Nature Study Fridays

Some time ago I set aside Fridays to be our Nature Study day. There were a variety of reasons for that, but the biggest one had to do with the fact that Fridays are my most flexible day… I can actually go out on field trips on Fridays.

So I organized a small playdate with a friend and her children, and agreed to meet her at the park at 10:30 am. Actually, I jumped at the chance since I knew the weather would be nice today! Since I don’t drive, Jacobite was going to have to drop us off before work. We arrived at 8:30 am. Since the kids are usually not even up this early (they stay up late for Daddy) this was tough ;)

But worth it.

Here is the first thing we saw… a LAMB. GREAT homeschooling opportunity… we had been learning The Lamb by William Blake just this week. So we recited it to the lambs… who promptly escaped from the field.

The Lamb

by William Blake.

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed,
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee.
He is called by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild;
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are called by His name.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!

So we went off to tell one of the people who worked there. He seemed to think it was OK, and he invited us to come and see some newly hatched chicks. They were precious… the mother hen still sitting on the last three eggs, which we suspect were not going to hatch. I did not take a photo of them out of deference to the mother hen :)

After this, we visited the pigs and horses, which seemed a little bit of a let-down. We identified a couple of flowers, and then, we took a nature hike.

This was a great way to use up those hours and to use up a Nature Study Friday. We saw some wild flowers we could not identify… the very common tent caterpillars (which I practically had to drag M’Lady away from since she LOVES caterpillars) were quite in evidence too.

A few streams and a pond later… we spotted some rather attractive fungi. How appropriate, considering we were just looking at Beatrix Potter's pictures of fungi... and her lifelong fascination with them :)

And then, right before the end of our walk, we spotted it. A stunning native orchid… This one is a Cypripedium acaule, a Pink Ladyslipper or moccasin flower. It positively made my day!

After this, the nice chat with my friend, and the play of the kids was just icing on the cake. Thank goodness the weather turned!

Weather Station

Here is the weather station from one Nature Study Friday. It was up for the windy weekend last weekend… and we loved watching it twirl… but when it disappeared, Rebel was most upset. Although Jacobite and I laughed, we were forced to find it and replace it in the proper position. It is rather faded already… after less than a month!

We need to work on how the rain gauge is held since it toppled over and nearly knocked our pole flying!

April Showers?

Not here, no sirree. We had April SNOW FLURRIES... and it definitely did damage to the garden. Luckily for me, I learned my lesson a few years back with a last frost in May even though our last frost is ostensibly April 15th... and my peas, cabbages, cauliflowers, onions and broccoli seem to be doing just fine.
The sage, Woodruff, Lily of the Valley and baby chives I planted are also doing well... the baby chives were offspring of my own huge clump. I decided to try and make a herbal 'hedge' around one of my gardens using it!
I still have two beds to finish building... and hopefully this weekend will be warm enough to attempt it!!

On the first day of spring...

My children gave to me.... a sunburned upper arm!
OK, so today is really the 'First full day of Spring', but yesterday was the day spring began ;)
There we were, out in the garden enjoying the warmth0- and I go to make the bread into rolls, only the door is locked.
I am annoyed... Rebel has decided to lock the door to keep out his sister while he uses the bathroom. Unfortunately he forgets to unlock it before coming out... voila- we're stuck. Luckily I have the trusty cordless phone, and I use it to call Jacobite. I know there is a spare key hidden somewhere- but it is not in the old places I remember!
Jacobite does not answer. I leave a message, but he doesn't call back for two hours!!
By this point, we're all hot and thirsty, my arms are bright red and I know my bread is ruined.
When he does call, he tells me where the key is, and I go inside- manage to rescue the bread for dinner and check my arms.
Although they did not look too bad at this point, they certainly did later on!
this makes twice this year... the first time was definitely my fault... I misjudged the strength of the sun. The second time was fate- I just hadn't planned on being outside so long!!

Note to self: buy some decent sunblock.

A Square Foot Garden...

