Gardener's Delight

2011-03-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

"The truth is, even if you follow your favorite gardener's tomato-growing advice or a strict organic gardening regimen, the tomatoes in your garden will be just as cardboard as the supermarket varieties if those are the varieties you choose to plant. Most tomato hybrids are created for their market presentation and shipping characteristics, and these are not usually the features you want your home-grown tomatoes to have. Gardeners want luscious, flavorful tomatoes that ripen to perfection on the vine. Today's typical new varieties of tomatoes are genetically manipulated with non-tomato genes and other forms of DNA"

Favorite Cool-Season Annuals: Try Them in Your Garden! - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

2011-03-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

Favorite Cool-Season Annuals: Try Them in Your Garden! - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

White House Believes Court Contempt Citation is a Traffic Ticket - Yahoo! News

2011-02-25T17:18:00.000-08:00

White House Believes Court Contempt Citation is a Traffic Ticket - Yahoo! News: "Three months after the first Gulf drilling ban, Judge Martin Feldman ruled that it was too broad, and must be revised or lifted. As if Judge Feldman's ruling was akin to a ticket for illegal parking, Secretary Salazar simply imposed a second drilling ban using the template for the first one. That disregard for law and the courts earned a citation for being in contempt , when Feldman spanked the Interior Department for its legal tone deafness."

Three-Legged Deer and the Hard Pennsylvania Winter - Yahoo! News

2011-02-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

Three-Legged Deer and the Hard Pennsylvania Winter - Yahoo! News One of the saddest sights in the world is a three-legged deer. We saw one in the winter of the first year we moved here. It was a year of soft snow, but it was cold.

It was just after the deer season we saw the pathetic creature, its leg still attached, and dangling. You could see a bit of red meat exposed to the air, and the better upper leg was swollen. My wife called the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

My wife is one of those animal lovers who won't let a person rest so long as there's a suffering animal in the world. There are lots of suffering Whitetail deer along the Pennsylvania roads where we live.

The Game Commission officer told my wife "no." I couldn't shoot the deer. Lots of three-legged deer survive, the man said.

One day we noticed that the dangling leg had dropped off. By then, it was spring and there was plenty to eat. We always wondered if "Three Legs" had been hit by a car or a bullet.

People drive the highways around here as if they have sole right of passage. The deer lie along the roadside, bloated, mashed, bloody and broken. The traffic passes on the main highway in an unending stream, oblivious to the slaughter.

In the spring, the fawns die even along the country roads. The adults less frequently die at the deer trails crossing the road.

Wooly Bear Caterpillars: Fact and Folklore - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

2010-12-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wooly Bear Caterpillars: Fact and Folklore - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

Shelters' new rules on strays have towns scrambling | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/01/2010

2010-11-01T03:36:00.000-07:00

Shelters' new rules on strays have towns scrambling | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/01/2010 People with an interest in gardening and landscaping are often interest in animals. While I wouldn't describe myself as an animal "activist," I think we all have to help.

I found an stray a few days ago. I brought him to a local animal shelter and paid for neutering for the dog, a large approx 3 year old male lab-something mix. He was a nice dog, so nice I considered adopting. I had him (named him Nero) all day but things were a lttle tense with our female German Shepherd mix, also adopted. We also had some travel plans arranged so I didn't have time to provide the guidance counseling necessary for integrating a new dog into the household.

So anyway, here's an article which applies to animal shelters in Pennsylvania, where we live. There's more to the story. I'm currently under a short-term arrangement to report on political articles. I'm not crazy about politics, but I like writing, and I need the job. That will end after the elections Nov. 2 and I'm hoping to get back to what I love-plants, animals, and gardening.

A Beginner's Garden: Grow Elephant Garlic, Allium Ampeloprasum - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

2010-10-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

A Beginner's Garden: Grow Elephant Garlic, Allium Ampeloprasum - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Stroudsburg Pioneer Woman Kills Fox with Bare Hands

2010-09-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

Progressive, liberal, or conservative--the latent pioneer in all of us is irrepressible, coming to the fore when needed. Fox attacks must be very common where this woman lives, because she says her friend was attacked,too.

How do you kill a fox with your bare hands? Hit the "go" button on the video and Rachel Cohen will tell you how.

Gardening Diary: When Gardening Has a Mind of Its Own

2010-08-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

Don't expect Tolstoy. One of the purposes of this blawg is to enjoy writing it. That means I don't write it when I don't want to. Sorry about that, because I love gardening,nature, the forest, and the outdoors in general.

I do write to inform, sometimes, but most likely you know as much or more about gardening as I do. So maybe you can help me figure out how my gardening got away from me this year. This year, I think the failures outnumbered the successes. I blame the vast amount of work I've had to do. But there were some positives, too.

On the plus side, the tomatoes are looking good, tasting even better. The Heirloom varieties have an interesting pink color. There are plenty of them, as usual, and I let the worms have some because I've been too lazy to use the organic spray I bought.

On the negative side, I once again planted too many squash/zucchini and they dominated the garden. I became disgusted there were so many, with leaves so large they blotted out the sun. I tore them out early on, in late spring. A madman's behavior, I know.

Positive: Arugula was magnificent, so easy to grow, and so peppy when you add it to the other greens.

Negative: We did well with the leaf lettuces but I didn't plant enough of it. I replanted just recently: Romaine Lettuce, butternut, and some escarole. The latter two will do well but the Romaine, planted earlier, is getting a little leggy because of the persistent hot weather. It's looking alright, though, and should yield modestly in spite of the long legs.

