Dining Out -- In Your Own Backyard
It was a perfect spring day here today — the kind of day that makes you want to spend all day outdoors luxuriating in the warm sun and soft breezes. Knowing that I should be inside cleaning the kitchen or vacuuming floors, instead I made myself a sandwich, grabbed a book I’ve been wanting to …
What Are Your True Colors? Part 1: Color Schemes
I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my outlook on life is directly tied to the amount of time I spend outdoors working or playing or just relaxing in my yard. I used to think it was time in the sunshine that made me feel better — Vitamin D, you know — …
Fill the Need for Green - Visit a Nearby Botanical Garden
It’s been nearly two weeks since we have seen blue sky and sun here. Temperatures have been so miserable that zero feels like a heat wave and to top it all off, our driveway becomes a death trap in snowy or icy weather so I am essentially housebound right now. With January not even half …
Winter Actvities with Kids
A dinner conversation we recently had wandered into the land of “Do you remember when the kids were little, we…?” As we laughed and talked about the past, I realized that most of our reminiscing centered on things we had done outdoors as a family. I wondered if those experiences were a big part of our …
Anchor of the Landscape -- Evergreens
Have you ever seen the hilarious Abbott and Costello sketch Who’s on First?” Over the Thanksgiving weekend I happened to overhear (Ok, I was eavesdropping; it was too funny to miss) a conversation that immediately reminded me of the sketch. A relatively harassed sounding salesperson was trying to explain to a very confused woman the …
Creating a Sanctuary For the Birds (And You!)
Growing up, the lawn, especially in the front of the house, was my father’s pride and joy. He spent hours and probably a small fortune coddling his grass. Every blade was cherished; it got exactly the right amount of fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide and water. It was mowed, edged and raked profusely. No leaf ever …
Native Plants Are For the Birds!
My grandson is an active, curious and “helpful” three-year-old. On Monday of this past week he decided to help me by filling our empty birdfeeders with my 20 pound bag of black oil sunflower seed. Somehow he managed to undo the bungee cords that held the trash can lid on (to keep critters …
Nature Spaces -- A Place to Play
Play is an essential part of a well balanced life whether we are talking about children or adults. As children, play helps guide us into our lives as adults and as adults, play allows us to step back from those lives and de-stress. Spending time in nature is another essential aspect of a healthy life. …
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