tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32075601358242499552012-02-11T19:14:57.465-08:00In the evenings...I scrape my fingernails clean...hunt through old catalogues for new seed...oil work boots and shears...This garden is no metaphor...more a task that swallows you into itself ...earth using, as always, everything it can. - Jan Hirshfield, Remembering VoltaireMelissanoreply@blogger.comBlogger581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-92041766792596379992008-02-04T14:34:00.000-08:002008-02-04T14:38:31.290-08:00

this blog will be merged into my general blog....

Melissanoreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-19860596680185565572007-12-02T19:34:00.000-08:002007-12-02T19:42:29.778-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-42845610625039742322007-11-26T19:33:00.001-08:002007-11-26T19:46:53.592-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-44149723942801971442007-11-19T15:20:00.000-08:002007-11-19T15:27:07.905-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-56791693041760134922007-10-08T15:18:00.000-07:002007-10-08T15:25:27.175-07:00

Me and my daughters go on worm hunts. We live near a nature preserve and so we take walks in the rain collecting worms from the trail and bringing them home with us. We put these fabulous tillers and composters in my garden! Sometimes we find night crawlers that are as big as small snakes and writhe violently when I scoop them up. I use a small twig to slip under them and then deposit them in a

Melissanoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-47417075089262521622007-09-28T13:33:00.000-07:002007-09-28T13:36:54.684-07:00

Don't you agree?Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers. May Sarton

Melissanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-88127758581756568792007-09-24T14:45:00.000-07:002007-09-24T14:51:57.005-07:00

just my cosmos throwing shadows on the drive...

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-54031276715011303972007-09-20T14:48:00.000-07:002007-09-20T15:03:55.305-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-48375984318759673652007-09-18T15:24:00.000-07:002007-09-18T15:25:26.403-07:00

Wind SpinnersThese wind spinners are made from thrift store jewelry they are fun to make (at least I think so). Tutorial at Suite101.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-21859307994388400082007-09-17T13:43:00.000-07:002007-09-17T13:52:06.925-07:00

I picked up a packet of seeds this year...the plant is stately and the flowers actually hide rather close to the stem. I like the formal architecture of the plant, the lighter green of it, and the serrated leaves. I've collected lots of seeds and will definitely grow it again next year.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-61323810869737421912007-09-14T14:48:00.000-07:002007-09-14T14:53:15.752-07:00

chamomile and sunflowers(notice the shallow DOF - without checking I would say this was shot at somewhere between 2.8-3.5)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-48595248021970495662007-09-12T14:37:00.000-07:002007-09-13T03:54:14.865-07:00

These zinnias are in a pot on my front step - they are probably about six inches apart. This shot was taken at F2.8. Notice how soft the background is and how the petals of the foreground flower seem to get softer as they round the plant. This shot was taken in the vicinity of F5.6 in it we see more clearly around the entire blossom of the forefront flower and more detail (but grainy) of the

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-77188531903336914882007-09-10T14:59:00.000-07:002007-09-10T15:01:22.823-07:00

Instructions at Suite101. I made this for my oldest daughter's sixth birthday. If you follow my blogs, you will see this on most of them - it takes too much time to make not to show off everywhere. It is not expensive (if you buy bargains and stash them until they care coming out of your ears like I do) or difficult but it is time consuming.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-67234367908209764722007-09-09T04:45:00.000-07:002007-09-09T04:53:02.057-07:00

Hollyhocks are biennials, they are not supposed to bloom the first year. This precocious plant did. I am waiting for the seed pods to mature now. Hollyhock blossoms always remind me of my Great-Grandma P. They also look as if they were made from crepe paper, don't you think?I planted these butterfly weed from seed in a pot this past spring. My intention was to get them started and then transplant

Melissanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-12700325390264227602007-09-07T04:29:00.000-07:002007-09-07T05:14:32.416-07:00

My FIL was a great help and insisted on paying for all of supplies for this project. So with the free edging blocks I found and then his help - I am more than quadrupling the garden for free!I tilled as much as my father-in-law. I tried to match him at everything since he was so generous in his help. I caught myself with the depth bar on the tiller one time while turning it and ended with a egg

Melissanoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-5362080107490877922007-08-26T05:08:00.000-07:002007-08-26T05:10:17.029-07:00

My in-laws are here. I asked my FIL if he would be willing to help me with a big project. He said yes so we will be tearing up my back yard and using those edgers that I acquired. :) As a result, I will probably be scarce for the next week to ten days. There will definitely be pictures.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-84282528311058629532007-08-24T14:12:00.000-07:002007-08-24T14:19:11.215-07:00

I was driving to the Post Office today when I saw these on the curb with a 'Free' sign on them. Fifty=six straight ones and four curved ones. ;)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-34943766889750229602007-08-22T04:06:00.000-07:002007-08-22T04:27:46.291-07:00