Speaking of long legs, the daddy spiders are awfully busy, spinning webs everywhere. That's a sign of things to come, you know. When the spiders get busy, the seasons will soon change.

I forgot the Concord Grapes. Finally, we've had an abundant yield as the vines matured and I did a bit better on pruning. They're magnificent. I should take a picture.

New Use for Ryobi 2-Stroke Garden Tiller

2010-08-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

A while back I published a review about a light Ryobi 2-Stroke Garden Tiller. I bought the thing in the Spring of 2009 and have used it more than I thought I would. It's been great for our small garden. If you're producing vegetables for more than your own use, you'd want a heavier one, or one that fits on your tractor. I could get one that fits my old John Deere 445 but they're expensive, and besides I've have to add a 3 point hitch.

On the other hand, I discovered a new use for the Ryobi Tiller. We have a large lawn but we also have a 3 - acre wooded area--very nice except for the trees which were too close to the house. I've taken down some of those trees with my chain saw, and cleared the stubs with a rented stump grinder. So I thought I'd expand the law a bit on one side of the house.

Step One: I used the John Deere 445 tractor with a 40 Loader (the one that fits the 445) and chisel plowed the weeds and debris. Underneath was some soil and lots of small rocks upon which I was to plant grass.

Step Two: That's where the Ryobi Tiller came in handy. You don't want to throw grass seed on hard-packed soild because it would wash away with the rains. So I took the Tiller and scoured the ground surface to a depth of one or two inches--perfect for sowing the seeds. I raked a little dirt over the seeds and then I dragged a roller over the area.

We had some much needed rain. That helped. The grass has come up beautifully. There are some bare patches where I was stingy with the grass seed, but I'll go over them when the grass comes up if necessary. On the whole, it's looking good.

A pretty good job for the Ryobi Tiller--I thought I'd mention it if it never occurred to you.

A Beginner's Garden: How to Grow Brussels Sprouts

2010-06-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

A Beginner's Garden: How to Grow Brussels Sprouts

Interesting article by a fellow gardener, Fern Fischer....hit the link to find out how to grow them...

Montmorency Cherry Finally Yields Fruit

2010-06-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

I planted a Montmorency Cherry tree in the back yard about 4 years ago, and located another cherry tree nearby as a cross-pollinator. The Montmorency Cherry fruited right away but, until this year, I could count the number of cherries with the fingers of one hand.

The good news is that there were quite a lot of cherries on the tree this year. The bad news was that about half of them were afflicted with a fungus. Stupid me!....I hadn't thought to examine the tree when the fungus was beginning to form so it was well on the way when I discovered it.

The Montmorency is the best cherry for cherry pie. It's a bit tart, a bit sour, but that's a matter of degree. The cherries I ate were delicious (except for the fungal ones)and I am currently researching in order to identify the fungus and the right kind of fungus control.

Let me know if you have knowledge of cherry funguses... I'll let you know what I've discovered when I find the right fix...

American Redbud Tree, Kiwi Vine, Spruce, and Grapevine, and Memorial Day

2010-06-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

I spent part of Memorial Day quietly communicating with plant and animal life. I straightened out the flag, watched the Marines fight out of Chosin Resevoir, read part of a book about George Washington and watched several sequences of Apocalypse on the Smithsonian Channel. That was new film footage of WWII--battles in Europe and the Pacific.

So I spent part of the Memorial Day weekend pruning shrubs and trees, something I haven’t had time to do earlier in the spring. Early spring is better, before the new growth goes wild, but it’s not yet summer when pruning will really stress the plant while it’s already suffering from heat exhaustion or dry weather.

I had already pruned the few cherry and apple trees last fall, so they were in pretty good shape. I should have done the grapevine at that time, too, but I tried some light pruning yesterday, being careful not to cut off the grape bunches. Light pruning.

I pruned quite a few of our spruce trees, the ones I planted three years ago. They’ve finally taken hold but some are rather bizarre looking, as they adapt to their new neighborhood. I’m not worried about damaging them because they’re resilient and, besides, I only nip the ends where I want the foliage to fill in empty space.

The Kiwi vine was tangled and overgrown. I spent lots of time tracing the interwoven skeins and separating them before cutting. It took some time. I did cut one strand I shouldn’t have, but the result is good. It’s a fine looking Kiwi, even though it’s never flowered and probably is not even thinking about bearing fruit. Too bad I didn’t get another. There’s only one species of Kiwi that is self-pollinating and I think I was deceived when I bought the plant. Anyway, it’s got nice leaves and vines, so whatever….

Now the three Redbud Trees (also called Judas Tree) .... I took hours to prune them, so that they’d have light, balance, and air. Balance is important. One of them split last year because of having heavier overhang on one side. I saved it by binding it together with wire and then wrapping the split in duct tape. I took off some of the duct tape. It was pretty major surgery, but the wound is healing nicely and appears to be stronger than the rest of the tree. It was worth the effort. If you haven’t seen the Judas tree when it blooms in very early spring….

What Happened Last Year in the Garden

2010-05-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

If you have a scanner, it is sometimes a good idea to scan in the seed packages you've planted. It's easier and faster than keeping a notebook, and typically easier to find the information in subsequent years. This photo is an example, and I just saw it in one of my pictue files.

It made me remember the oddities of last year's garden. The radishes were easy to grow, and profuse, and we had far more radishes then anyone could want or that you could give away. The Eggplants were okay, but were on the small size so we can do better in the way of nutrients.

