Chicago was 60 degrees yesterday, Jan 29th of the year 2013. Wow! I road my bike without a jacket. Very strange indeed. I had put out some extra sunflower seed for the wildlife and spent a good amount of time watching this squirrel “plant” a bed. We’ll see this summer if his efforts produce a [...]
Nothing can make the winter seem longer than sitting in my house, sick, achy, constantly blowing my nose, and slipping in and out of consciousness. Lucky for me, the Select seed catalog arrived. It’s perfect for looking at a few moments and laying aside. Perhaps that’s why I’ve got visions of meadows in my head [...]
Well winter really hasn’t hit Chicago much yet this year. In fact, a few lilacs were budding and thinking it Spring. EEEK! The kale, sage, thyme, and some snapdragons are going strong. That, I don’t mind. The fresh sage and thyme were great to have for the Thanksgiving feast! I did get some garlic in [...]
Happy Feb 29th and Spring has Sprung in Chicago. My first little yellow crocus of the season. It’s been a strange winter, and makes me think I should start my seeds this week. Enjoy the growth below!
This past weekend, I enjoyed a quick trip to Michigan. For some reason, even though I am in Chicago and we are on the very same lake, I never see it much. Sometimes getting away from your routine can help us relax and enjoy the beauty we may be missing. I traveled to Michigan to [...]
First off, why is this happening? Thoughts on La Nina, active solar storm season, and global warming all come to one’s mind. With solar storms come beautiful auroras, that were highly visible last Tues in some parts of the world (image above is Matthew Hodges‘). Now, what can one do for the garden? Well, mostly [...]
With winter comes ice, a dangerous situation for pleasant pedestrians on your walkways. All de-icers, even the “green ones,” have a salt in them. The harm that de-icers and salts do you your vegetation and the little paws of pups may not be worth it: burning your plants, building up in the soil, eventually making [...]
It’s warm today, a high of 52 degrees…and it’s January 6th. My garden is confused. I’ve got daffodils shooting up, English Primrose with flowers budding, and seeds sprouting. It’ll be interesting to see how the actual Spring fairs with all this growth now, assuming it will be stopped by cold temperatures…maybe?
We just got snow last night and what perfect timing…all the seed catalogs seem to be coming my way with every winter day. I thought I’d share R.H. Shumway. The old-timey-ness is just plain endearing with little caricatures and drawings throughout. Flipping through the pages, you get transported into a different time. Postcards of the [...]
Here in Chicago, we’ve had little to no snow. None has stuck with temperatures ranging in the 30s and 40s so far this December. Not bad for Chicago, but let’s take a look at the benefits and non-benefits of snow in relation to our gardens. Snow, Uh Oh Heavy snow can break branches on trees [...]