This year, I managed to get my act together and work on my square foot garden. OK... so the squares are older than the new book, and most do not have Mel's Mix in them (the one that does has been targeted by a cat and I have trouble keeping his potty bottom out of it *grrrrrrrrrr*)... but they are 4 foot square, and the do (now) have a grid...




First step was to de-weed the bed. This was done fairly quickly with the aid of a hoe, and then the fun started.


I started out planning the way it would look. I laid out the lath boards as a grid, messed with the plants to see where they should go, and admired the effect.


Then I changed my mind. I laid out the grid, only this time the lath boards went on their sides and I used garden stakes as the crossover boards. I tied them with cable ties although Jacobite later told me I could have used nails as he has some... so the second square will get those!


Then I planted the square. First were pea seeds on the first two squares on the Northern edge... and sweet peas on the other two squares. I made a pea trellis with two stakes and some garden twine. Spinach seeds, cabbage plants, broccoli plants and cauliflower plants, and onion setts were planted in the other squares. Inside the house, I have lettuce, tomato, eggplant/aubergine, pepper and chard growing from seeds in a seedling greenhouse (a tray with a roof ;)).

And the second square!


M'Lady and Rebel were also in the garden... making an Easter Garden again. They are both ready to get dirty in old clothes... and M'Lady looks a little 'Huck Finn'-ish!


Rebel on the other hand, looks ready for summer.

OK he wasn't the only one. His cold blooded Mama was out in a t-shirt too... only *I* was the one who ended up slightly sunburned on my arms. I was a little peeved because I hadn't thought the sun strong enough for that!
Photos of the Easter Garden later!

In the garden

Well... I have been out there.
I have a vegetable garden started... a couple of daffodils growing, a hyacinth in Rebel's garden, some speedwell... a few onions... the place is beginning to come alive. It makes me think of The Secret Garden when Mary, Dickon and Colin were finding all the plants still alive... it's WICK :)

Spring...

I am sure I saw my first sign of spring this morning... bright and early before the weather bested the freezing mark!
A GOLD goldfinch... yes, a finch that was somewhat yellow, rather than drab olive with a yellowish tint. This one was YELLOW.
OK I am not sure it was a goldfinch... I realized just today that 1/2 the 'goldfinches' at my feeder were in fact PINE SISKINS... stripey with a yellow dot near the wing and tail. Goldfinches in winter plumage are NOT stripey. But, they too were at the feeder! Plus the house finches, nuthatches, wrens, titmice, downy and red-bellied woodpeckers and chickadees.
Our feeder is becoming quite popular and DH and I enjoyed watching the birds from the couch :)

A Pretty Good Day at the Feeder

Oh the triumph associated with finally capturing those woodpeckers on film.

The pair of red-bellied woodpeckers are daily visitors to our house… the male with his read poll and the female with her red nape, are notoriously camera shy, disappearing as soon as I got my camera into position every time.

I finally captured them this morning… followed later by a visit from a male downy woodpecker. The downy pair come, but not quite so often as their cousin… and it was this visit that made it quite easy for me to determine that they were indeed DOWNY and not hairy woodpeckers :)

Here is a female red-bellied woodpecker. This is a good shot of her rusty coloured belly that gives her the name. Of course, you can't see it well because I had to shoot through a window as well as hold the venetian blinds out of the way... just so I wouldn't scare her away!!

Yes, she ought to be more a red headed woodpecker, but believe it or not, there is a variety with a totally red head. They live here too… along with the downy, the pileated, and the flicker (red shafted). The flicker is another regular garden bird at our house, providing much amusement to the family, by kicking up all the pine needles under our tree. Apparently it must be a good spot for bugs, because that is where the skunk dug into that time…

Here is a good picture of the back of the woodpecker’s head, so you can see the red nape.

This one is the downy… it and its cousin the hairy woodpecker, are apparently the only two with a white back and the black and white bars.

The only differences between it and the hairy are the beak and its size. The hairy woodpecker has a beak about twice the length, and it is about 2 or 3 inches longer.

