My Heath Calendar cannot begin with flowers. The only flowers at the End of the Road are a few Christmas cactus blooms and a wonderful pink cyclamen. February is still cold and snowy. This 'possum found shelter and a snack in the compost bin next to the hen house. March and still no blooms in Heath. Still the Talcott Greenhouse at Mt. Holyoke College and the Lyman Plant House at Smith College are full of bloom and hope…