Dan Conlon, co-owner with his wife Bonita of Warm Colors Apiary, President of both the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association and the Franklin County Beekeepers Association, began keeping bees when he was 14 years old. He lived at the edge of a Dayton, Ohio suburb, close enough to farmlands that he got a summer job helping a farmer with haying and whatever needed to be done. “The farmer kept a few beehives, because many farmers did at that time, knowing…
Just when I was preparing a handout for my Heath Fair talk on Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants, I learned about a new group blog www.beautifulwildlifegarden.com that is being written by some of my favorite bloggers, many of whom I got to meet in Buffalo. Beautiful Wildlife Gardens will give you lots of information about the natural world around us - in different parts of the country. Informative and engaging. Which is what you might expect from a…
I was driving up our road yesterday noontime when I saw a doe standing in the middle of the road. As I slowed down a tiny, very young fawn came scrambling out of the brush on the left side of the road. Mama leapt into the brush and the field on the right, but baby could not quickly get up the bank. Either instinct or good training made her instantly fold herself up as small as possible in…
Yesterday I was sitting by the window with Holly the cat on my lap. Suddenly she stiffened. She sat up. She was on alert. I looked out the window to see what caused her to come to attention. And there, hopping down the drive was an Eastern hare. Our neighbor had reported sighting the hare the other day. I ran out screaming. The cat fell asleep. Henry set out the Havahart trap. This morning I looked out the…
The post office called at 7:30 am to say the chicks are in! When I arrived I could hear such a chick racket I thought there must be a number of people whose chick delivery had arrived. But, no. The racket was caused by 43 chicks alone. Chicks can travel through the mail because they do not need food or water for 48 hours after they hatch. We expected the chicks this week so we prepared over the…
Rose of Prairie Rose's Garden in Central Illinois. Rose has won Nan Ondra's book, The Perennial Care Manual, and 2 dozen CowPots! Congratulations! When I get Rose's mailing address I'll send them right out. Now, since this is my Second Blogoversary, Storey and CowPots are offering a second chance to win in a drawing. This time the book is Right Rose, Right Place: 359 Perfect Choices for Beds, Borders, Hedges and Screens, Containers, Fences, Trellises, and More by…
The first wildness was our local porcupine sunning himself (I don't really know if he is a he or she) in front of the henhouse this morning. I nearly stepped on him on my way to feed the chickens because I was so busy looking at a wild hardy kiwi vine on the adjacent shed and wondered how I was ever going to prune and tame it. Fortunately the movement of the porcupine, including getting all his quills in fighting…
It was wild on the field in Ashburnam when our grandson, Ryan, and his team, the undefeated North Middlesex Wranglers, played for the state Pop Warner championship title. And they won! The Wranglers are State Champs. Next weekend they go to the regional playoffs. Ryan has a pretty good grip on that amazing trophy. Great team and a great game. Ryan's mom went wild cheering - and can barely speak today! Yay Wranglers! Good luck next weekend. This porcupine has been lurking around…
The city is left behind. I'm home and the first trip out to visit friends we see a porcupine in front of the house eating an apple falled from our old apple tree. We had a delicious lunch of homemade tomato juice (with a few additions) carrot and parsnip soup, little chicken salad sandwiches and tiny fruit tarts. One of the best things about having a wonderful lunch at this house is having a tour of the vegetable…