The strange tale is of the Cauliflower, something I had never tried growing. All of the plants came up very well and looked healthy. However, only two of the plants produced. The strangest thing was that the two cauliflowers which did "fruit" were terrific in size and very healthy looking. The other plants looked great but had no cauliflower buds.

So when I researched it (something I should have done beforehand), I found out that there is this thing you have to do to the plants. You have to "blanch" the leaves at the appropriate time. But then I wondered how I got those two beautiful looking plants without having done anything to them, either.

If you've got the answer, let me know. It's gotten too hot already to plant the cauliflower this year, so I'm going to be well prepared for next year. Adding chunks of cauliflower hearts to a soupy spaghetti (along with some spices) is a hearty and healthy dish which can feed the barracks....<

Photo Eastern Milk Snake Identified

2010-05-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

It was almost a year ago I found this speciment of a snake dead in the road not far from our house. It's a rural area, and I'd seen plenty of garter snakes, a rattlesnake or two, black snakes, and water snakes, but this was a first. The Eastern Milk Snake is not poisonous. This one is small, obviously young, about 15 inches in length. Most likely killed on the road at night, since they're nocturnal. They feed on small rodents, salamanders, other snakes, frogs, bird eggss.... it's not particular. For some live pictures of this snake, along with some of its cousins, you might want to click on the link. That blog is by a Canadian naturalist/photog/outdooors person.

No matter how hard I looked though, I still haven't discovered why this snake is called a "Milk" snake. I'll keep working on it...

Foxglove and a Fox: A True Tale Mixed With Some Folklore

2010-05-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

So I'll tell you the true part first. About five or six years ago, there was a foxglove I planted in the wrong place. When later I wanted to attack with the weedwacker, I moved the foxglove plant into the large flower garden at the side of the house. I thought it died. It was a no-show for years, but one year it popped up, but didn't bloom. I forgot about it, then.

But Voila!...a couple of weeks ago, there it was--the old foxglove plant. I wasn't sure until yesterday when it flowered. Now there was no doubt about it.

Now the weird thing--I was sitting here pecking away after my workout when our GSD has a conniption of such large proportion that I thought she'd take out the window. Jumping to my feet, I caught sight of a quickly moving dog-like animal, moving so fast I couldn't tell if it was a large fox or a small coyote.

So the fuzzy part derives from when I looked up the Foxglove plant, which is indeed linked to the fox. There is a myth, handed down to us from the English Middle Ages, which says the fox steals the blooms and puts them on his feet so that he can slip quietly into the henhouse. Yeah, well don't believe it then. I do.

Anyway, the Fox Glove and the Fox were in idyllic environments, as both foxes and fox gloves like to make their homes on wooded hillsides, such as the one that slope away from the house.

The other thing I learned about Fox Glove is that the Latin name for it is Digitalis Purpurea. Fox Glove is a poison, but it is also a medicine, used to stimulate the heart.

Organic Heritage Tomatoes

2010-05-26T05:10:00.000-07:00

We're trying something new in the garden. We're giving up on the hybrid tomatoes. The output on the hybrid tomatoes has been great, but the seeds--not so great. You can't use them to propagate new tomatoes as you can with the "heritage" seeds.

It was late February when I planted the organic heritage seeds in a seed-box. When the plants grew up, there were some noted differences. The tomato plants looked different from the starter plants you get from home and garden stores. Another odd thing. Some weeds came up, too. I don't know if the soil was contaminated with weed seed or whether weed seed got mixed up with the heritage tomato seeds.

It doesn't much matter. Maybe I'll begin cultivating a new hardier brand of heritage weeds. More to the point, I put the heritage tomato plants (grown from seed) out into the garden and they're looking strong. Right now, they look a lot more like Tomato plants. Still, the leaves are a bit different, as they are not a hybrid recognized species.

It's cool so far--I think of the Indians when I'm looked at them. BAck in the day of the Indians, most plants were different--especially the corn. Some people refer to Indian corn as "flint corn."

A Tale of Two Iris Species

2010-05-20T04:24:00.000-07:00

Deer resistance is an ever popular topic among gardeners and horticulturalists who live in deer country. This morning very early, I went outside to count the deer. There were five, but this time they were on the east side of the house when typically they are on the northwest slope where shrubs and flowering plants abound. Among the flowering plants are two types of Irises, a cultivated variety and a wild variety. I had thought that both varieties were deer resistant since the earlier developing stalks and leaves of the cultivated Iris are nibbled but largely left alone. At least, that was my observation through April of this year.

But now, in the middle of May, the Irises have flowered and I can see that my observations regarding Irises are only half right. The deer do not so much like the Iris plants as they do the flower buds. The Iris leaves and stalks are most abundant and look healthy, but the tips of the stalks, where the blooms would be, are clipped and empty.

Meanwhile, just twenty yards away, the wild Irises are flourishing, left alone, elegant, slender, and somehow regal. And then I have an experiment in progress. There are many so-called “deer-resistant” sprays and treatments advertising that they will repel deer but few of them work. However, and that is a big “however,” there is an expensive and foul smelling product manufactured in the Pennsylvania sticks that does seem to work. I have applied it to the cultivated Irises. I’m not sure how well it works though I am sure it is having some good affect. That is why the deer were this morning on the Southeast side of the house where there are no flowers or shrubs.