It is a cute little woodpecker… and like many of the woodpeckers we see, is especially fond of our pine trees.

He is slightly more timid than the red-bellied woodpecker, but I expect that to change soon. He appeared at our feeder first on Saturday, and I have seen him back there (and his mate too) quite regularly.

Finally here is a photo of a mysterious bird. Mysterious because the shot was so bad I couldn’t see what it was. It is either a female house finch or a sparrow with a chickadee friend. The only reason I suspect house finch is because I have seen a pair at the feeder a few times, and the female is a dull brown. Maybe I might get to see the bird’s face soon…

Today is a great feeder day… the weather is VERY cold (about 28 degrees Fahrenheit which is about -1 or -2 degrees Celsius) and as such the birds would rather visit my feeder and get food that try to fly around searching for it. The birds can be seen quite happily eating together and all fluffed up to keep warm. Sometimes I wonder what else the birds do on a cold day like today…

A Fascinating Day at the Feeder

It is a fact. All birds prefer peanut suet to apple suet. I am not sure why, but the peanut suet is almost all gone, while the apple suet, sadly remains.
This morning saw some serious feeder activity… in addition to the pairs of titmice and chickadees (and of course the wrens) we saw the red bellied woodpecker, a downy woodpecker, a pair of house finches, a pair of nuthatches and, away from the feeder, juncos, cardinals, blue jays and robins.
We made up a few pages on the computer and Rebel drew the wrens from life, and a downy woodpecker from the book. Wet weather kind of put a stop to the idea I had brewed in my head about making some peanut butter pine cone feeders… but maybe next week we’ll do that and also make a suet cake… or a bird bath…
The ideas just keep coming!

Feeder Action

The feeder has been busy this week… a pair of red breasted woodpeckers has shown a great affection for the peanut butter suet cake. Unfortunately, they are both somewhat camera shy!

Another new friend visited too… a nuthatch.

Although the wren at the suet tolerated him just fine, she was not so thrilled later when the woodpecker came and sat on the post scolding him.

Our old friends the chickadee and the titmouse are regulars… and their cheerful chirping often draws us to the window to see.

There is also a pair of cardinals who comes daily, as well as some sparrows and of course the wren. The biggest kerfuffle is made though, when the woodpeckers come… apparently they are a family favourite… I will try to get photos of them :)

I will apologise for the quality of the pictures... but I refuse to go out into the cold to scare the birds away trying to photograph them. This is through our window... at my favourite settee perch where I can watch the birds all day :)

Early signs of spring...

I have wanted to share this post for a while, but have only just been able to do so :)
A few weeks back... early January, I noticed that it really had not been very cold this winter. In fact... the day was warm and balmy... and the first signs of spring were in the air.

Tree flowers in evidence... the Red Maple Buds.

I had taken the kids outside with me, wrapped only in a sweater as nothing more was needed. While I sat and read my book, the kids ran around... Rebel discovered the red maple flowers above... and I showed him how to use the field guides (below) to identify the variety out and about. Nature study the way God planned it...


VERY relaxing for Mum... after all. who cares if a kid is yelling outside, when he is yelling about his discovery of His creation? :)

Nature Study with the kids:

Take a look… we started a bird feeder project… special finch seed mix, one apple suet cake

And one peanut butter suet cake.

The squirrel liked it a bit, but the seed is not to his taste (he hasn’t been back since)

But the wrens LOVE it!

And so do the children... it was a little wet and chilly the day we put it up, but they love to watch out the window daily :)

We also read Moon of the Winter Bird by Jean Craighead George... HIGHLY recommended! You can read more of our day to day school over at the Jacobite Rose.

New Beginnings

Everything is beginning anew this year... and my garden is definitely begging a little ahead of time.
I cant say as how I am very disappointed... I am more than ready for spring, and the gardening companies out there have obliged me by sending me copies of their catalogues in the mail :).

But... I spoke of new beginnings. My old Homeschoolblogger Blog, just, well, died a little on me... it refused to let me post! I could log in, but not post, so, I started a new one over here...

