International Edible Books Contest on April Fool’s Day

  • Post published:04/01/2012
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If there is anything I enjoy more than gardening it is books. And eating. Therefore you can imagine my pleasure when I made an unscheduled stop at the Forbes Library in Northampton last week and found this Edible Books contest display near the circulation desk. According to the Books2Eat website "The International Edible Book Festival is a yearly event on April 1 throughout the world .This event unites bibliophiles, book artists and food lovers to celebrate the ingestion…

Resolutions for a New Spring

  • Post published:03/26/2012
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Yesterday my earliest daffodils began to bloom - just in time for temperatures to plunge from their unseasonable summer highs.  Nothing is certain in a garden. How many times do we have to relearn this lesson?  The following takes me back a couple of weeks  - before we were all boldly planting seeds. Beginning tomorrow days will be brighter longer. The sun will not set until 6:46 pm. It will seem like spring has arrived – even though…

Chicken Encyclopedia Finale on National Poultry Day

  • Post published:03/19/2012
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Chickens have been much on my mind over the past two weeks as I participated in The Chicken Encyclopedia virtual book tour with the participation of 15 of us chicken loving bloggers. I am one of the bloggers who gave away a copy of the book and passed on some information. However, I also passed on some misinformation. Happily I have been corrected by Gail Damerow and the editors at Storey Publishing and I want to make the…

Timber Press and a Spring Giveaway

  • Post published:03/17/2012
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I spent today at a wonderful Spring Symposium organized by our local Master Gardeners who do so much to help us all improve our skills while offering us lots of inspiration. I bought a copy of the Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook by Ron Kujawski and his daughter Jennifer, who live near by. I know Ron from his days as a Cooperative Extension educator (and my days on the Extension Board). This sturdy spiral bound book published by Storey Publishing…

We Have a Winner! And It’s Bloom Day

  • Post published:03/15/2012
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I am happy to announce that Gracia is the winner of Storey Publications book The Chicken Encyclopedia.  Send me your mailing address and I will have Storey mail the book directly to you. Congratulations! Have fun with your chickens. While Gracia is celebrating  with her chickens I am celebrating my snowdrops on this Bloom Day. To see what else is blooming across the  country visit May Dreams Gardens. Carol, thank you for hosting this beautiful and useful meme.…

Chicken Encyclopedia – Storey Blog Tour & Giveaway

The chicken is a familiar farm animal, but even those who are setting up backyard flocks may not be aware of the more arcane facts of their life. Some may not be aware of the most basic facts of their biology. I cannot count the number of times people have told me they would love to have chickens producing eggs in the backyard, but they just cannot stand the thought of having a rooster. BASIC FACT: Hens, like…

The Curious and Sometimes Lascivious History of Vegetables

  • Post published:02/17/2012
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According to the historical record the soldiers inside the Trojan horse gorged themselves on carrots to 'bind their bowels' an important precaution, but other records tell of the emperor Caligula "who had a fun-loving streak, once fed the entire Roman Senate a feast of carrots in hopes of watching them run sexually amok." Carrots have fascinated more modern characters like Henry Ford who was anti-milk, and anti-meat, but crazy about vegetables, especially the carrot. At one point he…

Free Range Chicken Gardens – Timber Press Giveaway

  • Post published:01/26/2012
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Yesterday I heard a discussion about the environmental and economic situation on the radio. One speaker laughed and said we'll all be stocking up on gold and backyard chickens. I don't have any gold, but I do have backyard chickens. As do many of my rural neighbors. However, I know that gardeners who live in town on small lots are also setting up backyard flocks. The town ordinances allow up to ten chickens. No roosters! If you don't…

Ornaments in the Garden – Plain and Fancy

  • Post published:01/19/2012
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While the ground is covered with snow and temperatures hover at zero, I've been trolling through photos of my visit to Seattle last July (with 70 other garden bloggers) and especially noticing ornaments in the garden, some plain and some fancy.  Many of us have birdbaths in our garden - even me - who has not ornamented my garden in any thoughtful way. It is not a big step to go from a simple birdbath to a fancy…

Look At My Loot

  • Post published:01/05/2012
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As Christmas drew near a  friend asked if I his Christmas gift had been delivered. I said no deliveries and then waited every day for my treat to arrive. I did get a Package Too Big notice from the Post Office and picked up this bag of compost that had a mailing label right on the bag. I assumed it was some sort of sample from the Seven Years Gold company, although it did seem an odd time…