Forget-Me-Nots -- Great Ground Patterns

2010-04-26T17:44:00.000-07:00

Sylvatica is the Latin Name for this plant. It's widely known as Forget Me Not, a beautiful name for a beautiful flower. The blooms are quite small, but highly intelligent, and a peculiar blue.

Plant them in a patch, in half-shade if possible, and they will grow in just about any kind of soil. From a distance, the lovely blue color will look like a cloudy carpet on the forest floor (assuming you are lucky enough to have a forest).

Sylvatic is self-seeding, so once you get them started, they jump all around the place. They're very festive, often given as gifts. Give me some.

Garden Tips: Renovate Your Strawberries Annually, Page 2 of 3 - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

2010-04-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

Garden Tips: Renovate Your Strawberries Annually, Page 2 of 3 - A very good article on strawberries. We planted some last year for the first time and were surpised at the output. According to this article, we have to take action for the fruits to develop this year.... Click on the headline--it will take you to Fern Fischer's great article....

In the Herb Garden: Grow Oregano

2010-04-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

In the Herb Garden: Grow Oregano - Associated Content - associatedcontent.comSome great tips on growing Oregano by Fern Fischer...

Piliated Woodpeckers

2010-02-18T06:01:00.000-08:00

Piliated Woodpeckers are notoriously shy so it's rare to see them, let alone two of them at the same time. The photo is blurry but I thought I'd post it anyway. In our part of Pennsylvania, we are lucky to have so many of these large birds. I've encountered them up close several times, but those are fleeting moments. I'm not fast enough to get a close shot. These photos are blurred b/c they were taken from our living room window. The PIliated Woodpecker usually feeds on insects in dead trees, often on the ground. I've seen them at work tearing up the wood and sending chips flying. Do these birds know something I don't? I think that tree is still alive but maybe their appearance is prophetic. We'll see..

For Old, Rare Plants, Gardeners Turn to Seed Exchanges - WSJ.com

2010-02-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

For Old, Rare Plants, Gardeners Turn to Seed Exchanges - WSJ.comThere's about a foot of snow on the ground here in Pennsylvania and it's still coming down so it seems a good time to think about seeds... Don't you think?

Beautiful birches: How to differentiate 5 birch types in Poconos | PoconoRecord.com

2010-01-03T05:12:00.000-08:00

Beautiful birches: How to differentiate 5 birch types in Poconos | PoconoRecord.comAre you forever getting your birches mixed up? This article may help. We have a lot of what you may call "White Birch" in our nearby woods. In spite of being very white in color, these trees are actually "Gray Birch." The true White Birch grows to the North, generally, though I"ve seen a few specimens here and there in cold pockets of this forest.

Wood Burning Tips for a Happy Hearth

2009-12-29T07:29:00.000-08:00

That warm flickering flame is a comfort, something that ignites the ancient DNA in all of us, descended from the early people who, bedecked in animal skins, gathered around the warmth of the hearth. Click on the headline to read a review about a real-life experience with a wood-burning stove.

Wood Burning Tips for a Happy Hearth - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Black Bear's Killing of Pennsylvania Woman Raises Questions - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

2009-10-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Black Bear's Killing of Pennsylvania Woman Raises Questions - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Amy’s Journal » Blog Archive » Questions about Acorn Squashes

2009-09-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

Amy’s Journal » Blog Archive » Questions about Acorn SquashesFinally, the great Acorn Squash mystery is solved, thanks to this bright-eyed California blogger and her one-eyed dog.

Ryobi Four-Ton Electric Log Splitter Review - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

2009-09-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

Ryobi Four-Ton Electric Log Splitter Review - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

How to Grow Dill, Page 2 of 2 - Associated Content

2009-09-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

How to Grow Dill, Page 2 of 2 - Associated Content

Mosquito Repellents Stress Me Out-Why That's a Good Thing - Associated Content

2009-09-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

Mosquito Repellents Stress Me Out-Why That's a Good Thing - Associated Content

Healthy Cookware#slide_1

2009-08-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

Healthy Cookware#slide_1This article is a departure for me. While I'm a passable cuisine artiste, I've messed up many of our pots and pans by misuse and ignorance. Here's the definitive article from the Martha Stewart web site.

Martha Stewart and Julia Childs are two of the world's greatest women, IMHO.

Gardening 101: How to get a soil test

2009-08-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

Pittsburgh Gardening Scene Examiner 101: How to get a soil testI have to say I need to do this. I think of it every year and then don't. It's like needing a map when you're lost--you hate to use one. I have to think of myself as a master gardener completely without help from science. No matter that, without science, I would probably starve or freeze to death. Anyway, here's the deal for getting a soil test--how much it costs, etc..

"Julie and Julia" : New Film Ignites Interest in Julia Child Biography - Associated Content

2009-08-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

"Julie and Julia" : New Film Ignites Interest in Julia Child Biography - Associated Content

Financial Incentives for Installing a Windmill on Your Farm - Associated Content

2009-08-01T04:23:00.000-07:00

Financial Incentives for Installing a Windmill on Your Farm - Associated ContentHere's an appealing and expensive idea...interesiting all the same.

How to Fry Zucchini and Serving Suggestions - Associated Content#comments

2009-07-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

How to Fry Zucchini and Serving Suggestions - Associated Content#comments

Some City Folk Are Mad as Wet Hens When Chickens Come Home to Roost - WSJ.com

2009-07-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

Some City Folk Are Mad as Wet Hens When Chickens Come Home to Roost - WSJ.comAre you thinking of raising chickens? Lots of people are. Here's a story from the Wall Street Journal which is worth reading--for fun and business...

