Garden

It is the hydrangea bush, though, that is speaking to me now. I know some hydrangeas need shelter but mine have had an unsheltered life and still bloom. It reminds me that we all have things in life that are challenging and yet there is the hidden drive to blossom when we can, to let our inner selves support us until the right time comes to let the world see our beauty; a New Jersey Museum commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of Martha, the very last passenger pigeon. more »

We tend to make fewer fires than most who have fireplaces which means that the leftover wood in the cord is nice and dry for the next season/s. We discovered how wet wood can be really smoky so we appreciate letting the wood age. But what about the environmental cost of having a fireplace? Occasionally a hawk will come closer, just above our backyard trees. Most of the time the birds are savvy and disappear when the hawk is around, though not always. The woodpeckers found us again this year.   Cozy in Our Indoor Backyard   This past week has been cold and often rainy so I decided to enjoy our backyard inside. We stacked firewood from a two-year-old cord (now nicely weathered) in the fireplace in our den then added branches that had… more »

I am not a morning person. It takes me a while to gather my energy so much of breakfast preparation takes place automatically. It’s a good thing oatmeal doesn’t need special attention. Just above and beyond was an exuberance of white clouds. It woke me up right away ... I felt a connection — to the squirrel, to what was being observed, to the larger sense of nature. It made me aware that the world is always different, depending upon one's view. more »

Aquascaping, with its focus on aquatic plants and their artful arrangement, began in earnest in the 1930s in the Netherlands. Freshwater aquarium equipment became commercially available, and Dutch aquarists began to experiment with arranging various types of plants with diverse leaf color, size and texture in terraced heights, much like a terrestrial flower garden. more »