Great Backyard Bird Count February 17-20, 2017 Since 1998, birders of all kinds have come together for a four day bird count in February. Counting birds at the same time every year provides a snapshot into the overall health of bird populations around the world. It can also help scientists learn more about such things … Continue reading Great Backyard Bird Count 2017
Category: General
This Year’s Garden Planters
Each year I head to the local garden store to pick out flowers for the planters. The results are rarely the same from year to year since I just pick what I like at that moment. Sometimes I might like yellows, other times maybe purples, sometimes more upright, others lots of vines. This year for … Continue reading This Year’s Garden Planters
Homegrown Spaghetti Squash
I have to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of squash. I'll grow zucchini and summer squash and eat them all summer, but don't necessarily love them. At the grocery store, I pass the pile of winter squashes and look, but they just confuse me. What would I do with it? Does it … Continue reading Homegrown Spaghetti Squash
Happy New Year 2016
Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2016! I truly appreciate all who have visited my blog this year. Here's a look back at some of my most popular posts of 2015! 1. Taming My Tomatoes With A Florida Weave: My tomatoes were a mess, so I tried something new to try and keep … Continue reading Happy New Year 2016
November in Chicago
Watching fall unfold here in suburban Chicago has been an odd event this year. There have been spectacular tree colors, but it's been happening over the course of about 6 weeks instead of one glorious event. So instead of enjoying a panorama of color like in Wisconsin and Michigan, I've been admiring individual trees for weeks. … Continue reading November in Chicago
Fall in Door County, Wisconsin
In addition to going to Northern Michigan for the weekend (Fall in Northern Michigan/Stumbling Upon Club-Mosses), Steve and I made a trip up to Door County, Wisconsin the third week of October. It was definitely peak colors that week and it was spectacular. The day started like this! Sunrise over Lake Michigan. After breakfast, we … Continue reading Fall in Door County, Wisconsin
August, Oops, September Garden Update
A while back I thought I was getting caught up, but then sending twins off to college this fall proved to be quite a time consuming effort! So the garden has been a bit on auto pilot for a little while now. Thank goodness it got off to such a good start this spring. Here's … Continue reading August, Oops, September Garden Update
It’s Been A Rainy Month
Our weird weather continues. Seems like it's either too hot, too cold, too rainy or too dry and we keep getting into the top 10 for something. In that vein, this June we are having the 5th wettest June ever and we still have a few days to go. At my house we've had 6 … Continue reading It’s Been A Rainy Month
The Garden Was Party Perfect
My goal this spring was was to get the garden in shape for my twin boys high school graduation festivities. While the weather barely cooperated, the gardens were helped by the cool spring and looked beautiful, green and lush. Some of the spring shrubs were still blooming and overlapping with some of the early summer … Continue reading The Garden Was Party Perfect
My Raspberry and Strawberry Plants are Here!
My mom grows the best raspberries in her garden. There is nothing better than going out in her yard and picking a handful of just the most delicious ripe berries or having some of her homemade raspberry jam. So I decided it was time to try and grow some myself. I ordered them earlier this winter … Continue reading My Raspberry and Strawberry Plants are Here!