Check out the Jacobite Rose!

Caught in a Migration

Sometimes, the timing is just right.
there we were, just wandering round in Old Town Smithfield, Virginia, when we noticed a HUGE flock of birds going overhead. There were a good few hundred birds in the flock, and we thought nothing of it.
That is until a second and then a third flock went over us... followed by more flocks.
After a few such sites, I realized we had to be in the path of a migration... but what bird? In the car, I looked up in relative safety, and noticed a medium sized bird, that looked somewhat black.
It is my opinion that we were seeing flocks of red-winged blackbirds or maybe their relatives the grackles. I know for sure that those two birds migrate through our area!

I was not able to get a GREAT picture of the birds, but managed to capture the edge of one of the flocks.

The sunset on the way home, was similarly spectacular... I love the sunsets at this time of year... the colours are wonderful... you just have to SEE them to believe!

Christmas Herbal Fun

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat. Right around this time of year, the season of advent begins and the liturgical calendar starts.
Herbally this time of year is good for actually utilizing herbs that you have dried or grown yourself… in fact, it is prime time to make your own herbal advent wreath.

To make a small advent wreath is quite simple… variations on a theme make it either labour intensive or so easy the kids can do it!
A simple wreath can made by creating a ‘base’ onto which votive or candlestick holders can be glued.
The base can then be decorated with a variety of symbols for the season… nativity figures, saintly symbols and HERBS.
There are a number of wonderful Christmas herbs.
Holly: Early Christians thought the green holly leaves and the red holly berries, were symbolic of the crown of thorns Christ wore, and the red of his blood. It is used to symbolize His Passion and be a constant reminder of our looking forward towards the Easter season.
(carol from: Holly and the Ivy)

The holly and the ivy,
Now both are full well grown.
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.

Chorus
Oh, the rising of the sun,
The running of the deer.
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the quire.

The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flower;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet Savior. Chorus

The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good. Chorus

The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas day in the morn. Chorus

The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all. Chorus

The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown. Chorus

The rising of the sun
And the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the choir. Chorus

Ivy: This evergreen vine symbolizes the everlasting life. Its clinging habit meant that it was used to symbolize fidelity in art. Christian’s adapted it’s use to symbolize their need to hold onto Christ, and how easily their hold could be broken.
Mistletoe: A herb that was sacred to the druids, the early Christians adopted it and used it to symbolize the Divine Healer, Christ, because it was called all-heal. It is a parasitic plant that grows in the top of oak trees. If you look as you drive down the road, you will often see a bare tree with a clump of greenery in it… there is a good chance that it is mistletoe! Modern herbalists have discovered that mistletoe may have great results in the curing of many ailments, including cancer.
Rosemary: I mentioned before the tradition that Mary, whilst traveling with the infant Jesus, draped his swaddling clothes over a bush, and pleased with the scent it imparted, blessed the plant, turning it’s white flowers blue. Now, rosemary is enjoying a time of popularity, since many people style their plants into a Christmas tree shaped topiary. It smells wonderful too!
Nowadays, people tend to think of rosemary ‘for remembrance’.
For more information on rosemary, see here: http://www.thymewilltell.com/rosem.html
Sage: The prominent stuffing ingredient is a delicious perennial herb. It’s silvery grey foliage dies back in the winter, but can be trusted to grow well in a nice sunny window. Sage is a wonderful herb, with antiseptic properties. Used in gargles, it can help soothe and eliminate sore throats. It’s soothing scent is often used by people in incenses
Thyme: Another stuffing/turkey flavouring herb. I just included this one because it makes great wreathes and tastes good!! It was considered a symbol of bravery.

The most famous Christmas herbs are Frankincense and Myrrh. Both are dried plant materials, one a pod, the other tree sap, from plants in Africa and the Middle East. Both are highly scented, and modern uses are primarily incense related. If you are lucky, you may find some in your local herb shop!