Garden Bears Inspection

2009-07-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Animated Garden Ornaments Create Excitement

2009-07-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

Pennsylvania Monsoons Stimulate Deer Population

2009-06-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

I don’t know what it is about this season, but the deer are eating plants that they normally aren’t much interested in. We’ve had plenty of rain and there’s plenty of new growth. I’m thinking of calling our joint the Emerald Isle Ranch—something like that. Leaves and grasses are prolific and the streams are swollen. Yet, the deer are eating things like Astilbe—only the flowers, however. They’re also munching on the Holly leaves, something the deer will readily do in winter but this is the first time I’d seen it in summer. The oddest thing of all is that they’re eating the tiger lilies and the coreopsis, usually nipping the tenderest parts, the buds.

I’m not angry at the deer and like them very much, enough to be willing to share our plants with them. I do have some pretty excellent deer repellant, made of an organic compound, but I’ve been hesitant to spray it because it hasn’t stopped raining. Here in Pennsylvania, we’re having a regular monsoon season.

But it’s nice to see the little fawns in spring, even though they are plant predators. The deer are one of the happiest things about Pennsylvania, second only to the variety of plant life. There is an article I wrote for Associated Content which may be of interest. Take a look at it by clicking on the headline of this article. Or pop it into your URL line.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/978654/ten_deer_resistant_plants_for_deer_pg2.html?cat=32

Easy DIY Project to Protect Young Trees from the String Trimmer - Associated Content

2009-06-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

Easy DIY Project to Protect Young Trees from the String Trimmer - Associated ContentThis is an article I wrote for another site about a totally cheap, easy, and effective DIY project to protect young trees from the string trimmer and the lawn mower. Once in a while something I invent actually works....

Swing Set

2009-06-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Early Summer Scene

2009-06-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'd gone to a Cezanne and Beyond Exhibit in the big city--the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as a matter of fact. Naturally, you will see the Matisse/Cezanne/Kweigand influences...

Old Mill Pond

2009-06-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Appropos of nothing, I took a picture of this old wheat mill which operates by means of a water wheel. I missed this years opening but I've been to it before. It's a tremendous maze of wood, iron, and water wheels. The water makes use of early technology to take in the corn, grind it, move it alone, refine it further, bring it upstairs, drop it downstairs, back up again where it moves along a trough and is put into burlap bags. Our ancestors were almost as smart as we are, I've discovered.

The mill is beautiful, ingenious, and was capable of being operated with only one man.

The Tulip Poplar Has a Pretty Flower

2009-06-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

I went out very early for a walk along an abandoned country road this morning. It's getting hard to find an abandoned country road around here but I managed. The beautiful bloom from a Tulip Poplar fell into the road at my feet so I took this photo. I wish it were in better focus. I had my dog with me and she was being impatient so I could not summon my fuller photographic skills. It's pretty, nonetheless....

Dogwood Days

2009-05-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

I had such great luck at our old house with Dogwoods, yet the only ones which thrive in our new place are the wild ones. Fortunately, I took a picture of this one, may it rest in peace...

Catalogue Your Burpee Garden Seeds

2009-05-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

I'm usually so busy that I often forget what seeds I've planted and where I've planted them. Of course, the most common way to address that is to stick the seed packs into the dirt next to the garden rows. Sometimes they dry up, get lost, fall apart in the rain or through watering so I've developed a better method. I have a combined printer, copier, scanner so I scan the seed packs into the computer --see the photos shown above. Sometimes I take a picture of the just planted furrows and insert text labelling there. As the garden grows, I add notes to the photos. It's also a good way to compare seed manufacturer's. Burpee seeds are everywhere but the seed catalogues have plenty of other brands.

It may see cumbersome to some, but doing it this way helps you with next year's planning. You know what worked, and what didn't.

Garden Spot for Quiet Contemplation

2009-05-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

On the edge of one of our gardens is a quiet spot where we can solve the problems of the world. The bench came from a relative who moved, and the birdbath was bought from a place which specializes in molded concrete. I wish I oculd remember the name of the place, but it was located on Route 611 near Upper Black Eddy. Upper Black Eddy is just a few miles south of Easton, PA. It's a fun drive and a fun place to look at a variety of concrete molded statues and other objects.

Peony: Deer Resistant with Unique Foliage

2009-05-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

Peony are everywhere in the country. Aside from the beauty of the blooms, the deer will give them the go-by. I like the leaves a great deal, and they have an elegance even before the buds arrive. Our flower beds are 800 feet higher than the ones down the hill and are later to bloom, even when compared to peony just half a mile away, which are right now fully bloomed.

Irises: Reliable and Steady like Old Friends

2009-05-26T05:54:00.000-07:00

A common as they are, there are good reasons for having Iris in your garden. They grow just about everywhere, in good and poor soils, and they come in a variety of colors. Hungry deer will eat the stalks in early spring, but soon abandon them to eat better tasting vegetation. Deer will totally abandon Iris when they have better choices and I've never seen the deer eating Irises during or after their blooms.

Spring Blooms and an Errant Photo of Fence Parts?

2009-05-24T05:47:00.000-07:00

If you're going to install a more or less permanent chain link fence around your garden, you'll need a variety of fixtures and joining options. Here's part an assortment at a local Lowe's fencing department.

Photos of Early Spring Flowering

2009-05-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

We're into late spring now, but these photos were taken in April. The redbud, also known as the Judas Tree, shows its colorful buds well before the leaves break out.