It has been drippy, wet, and rainy here, which is a blessing and a delight. Since I've read Amy Stewart's book The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, I've been obsessed with earthworms. As a result, the girls and I have been taking walks and collecting the earthworms we find on the trails (we live near a nature corridor). (We've snagged some huge night crawlers.) At the

Melissanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-26955100605824047962007-08-20T15:11:00.000-07:002007-08-20T15:24:19.065-07:00

I saw two monarchs duking it out over the zinnias the other day. Only one stuck around for his mug shot! Do you need a dish to cover-up with fresh toppings? Try Slow-Cooker Enchiladas. I particularly like this for days when I know I will be busiest at the end of the day, then I make it ahead and have no worries.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-81627072690348495442007-08-18T07:32:00.000-07:002007-08-18T07:36:54.413-07:00

The seeds are filling out on my giant blossom and the head droops. I wrote an article about sunflowers for Suite101.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-77228890262726738432007-08-17T14:44:00.000-07:002007-08-17T14:50:48.682-07:00

Oh, you are tired of cosmos. Well, here are some different flowers. :)Here is how to make a Fairy Wreath

Melissanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-86059606821718796822007-08-15T12:28:00.000-07:002007-08-15T12:35:59.296-07:00

Is the time of summer when the plants are over-blown and feel like rotten vegetation the dog days? It is certainly my least favorite time of the garden year. The tomatoes are still producing but somehow they seem spent and the quality of the fruit is going down. The zucchini only produce a few fruit here and there. I may get one or two more cucumbers. I am almost through the cabbage. I am still

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-3877462804315540182007-08-14T13:21:00.000-07:002007-08-14T13:27:55.384-07:00

Last night after the girls went to bed, I went grocery shopping. First, I swung by the library to return some books. When I got to the store the sirens were blowing. I figured there wasn't much else to do so I went in and did my shopping. By the time I was done shopping and left the store I discovered it was wet outside and a few sprinkles were still fall from the sky but it was otherwise quiet.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-73989784513493798042007-08-13T13:44:00.001-07:002007-08-13T13:53:33.654-07:00

Last week, I was busy and so I got pulled away from the blogosphere. I also got pulled away from my garden. The biggest news in my garden at the moment is that the tallest sunflower is blooming. The fence behind it is seven feet tall. I would guess that the plant approaches fourteen feet tall. You can see my three-year-old sitting on the grass munching carrots.One thing I did tend to last week

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-53905496015734617252007-08-07T13:59:00.000-07:002007-08-07T14:06:16.004-07:00

I've been freezing spaghetti sauce, M steak sauce, and plain tomato sauce. I've also been dehydrating tomatoes. If you haven't dehydrated tomatoes before, you really ought to try. I can't get enough of them. If you don't know how to dehydrate tomatoes, I wrote an article for (you guessed it) Suite101.Tomatoes prepared and ready to dehydrate.The final product - yummy!

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-48267253902419598922007-08-06T14:24:00.000-07:002007-08-06T14:34:52.896-07:00

this was a miserable bee - we got a few dribbles of rain and he was getting wet...To see some beautiful weed blossoms (thistle) from this morning's bike ride take a look at my blog those northern skies.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-85553750517819996432007-08-03T13:58:00.000-07:002007-08-03T14:17:23.147-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-19911664540604909982007-08-01T13:42:00.000-07:002007-08-01T14:23:14.214-07:00

I wrote a Suite101 article about marigolds and thought I would post some pictures here. I love marigolds. I blame my Mom. :)Calico.Repetition.Rand B. Lee describes marigolds as looking as if someone quilled them. What do you think? I think he is right.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-6790213779211230962007-08-01T13:26:00.000-07:002007-08-01T13:39:57.820-07:00

My Mom gave us two floral aquariums for our anniversary. She gave us the first one this past weekend. The second one is on its way. She thought they would be a nice way for me to bring plants into the house without setting our allergies on high alert. The flowers are enclosed in water inside a glass globe. It is pretty cool, especially since the globe-shape and the water magnify the

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-62073659499214665432007-08-01T13:16:00.000-07:002007-08-01T13:25:20.899-07:00

Lots and lots of tomatoes. Today I made four quarts of spaghetti sauce and I have my dehydrator full of tomatoes. It is always a bit of work to preserve them now but soooooooooooooo nice in the winter.My harvesting companion models with the tomatoes by sitting on the bench I bought at the thrift store. The seats spin and I think it is adorable. I am not sure where its final home will be.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-42399616747043999352007-08-01T13:06:00.000-07:002007-08-01T13:14:10.013-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-27491436427704120772007-07-27T12:21:00.000-07:002007-07-27T12:29:10.135-07:00