There are numerous herbal Crafts for this time of year. Find them:
Christmas Tree
Memories
Gift Ideas
Lavender Gifts
Recipes


Sources:
Catholic Herald Article
Rosemary
Christmas Herbs 1
Festive Herbs
Christmas Herbs 2
Christmas Herbs 3

This site is filled with some wonderful herbal ideas, do take the opportunity to browse through the pages!
Herbal Treats


CAVEAT: I am not responsible for the content of any sites linked to outside of this blog.
I have not had time to read the entire site, so I just show you pages where I think some of the content is interesting OR fun. I do not necessarily agree with the religious opinions, or ideas of the people who authored the sites.

Christmas Herbal Crafts

Make a Pomander

Ingredients:

A small orange
Cloves (whole)
Ribbons and small silk flowers

Take your orange, rolling it around until you have softened the skin a little.
Using a toothpick, poke small holes into it, and place the whole cloves, pointy side *in*, into the orange. Try to cover as much of the orange as possible. The orange will be somewhat preserved by the cloves.
You can use a glue gun to attach ribbon around the orange, in a cross pattern. At the top, make a loop with which to hang your pomander. Glue small silk or ribbon flowers around the top, or alternatively you can glue such herbs and spices as you see fit.

Place out of the way to dry and then you can hang it from a tree or carry it around as they did in the middle ages, to ward of noxious fumes!

Make a Herbal Sachet

Small square of lightweight fabric (cotton, muslin etc)
Dried Herbs:
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Sage
• Mint
• Lavender
Spices
• Cloves
• Star Anise
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon
Ribbons

Into the centre of your small square of fabric, place a mixture of herbs and spices according to your likes and nose!
Bring the corners together, and tie tightly with the ribbon so that there are no openings.
Take your sachet and place in a drawer to scent your clothes, or a wardrobe, bed… or anywhere else you fancy!

Tiny Herbal Wreaths

These can be used in soups and as ornaments… simply wind long stems of herbs around the base of a jar or glass, holding them together either with florist’s wire (if you are making ornaments) or twisting them together by wrapping them around each other.
Voila… a tasty way to liven your soup up!
(This works best with rosemary or upright thyme… or other herbs with long stems.)

Sudden Weather

Autumn is a time of change... from the beautiful calm, colourful weather... where skies are blue as can be, and leaves show the many hues of the rainbow, to the mottled greys that accompany a dull rainy day. Not that all rainy days are dull as such!
Take a look at the photos.
One day I have pictures galore of sunny skies (mainly because it was warm so I took myself outside), insects...
This chap was a rather large, charcoal grey thing. He was a good 1.5 inches long, if not longer. The kids were very taken with him and begged me to photograph him. He flew off not much later, much to the disappointment of DD (2).



But back to the pictures... sunny skies, insects, gumballs from the sweetgum tree (affectionately... or rather not so affectionately known as 'those sticker balls' around here, they are responsible for a large number of sweetgum saplings that spring up in March)


and the occasional flower... a slight harkening back to spring, when I saw these speedwells as the harbinger of the warmth to come. Now they are the last to go!
My son (7) discovered them, hidden amongst the foliage of our plant... beneath the rosebush.
These tiny beauties tend not to bloom in the summer at all, but in spring and autumn, they provide a welcome burst of blue colouring!
But again, I digress.
Back to the pictures... beautiful blue skies... large black bugs, autumnal seed pods and colourful flowers... followed by this.
Torrential rain, flooding, overflowing ditches, roads rutted and destroyed!
The garden is drenched, the soil virtually unworkable, and the grass in the paths seems to be the only thing that really likes it. Which is hard because it is the one thing that grows really fast where we don't want it!
The neighbours driveway directed the waters right at us... washing all their gravel into our ditch, which then overflowed and ran down the road beside us... and running off into the hollow at the bottom of our garden.
Between us and our next door neighbours, we

have a road full of gravel in our gardens!
But, like I said. That is the nature of autumn...
Now if only we could manage to go a week or so without rain... but wait... it starts again tomorrow.
3 days is not enough of a reprieve!