The ubiquitous Forsythia is blooming everywhere. There's hardly a household or farm which doesn't have some growing wild. You can pull up the spreading shoots and plant them elsewhere. The great thing about them is that they appear when the rest of the landscape is barren.

Those little things are wildflowers. Does anyone know the name of those little delicate flowers? I don't and I haven't had time to research that.

Quick Tip for a More Interesting Garden

2009-05-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

Tip of the day concerns "found objects." This multi-textured stump was not natural to the garden, but will provide visual interest when the Morning Glory vines grow up around it. In fact, the hollowed out and dessicated former log was found in the woods and held in place with a channeled fence post. You can use anything--even tomato stakes. The object looks bare in this setting but the photo was taken in late winter.

Harbingers of Spring

2009-05-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

These beautiful and graceful creatures can wreak havoc on some plants. We try to plant the ones that are "deer-resistant" but you know the drill. If they're hungry enough...

Free Lawnmowing! No Plant We Can't Handle

2009-05-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

First Sign of Spring--After the Crocuses

2009-05-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

&nbs

Ryobi Gas Cultivator

2009-05-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

I bought this machine after several years of hand spading the garden. It looks as if it may have come from a Star-Trek episode but really I got it at Home Depot for 200 bucks. Last year, I'd used a heavy duty and more expensive machine that I rented so the soil had been tilled once already. Even so, this little machine did the job. You can use it with all four tines for tilling or you can remove the two outer tines for cultivation between rows.

Some people complained that it was hard starting but I didn't notice. It's a four-stroke so maybe they didn't mix the gas properly. The only thing I have against it is that it sounds like a sewing machine. I think a woman could use it as easily as a strong man could :). I'm thinking of customizing mine and running straight pipes out of it to make it sound more macho.

I've run it fairly often and run it pretty hard, breaking new ground in one spot when I got ambitious and garden-crazy. I've run it over rocks. It stopped once when a big rock got caught in the tines. The warranty period will soon be over so I'm starting to be careful with it. There are better, heavier, and far more expensive machines but this is not a toy. It does do the job. I've bought a couple of Ryobi tools. Ryobi tools have the right price point for me. In this crappy economy, that matters.

You dont' want to spend a thousand dollars on a garden to produce 900 dollars worth of vegetables.

How to Install a Vegetable Garden Fence - Associated Content

2009-04-27T05:28:00.000-07:00

How to Install a Vegetable Garden Fence - Associated Content

Canning Success = Check List for Canner and Canning Equipment - Associated Content

2009-04-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

Canning Success = Check List for Canner and Canning Equipment - Associated Content

How to Install a Vegetable Garden Fence - Associated Content

2009-04-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

How to Install a Vegetable Garden Fence - Associated Content

Sacrificing the Shrubbery for the Greater Good of the Deer Community

2009-04-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

Nature's Way

2009-04-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, this posting means nothing but it's a nice photo of nature's handiwork, a home for a bird, or a cache for a squirrel and maybe some inspiration for a poet, not me.

2009-04-20T05:10:00.000-07:00

The Forsythia has finally bloomed up here, 800 feet higher than most places in this part of PA. That plant with the tiny white flowers is a genus of Spirea which blooms early but not in spectacular fashion (however, we don't complain). The American Redbud (also known as the Judas Tree) is one of my favorites and is beginning to show its colors.

Cool Weather Lettuce: Consider Planting Near a Wall

2009-04-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

I planted some lettuce early this year--it's a cool weather crop--even though there was a hard frost and the threat of more on the way. I planted it close to a foundation wall, however. The sun warms the masonry and continues to radiate, creating a mini-climate. Of course, the little germ-like baby lettuce could still get wiped out but so far our scheme seems to be working.

#comments

2009-04-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

#commentsHydrangeas were all white when I was a kid. Now they have blue, and green, and.... Here's an article about Hydrangeas by Lisa Mason...

A Better Weekend Gardening Experience - Associated Content

2009-04-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

A Better Weekend Gardening Experience - Associated ContentSome Gardening advice from writer Lisa Mason. Keep it light--don't make a big deal of it--and don't forget to have fun....

Review of the Ryobi Gas-Powered 2-Stroke Tiller Cultivator: Model RY60514 25.4cc 1.2 HP - Associated Content

2009-04-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

Review of the Ryobi Gas-Powered 2-Stroke Tiller Cultivator: Model RY60514 25.4cc 1.2 HP - Associated Content

Cute Little Outdoor Solar Plant Lights

2009-04-06T16:34:00.001-07:00

You probably already know this, brothers and sisters of the Green Earth, but here goes. I've had my eye on those solar lights you put amidst your plants and along your walkways so you can admire the plant shapes at night. They also alert visitors to where the sidewalks are. Alcoholics also like them as they stumble home in the wee hours but first they have to make it to the house.

Anyways, the bottom line price I saw was at Walmart and I decided I'd buy two of them and try them out. I put them in a flower garden that gets the most sunlight. Results were better than expected. A keen and not obtrusive light, diffused by the fixture upon the head.

That fixture upon the head is why I'm posting this...to save you consternation. I couldn't figure out why, after an entire day in bright sunlight, they would not go on. There was no switch. No battery. Here's the tip of the day. You've got to unscrew the head and you'll see a tiny strip of cellophane right near the tiny bulb. Pull on it, tear it away, and then the bulb will light.

Laugh at me if you want. I pondered this for a long time. But remember $4.00 each at Walmart. They work fine. Not bad.