My parents are coming for the weekend so I have to get ready. There will be lots of good food to eat while they are here. Homegrown squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cabbage. No broccoli - not yet - but it is growing.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-5138941913078738852007-07-26T14:06:00.000-07:002007-07-26T14:25:55.221-07:00

It is exceedingly hot here. This morning at 5 a.m. it was 76 degrees Fahrenheit.In answer to Connie's question yes the cosmo in question is Picotee.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-27609459269432892842007-07-24T14:53:00.000-07:002007-07-24T15:17:02.358-07:00

In answer to the two unanswered questions of DirtyFingernails. I am not sure how much cabbage I will have, a lot. I have three rows and it is doing well. And the last flower on the preceding post is the blossom of the herb borage.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-72579182014406167242007-07-23T13:21:00.001-07:002007-07-23T13:56:40.545-07:00

Nothing Gold Can StayNature's first green is gold,Her hardest hue to hold.Her early leaf's a flower;But only so an hour.Then leaf subsides to leaf.So Eden sank to grief,So dawn goes down to day.Nothing gold can stay.a happy place to bee - the heart of a squash blossom...lullaby and goodnight...this guy was semi-comatose one morning - sound asleep in the cosmos...fly away home - it takes time to

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-14526618170939407832007-07-20T15:23:00.000-07:002007-07-20T15:41:47.979-07:00

I thought this looked rather nice - celosia and portulaca (my front yard). Delicious - apricot and chartreuse.I think this is a pine grosbeak. Him and his wife are building a nest in a conifer that stands at the corner of our house. They have such a sweet questioning tone as they talk over their proceedings. Yes, our Christmas lights are still up - I doubt if they will come down.I made my first

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-70894484241215189452007-07-18T15:06:00.000-07:002007-07-18T15:21:40.229-07:00

Yesterday I dug a two-three foot deep hole in the back corner of the yard where I want to start a new flower bed. I am basically starting a lasagna bed but I am making it deep and using it as a buried compost site too - our soil is sand and that corner has particularly poor quality soil. This morning I woke up with a start realizing that I never called GopherOne to check for power and gas lines

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-49981074304071751822007-07-17T13:18:00.000-07:002007-07-17T13:39:35.057-07:00

cornflower - yesterday while at the thrift store I bought a little china teapot/watering pot (looked like it was used for tea) with cornflowers on it - chipped and cracked and very sweet).poppiescosmoscalendula jalapeño blossomszinniascone type flowersblossoms of a different sortI love buttons. I have fun making these button bouquets. You can see more of them at my craft blog or you can find my

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-77221775203122980692007-07-16T14:16:00.000-07:002007-07-16T14:17:28.314-07:00

My recipe that I mentioned for Zucchini Soup is now available. I will try to put up a photo soon. :)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-55975199080131250442007-07-16T13:30:00.000-07:002007-07-16T14:04:05.531-07:00

These sunflowers stand on top of the stump of a spruce tree that fell in a storm two years ago. This spring I ringed it with rocks, piled dirt over it, and planted the sunflowers. These are not as tall of varieties as the plants in my backyard. These are the sunflowers in my backyard next to our privacy fence. These sunflowers could reach twelve feet. My five year daughter stands there for

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-91666339188463223392007-07-07T04:45:00.000-07:002007-07-07T04:49:23.716-07:00

I am nervous. I always am. I am afraid that the person who will water while I am gone won't do a good job and I will come back to a dead yard. We are supposed to have brutal heat this weekend so I hope, hope he waters well. I told him to pick the zuchinni at six inches and if he didn't want to take them home to put them on the deck steps.Sunflower Update: The sunflowers that lodged during the

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-34542459067834859362007-07-03T13:22:00.000-07:002007-07-03T13:24:00.192-07:00

We just had some powerful storms blow over. The tomatoes are leaning but the worst are the sunflowers that were at least six foot tall. They lodged. However, they are next to the fence so I think I will try to tie them up.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-27574489086825204812007-07-02T12:54:00.000-07:002007-07-02T13:00:42.227-07:00

This monarch chrysalis counts as a bud right?My first sunflower blossom. This guy is easy to miss. He is about two feet tall and is hiding behind and under his six foot tall cousins.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-39912340240651904102007-07-02T12:43:00.000-07:002007-07-02T12:54:14.192-07:00

Mr Brown Thumb wrote a nice article about why we shouldn't remove the clover in our lawns. He forgot another important reason. :)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-36093731691032566042007-06-28T13:21:00.000-07:002007-06-28T13:29:58.865-07:00

This is somebody else's garden. It is at the bottom of the hill as you speed down to the trail that goes through the Coon Creek Corridor. It caught my eye this morning.Meet Carl, named after Eric Carl who wrote 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar.' We found him last Saturday when bike riding, he was tiny then. We've been picking milkweeed everyday for him to eat and now he is done growing. This little