Autumn Leaves

Our weather finally caused us to go past peak, but I managed to get a few pictures taken before it happened :)


This is off to the side of the house, and the one below is the other side :)


In front we had colour too :)


And the sunlight... I love the way the trees behind us filter it:


Such a beautiful time of year! There are times when the magnificence of God's creation is never more apparent, and spring and autumn are the times when *I* notice it most :)

When the Frost...

We all know that it is *that* time of year... and last night, we got our first frost of the season. The weather forecasters had been threatening it for the last two weeks, but it finally hit last night, leaving the cars frosted over this morning when DH left for work.
AS I look out of the window, the sky is that beautiful cerulean blue I love to see at this time of year.
I can hear some birds hiding in the trees, and if I am lucky, I might see the bright flash of a cardinal, or the quick scamper of a squirrel as they search for food.
It is time for us to brave the brazen bird feeder bandit and place the food out for our feathered friends.
Usually there is plenty of food in the garden, I let most of my plants go to seed for the joy of seeing the goldfinches picking at them, but with our recent garden tidy-ups I think it is time to bring out the seed again.
I am not the only one with autumn and cold weather on my mind...
Cay, at Cajun Cottage, has a wonderful post and ode to autumn there.
Alice at Cottage Blessings, posted this wonderful post by her daughter to her garden spot.
Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight, has a great article about one of my seasonal favourites, EGG NOGG!

But I'll leave you with a very seasonal poem by James Whitcomb Riley. 1853–1916

When the Frost is on the Punkin

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here—
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...
I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be
As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me—
I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The Beauty of Autumn

Saturday was beautiful... the sky was that clear blue you can only see in the autumn or spring... the air was warm... with a little chill in the shade.
As I sat in the shade debating whether I should put on a jacket, I looked up. A tiny spider was trying to throw a line of webbing... and failing because of the breeze.



I looked around... many of the trees had begun to turn colour... the poison ivy on our sweetgum is a brilliant red, surrounded by the burnished browns and golds of sweetgum leaves and pods.
The maple tree outside my bedroom window, has some red leaves beginning, and as you walk through the front garden, there is the seasonal scent of pine as you crush the needles beneath your feet.
There are still flowers in the garden. Marigolds hanging on for dear life,


the moss rose pleasing us with it's scent and small blooms- but there are two stars in the garden. The morning glory, which now shows off it's stunning blue bloom all day,



and the pineapple sage... a splash of red amidst the browns and greens of the garden.



The gardens were definitely interesting to the family.
DD was caught nibbling the mint, and both she and her big brother, took great deal of pleasure in hunting for the prettiest of the autumn leaves that lay around the garden, down on the ground.


Hidden in the tomato plants were a few late season tomatoes... which will probably end up as either fodder for the birds or fried green tomatoes!




And who says you can't grow oranges in Virginia? WE can! Admittedly, they are a variety of Hardy Orange... called the Trifoliate Orange. The bushes are hugely thorny... and legend has it that they were the bush from which the crown of thorns was made... or at least one of the bushes it is said was used :)



The roses have produced copious amounts of rosehips... now if only I had a recipe for rosehip jam or something I can use them with!

Our garden has seen it's best days... too many days of rain and too few of sun, have left it to the weeds... and although this picture looks good, you can see the weeds in the path...
So why not weed in the rain? You'll double the problem!

The Autumn Cleanup

It has been a while since I got much done in the garden. Autumn has arrived, and with it, the rain.
The hummingbirds have gone, the flowers mostly dead, and the veggies are harvested.
The garden is just about put to bed.

And I?

Well, I have discovered that Walmart carries everything... even for the little birds ;) For there in the bird seed aisle was a sparrow!



The beaver, heron and fish are all doing well... the beaver making a few appearances recently, much to our relief as we feared he might be dead when we saw a number of them beside the road.

And I have a new herb book... the China Bayles book of Days... worth the read and loads of fun to do it :)