The first unpleasant surprise was frost! The 7 am temperature on our thermometer on the north side of the house, but in the sun, said 42 degrees and I rejoiced. But my husband brought in the cat's frozen water dish from the welcoming platform. The first shock. Then I went out to open our ad hoc cold frame and the inside was all frosty. I'd better mark this frost date in my Journal. The second, and final, unpleasant…
I found that terrific windstorms yesterday had knocked over one of our linden trees, Tilia cordata. In 1991 we invited our three daughters and three granddaughters to visit on Memorial Day to each plant a linden tree along the pasture fence to the west of the house. Tracy was almost 10, Tricia was 5 and Caitlin was only 13 months, but they all got their pencil sized linden trees in the ground. However, time brings change, not all…
My friend (and noted author), Kathryn Galbraith, explained the importance of trees to community in her beautiful new picture book for children, Arbor Day Square. I am fortunate to be surrounded by woodland here in Heath, but as a new member of the Bridge of Flowers committee I have been more and more aware of how healthy street trees, some of them quite new, add to the quality of life in a small town like Shelburne Falls, but…
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Tulips of many colors and hues are in full bloom on Shelburne Falls' Bridge of Flowers. It's enough to make one stop - or at least slow down - to enjoy the day and be grateful to live in such an area where going about one's duties and errand running brings one this kind of pleasure. And don't forget you can add a little bit of the Bridge to your own garden by buying a plant or…
The term rain gardens sounds kind of romantic. I imagine something vaguely tropical with exotic blossoms amid rain drenched foliage viewed from a wicker chair on a veranda. In reality a rain garden can have colorful blossoms, not necessarily exotic, but when the foliage is rain drenched the rain garden is doing its work of infiltration. Infiltration is not a romantic term. I have heard the term rain garden and seen Master Gardener work sheets on building a…
I just came back from checking the Larch seedling I was given ten days ago. I watered it the first couple of days, but the recent weather has been perfect for transplanting - overcast, cool (but not freezing) and showery. The tree seems to have settled in well. So far. Larch trees, tamarack, hackmatack, or more properly Larix laricinia, are that mysterious thing, a deciduous pine tree. This is a native tree that can reach 75 feet tall. It does…
Jan over at Thanks for 2day is asking us to write about our current and or planned efforts to garden and live sustainably by April 15. There are prizes! And a chance to learn more about each other, and more ways to live a greener life. Check out Jan's blog for all information and don't forget - Earth Day is coming up - for the 40th year! I have been documenting, to some degree, our attempts to live…
The historic Bridge of Flowers is in bloom! When I ran across yesterday admiring all the flowers I met three visitors from Australia, taking lots of photos - and who could blame them. I took photos too. First there is the new sign on the Shelburne side. It was painted by Jane Wegscheider of The Art Garden and hangs from a structure created by Bob Compton of Rising Sun Forge. The flowers begin even before you step on…
My neighbors, Brooks McCutchen and Janis Steele, are very models of the modern maple sugarers. When I went to visit their sugarhouse I saw the familiar steam billowing from the roof, but as I got closer I saw modern elements. Inside the sugarhouse is a huge steamy stainless steel evaporator but there is no fire in sight. This operation is run mostly by solar power. Solar power is not the only modern element. McCutchen and Steele use a…