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-89623610080493336282007-06-27T12:46:00.000-07:002007-06-27T13:06:44.478-07:00

come over for coleslaw sometimemy first cucumber ready to pick

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-75553492719003208112007-06-26T13:59:00.000-07:002007-06-26T14:33:49.245-07:00

My hens and chicks were going to bloom. My youngest snapped them all off. :( I took a few days ago before she did. I took some cool butterfly photos today while on my bike ride with the girls. If you like butterflies, they are on my 'normal' blog.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-59817796480536737432007-06-25T13:17:00.001-07:002007-06-25T13:22:07.067-07:00

Okay, maybe you all have heard of winter sowing but I have not and I am definitely going to try it. I prefer to start stuff from seed but will not mess with it in the house with lights, and trays, and heat mats, and all that.This is my kind of thing to do! I more excited than I can say!! I can't wait for winter!!

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-26639366722425954202007-06-21T13:37:00.000-07:002007-06-21T13:48:15.033-07:00

Late yesterday afternoon, I was mowing the lawn and as I approached the cherry tree, I saw this robin. Dead. He was not there in the morning when I was planting a couple hills of squash. So this poor bird had a tragic and painful death during the heat of the day. Somebody in our neighborhood carelessly let some fishing line lay out. He strung it around the tree a bit before he finally got tangled

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-53027800737366126062007-06-21T13:08:00.000-07:002007-06-21T13:36:52.195-07:00

Guess what we had with supper on Monday! :)Cabbage. The swirl of leaves and the detail of light can be fascinating. I have on starting to form a little head (not this one). I always think there is something elegant about the simplicity of a pepper blossom (jalapeño).I am ready for salads!My tomato bed. There are eleven plants squeezed in there. I know you are not supposed to plant them so close

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-43548249171047532952007-06-20T03:19:00.000-07:002007-06-20T03:27:01.681-07:00

Don't these look like beautiful jewels with ornate settings that could be worn as a pendant? I have some fist size tomatoes on my Brandywine's and on my Early Giant's but none have struck me in a photographic light yet. Here is a blossom of a Brandywine - not a ballerina like the post from earlier. More like a sunflower.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-82552751306395697392007-06-19T14:04:00.000-07:002007-06-19T14:11:34.602-07:00

The brilliant blue of a flax blossom is like the clear sky of a perfect spring day. Flax self-seeds making it a delightful plant that pokes its cheeriness up into the most unusual places. Darkening (12/5/01)She gathers blueas the night sweeps up dusky huesand binds them with wind in dark tree limbsas the ocean captures light and places its shineon waves - intensifying deep and shallow tonesas

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-79008914876346195942007-06-18T04:11:00.000-07:002007-06-18T04:16:28.128-07:00

I think the lines and attitudes of squash blossoms can be evocative of many things. This one says so much about persistence and hanging-on to me.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-65952185507428750872007-06-17T14:03:00.000-07:002007-06-17T14:22:32.372-07:00

When we moved into this house with a 'beautifully landscaped yard' there wasn't much in the yard. Among the few plants, there was a cherry tree. It was about six feet tall at the time. The owner of the house told me that it was about as tall as it would get. It is now nearly twelve feet tall. It is a wonderful bird magnet. The robins, bluebirds, and cardinals are particularly fond of it although

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-51526253279087712782007-06-15T14:01:00.000-07:002007-06-15T14:07:26.531-07:00

Doesn't this tomato blossom look like a ballerina in her fancy dress?

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-50571681548455233142007-06-14T03:55:00.000-07:002007-06-14T04:19:17.343-07:00

As a photographer, I find that sometimes, I tire of shooting things. The lack of photos taken of my irises this year is either the result of over-shooting last year or my in-laws' visit. These photos are from last year and are taken on the south side of the garage. In these photos you can see chives, flax, cosmos and irises. If you were to move forward along the line of flowers you would find my

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-26678720168873845902007-06-13T13:52:00.000-07:002007-06-13T13:59:34.419-07:00

Tomatoes are a gratifying plant.This blossom looks nearly flat - as if it were a one-dimensional caricature of a flower rather than the real thing. I think (I can't find the label for the plant) it is called Black-eyed Susan Vine.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207560135824249955.post-85980716736110931432007-06-12T14:29:00.000-07:002007-06-12T14:49:55.252-07:00

Who can resist the vivid pink blossoms and the ferny foliage of this plant?It is said that yarrow can be invasive. I believe it. Two summers ago, while visiting my parents, I pulled three of their plants up by the roots. I wrapped them in moist towels and brought them home. When I got home, I left them in the garage with the intention of planting them the next day. Life got busy. I didn't plant

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0