This is the view out the window next to the breakfast table. From August into October and really killing frosts these Grandpa Ott morning glories prepare me for my day. And what a way to start the day - with Glory! Surely the day will be filled with moments of beauty, of inspiration, of opportunity to spread a little glory. Of course the sun does not illuminate and gild the glories every morning. Sometimes the light is dim,…
In yesterday's NY Times Mark Bittman asked the question, Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? Can you really feed a family for less at McDonalds than at your own table filled with home cooked food. In spite of the protestations that a bag of chips is cheaper than a head of broccoli and other such, the answer is NO! A meal for a family of four at McDonald's will come to between $23 and $28. How many groceries can…
The days are growing shorter. When I drive down my road I have begun averting my eyes from a maple branch that has burst into flame. Autumn is officially upon us. And yet there is a lot of bloom in my garden. One of the benefits of annuals is that many will bloom well into the fall. I have pots of snapdragons, petunias, osteospurnum and ‘Million Bells,’ a healthy blooming border of an annual salvia around the Shed…
Our area suffered flooding from Tropical Storm Irene and the storm that followed a week after causing enormous damage as rivers and streams overflowed their banks. We have recovered on our road so today I prefer to think about the gentler water in our gardens that calms and soothes. Here are some of the the quiet waters I saw in Seattle this summer at the Garden Bloggers Fling. Only a big public garden can have a big water…
While in town yesterday I met a friend who said he was busy cutting back the peonies and generally trying to close up the garden because he is leaving for Paris in a week or so. Until the end of October. Poor baby. So I came home and looked at my peonies, which will need a lot of weeding as well as cutting back. Of course, the tree peonies which produce large blossoms like Guan Yin Mian on…
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Artist Glenn Ridler says his Little Big House is a major work of his career, playfully and artfully shifting proportions to build his living space and the Little Big House Gallery. The house is set amid beautiful gardens that were the setting for his daughter's wedding in June. I have known Glenn and his wife Christine Baronas for many years, but I do not often get to visit up on their Shelburne hill. A shed I had not…
I can't drink alcohol so I can't blame too much wine for the lack of focus, but I wanted to suggest the festive air in the Party Barn where the Heath Gourmet Club celebrated 30 Years of Serving Ourselves! Thirty July Fourths ago, Sheila, Catherine and I stood in front of a spinning wheel at the Heath Museum and bemoaned the lack of good restaurants anywhere closer than 30 miles, and our lack of money to afford a…
The sun is shining and it is almost warm this morning.
Paul Hicks has been farming in Charlemont just about since the day he was born 54 years ago, following in his father’s and grandfather’s steps. Now grandsons Tucker and Brody (aged four and two) are out in the barn and advising their father on how to drive the oxen. Of course, the farm has changed over the years. Paul’s father Richard and his uncle Walter had dairy herds. My husband and I got to know them because they…