Picasa Web Albums - moeursalen - Architecture and Scenery

2009-04-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

Picasa Web Albums - moeursalen - Architecture and Scenery

Teaching Your Dog to Bring in the Paper

2009-03-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting for the ground to thaw so that we can put in some lettuce seeds and spring onion sets. To relieve the waiting, I've trained our young female German Shepherd dog to bring in the newspaper. It's a task she enjoys, but sometimes, in her exhuberance, she likes to toss the paper about on the doorsteps and I have to shout at her to drop it. Nonetheless, we were very proud and amused with her unfailing capture of the newspaper out by the road and the efficient manner in which she would dash for the front door porch.

This newly learned behavior comes at a price, however. Mandy doesn't understand that all the newspapers in the neighborhood do not belong to us. While walking her this morning, she tried to collect the newspapers which lay in our neighborhood driveway and, judging by the way she looked at me when I told her "no", she thinks I am a reckless and irrational doggie owner.

Best Brown Egg Laying Hen? Red Star Chickens - Associated Content

2009-03-04T04:24:00.000-08:00

Best Brown Egg Laying Hen? Red Star Chickens - Associated ContentCounting your chickens? Here's what Bobby Tall Horse has to say about the matter...

How to Know when the Rooster Should Die - Associated Content

2009-03-04T04:22:00.000-08:00

How to Know when the Rooster Should Die - Associated ContentA really nice bit of writing from an associate on Associated Content.

Homemade Bread as a Meal - Associated Content

2009-03-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

Homemade Bread as a Meal - Associated ContentWhat does this have to do with gardening? Well, wheat is grown in the fields and ground into flour. For more than a couple thousand years. So it's gardening, honest!

How to Plan Garden Space - Associated Content

2009-02-26T04:54:00.000-08:00

How to Plan Garden Space - Associated ContentMore from Tithonia... If it has a first name like Tithonia, it has to be good.

What is the Real Difference Between Organic and Non-Organic Gardening? - Associated Content

2009-02-26T04:53:00.000-08:00

What is the Real Difference Between Organic and Non-Organic Gardening? - Associated ContentHere's one woman's point of view. Written by Tithonia Greenwood....

A Short List of Spring Gardening Tasks - Associated Content

2009-02-26T04:11:00.000-08:00

A Short List of Spring Gardening Tasks - Associated Content

Winter Horizons

2009-02-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Tilling the Grain

2009-02-24T05:57:00.000-08:00

Ten Deer Resistant Plants for Deer Country - Associated Content

2009-02-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

Ten Deer Resistant Plants for Deer Country - Associated Content

8 Steps to Smart Gardening : Landscaping : Home & Garden Television

2009-02-12T07:57:00.000-08:00

8 Steps to Smart Gardening : Landscaping : Home & Garden TelevisionThere are a lot of TV programs where the host tries to be corny and it turns out to be just that--corny, or so corny you want to heave. Paul James of HGTV also makes tons of corny jokes but the guy is truly funny and truly knows his stuff. He's funny and real at the same time. The enthusiasim is catching. You ought to give it a try. Here's a sample--the basics of gardening.

Fat February

2009-02-04T09:08:00.000-08:00

Well, we're there. Fat February--the shortest month of the year is also the longest. How does that happen? Some people find it like a drip torture, but I'm determined to enjoy it. A little warm spell melted the crust so that I don't get my boots stuck under the ice pack as I'm exploring. I've found some more artifacts to accompany the Whippet. There's this old cabin back in the woods, ramshackle and drooping. In the summer, the turkey vultures return to nest in the chimney and you can see them flying overhead gracefully in search of carrion or heart-attack hikers. It's amazing how they look so truly elegant lofting in the air currents and so ugly when they're kickin' it on the roof or on the ground.

So anyway, I've found this original old coca-cola cooler under the porch of the drooping cabin. I'm told by one of my neighbors the cabin is owned by Mad Jack, a loony former architect who lives most of the time in Philadelphia but comes up once in a while. I spotted him there once and tried talking with him. I didn't get much out of him. He stood on the delapidating porch staring at me. And staring. And staring.

"Well, so long, then," I said.

East and West

2009-02-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

And awful nice weathervane...

Cold and Storm and Nothing to Do but Look at the Road

2009-02-02T17:43:00.000-08:00

Incidentally, I looked at the wheel hubs. It's a Whippet, or what's left of one. Whippets were made in the Roaring Twenties. The line was successful and short--only about a hundred made.

Enjoy Winter: It Won't Last Long

2009-01-31T10:28:00.000-08:00

Alright, it's hard to enjoy an ice storm. Or is it? Well, you can enjoy looking at it, those trees glistening with ice, as if they were decorated by an invisible all-powerful giant. But it's hard to enjoy when you're walking along the road with your dog, as we were this morning. Even with a massive amount of road salt, the ice wasn't budging and we had to walk along as if our joints were welded together.

But you need an ice-chipper. That's what that thing is in the photo. That was a homoe-made job, with a good blade and an aluminum handle. If I had to do it all over again, I might have forestalled the aluminum handle for a wooden one. Ah, the lasting beauty of wood! Well, it's warmer, too. Unless I'm wearing gloves, the aluminum could stick to my hands in very very cold weather.

You should be wearing gloves anyway--to cushion the shock. But look at the magnificent job I did. Well, almost did. Or half did. There are other options--moving to Louisiana or Florida or Southern California.

Or getting a dog. Our GSD, Mandy, loves to eat the ice. Not recommended for large driveways though.

What to Consider when Buying a Snow Blower - Associated Content

2009-01-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

What to Consider when Buying a Snow Blower - Associated Content

SPCA Adoption Events: Opportunities for Volunteers - Associated Content

2009-01-14T15:14:00.000-08:00

SPCA Adoption Events: Opportunities for Volunteers - Associated Content

2009-01-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

Kettle Creek Falls

2008-12-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

Girl with Rabbit Walking in Country

2008-12-23T05:38:00.000-08:00

Garden Q&A - syracuse.com

2008-12-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

Garden Q&A - syracuse.com In reading this article, I find out that the beloved Rose of Sharon is a "garbage" plant which can be uprooted and thrown on the trash heap if it doesn't perform (bloom) to our high standards. I like the Rose of Sharon--it's humble, historical, and tough. I also like lady who wrote the article--she knows her stuff-- and I look in on her from time to time. (in the figurative sense).

Gardening: Poinsettia blooms will provide years of holiday enjoyment | news-press.com | The News-Press

2008-12-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

Gardening: Poinsettia blooms will provide years of holiday enjoyment | news-press.com | The News-Press

Christine's Friend Katie Tuerff and the Bone Lady

2008-12-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Wood, Wood, More Wood

2008-11-26T17:48:00.000-08:00

Wood is sexy. Ir'a great when it's growing; it's great when it's dead. Dead wood is best when you're cutting firewood for the winter months. You can't burn wet wood.

so I was cutting firewood in the woods again today, and I'd found an old stand of Red Oak dead hardwood where the shale rock had welled up and thinned the soil making the trees susceptible to wind and storm. And so the trees fell. And so I was cutting the dead wood for the winter.

While cutting wood, I heard some voices and then I saw these three people walking toward me from down the hill below the property. It was this old guy I knew walking through the woods with his two sons whom I also knew slightly. They were scouting out places to hunt and wanted to know where I'd be posted. I pointed to the big pine with the stovepipe arms and I nodded toward the spot on the uphill horizon where the shale rock had split and surged upward to create a jagged rise.

One of the man's sons had worked for a tree surgeon's company and knew a lot about chain saws and trees. I had osme questions about chains. He pointed out that one of my Stihl saws had a "chipper chain," meaning that it had a squarish cutting tooth. That was good. Now I know what to look for. It has a good bite and cuts down effortlessly.

I had the wood cut into sixteen inch logs and stacked them upright in the little drailer I drew with the John Deere 445. They looked at the wood. Nice wood, they said. I knew about the Red Oak but I was wondering if the other wood was White Oak or Ash. The bark was old and peeled and you couldn't tell, not the way the bark had come apart. One of the guys boys said it was Ash but I wasn't so sure. The Cherry wood looked like the Red Oak when it was red except that the outer rings were red to the bark.

The End of Summer - Beginning of Fall

2008-11-11T04:30:00.001-08:00

So I took a flyer from blogging for awhile. Lots of reasons for it. Even though heating oil prices are dropping along with the price of gasoline, I'm determined to save the heating oil we already purchased at $4.23 per gallon. Right now, the cost from our dealer is $2.59 per gallon. The price could just as easily swing back to higher levels. Therefore, I'm spending lots of time cutting firewood. With few exceptions, I'm cutting dead wood, mostly oak and maple and ash. I'm playing catch up and I need to build up a pile of dry firewood before winter sets in hard. Truth to tell, I don't expect to cut a sufficient amount to last the winter but I might get close.

I have cut down a few living trees which were very close to other live trees. Those will be split and saved for next winter. Clean wood is a whole lot better than the molding dead stuff I've been cutting. But I have a sense of moral superiority when I cut the dead, down wood. I'm cleaning the forest floor and making room for new and healthy growth.

And yes, I'm leaving some brush piles and cover for the deer little critters.

Heating Costs Drive Homeowners to Wood Heat

2008-10-09T05:08:00.000-07:00

In the cold weather parts of the United States, the high cost of heating oil and other energy is driving people toward the purchase of woodstoves, coal stoves, fireplace inserts. Here's a story I wrote for another website about the installation of a fireplace insert. Just click on the blue headline.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1024259/drolet_fireplace_insert_energy_cost.html?cat=6

Multi-color Bee Balm

2008-09-23T05:27:00.000-07:00

National Gardening Association :: Regional Reports

Sandra Petersen on the Butterfly Bush

2008-09-16T04:39:00.000-07:00

Butterfly Bushes for Small Gardens
A butterfly bush can be a lovely addition to a small garden and with proper care will provide beauty and attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds each summer.
View more »

Ten Deer Resistant Plants for Deer Country - Associated Content

2008-09-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Ten Deer Resistant Plants for Deer Country - Associated Content

Gardening Economics: Ask for a Discount on Withered Plants - Associated Content

2008-08-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

Gardening Economics: Ask for a Discount on Withered Plants - Associated ContentIt's that time of year again...the vegetation is drying out and the greenery is looking tired. Here's where the aggressive gardener can find an opportunity as stores switch into fall mode.

Home Heat: a Rush for Alternatives - WSJ.com

2008-08-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

Home Heat: a Rush for Alternatives - WSJ.comThis article seems somehow related to gardening and the outdoors--I couldn't say just why? But hey, the Wall Street Journal would know...

Gorilla "Paradise" Found; May Double World Numbers

2008-08-05T10:58:00.001-07:00

Gorilla "Paradise" Found; May Double World Numbers