Weird Mushrooms

(No, this is not sexting)

Peace.

Snow Picnic

Yes, I am among those who love snow. I am also lucky to be among those with a warm home in which to stay and snuggle.

To borrow a phrase from one of my favorite witches: May it be so for you.





Peace.

Garden Video

Enjoy some unedited footage of the flower garden, then come help me deadhead and weed!


Please?






Peace.

Good Bye, Toad

We kept him/her as a pet probably longer than we should have, but we all enjoyed watching our pet toad hopping around the habitat we made. S/he seemed pretty happy eating fruit flies, too. But today was the day. I made a little toad house in a protected spot in the yard. We even put the moss pad s/he loved from the habitat in the toad house. And some of the rocks and sticks. Then, we set ol' toady free.

At first s/he started to hop away, then turned. In the top picture, the toad had turned around and was heading back to the toad house. Then, toad turned and ran in to the daisy patch.

The bottom picture was shot through the window from inside our house. We have a good view if s/he comes back.

We wish our toad good luck and we hope we see her/him again. We miss her/him already.









Peace.

Wherever You Hang Your Hat

Last year when I was doing a major landscape redesign, turning most of my yard into garden, I purposely pruned the forsythia to create a little cove underneath for children to play in. Literary and cinematic memories, perhaps mixed with some blurry ones of my own childhood, had me imagining my girls using the spot for a dinosaur cave, a prairie house, an oceanfront restaurant, and many other kid-hide-out games. For some reason, maybe because there were so many other new sights to discover in our now nearly lawn-less yard, this forsythia fort never took hold.

Now, suddenly, this Spring, it has been discovered by the first grader in our house. She is so excited about it that our usually late sleeper is often the first one up and dressed, and she's out in the fort from right after breakfast until it's time to leave for school. She told me yesterday after school that she is even writing about it. When I opened her pack last night, I found this inside.





Of course, she figured out yesterday that her big sister wants to be a part of things, too, and that imaginative play is more fun when they play together. Sometimes, though, it's a retreat for one. And here is where I found her this morning.





Where do you go for a moment's stillness? Where do you call home?




Peace.

Garden Glory

This morning's harvest

Size matters

The morning glory wall

The inside view

Yay! I have a blue one!

Cat-n-Critter Blogging

the view out my window as I made my morning coffee yesterday

I used to think that all the neighbor cats loved my yard because it was sunny. Now, I think it's because all the mice, birds, and squirrels who hang out here make it a cat's wildlife restaurant.

the girls were thrilled to find a slug yesterday

My dad sent them a DVD of this show a couple weeks ago, and they loved it. So their already excellent eyes for nature's creatures have been finely tuned to science!

birthday party detritus

The 6yo really wanted me to take a picture of her water balloon. So I did.

A Garden's Bones

Today was the day! Gorgeous Spring weather and a delivery of compost!

Time to take a look at the main garden and decide where the paths should go...

Now to dig in...

Doesn't it look beautiful!!

And now to take a look at the back garden and decide where paths should go...

Beautiful!

We got the peas in on the right side. And a bean tower will go where the girls are standing. The pine trunk in front of the compost bin is where one of the new peach trees will go.

And yes, my neighbor strolled by to see what all the action was about, and when I told him all the plans he said, "Michelle Obama would be proud." To which I of course replied, "And I'm proud of her, too, so it works out!"


Happy Spring!

Garden Blues

Almost all the snow has melted from the yard now, so the daily garden meanderings have begun. What's growing?

who's that under the blue chair?

a blue stone in the pile

And the blues of a different kind...

are those little shiny black things supposed to be there?

will the poppy I planted last year return and flower?

In the yard

sleeping summer furniture

garden chores await

Shadows from the Archives

I had been thinking of this shadow theme only in terms of winter light, but after seeing m.heart's hammock photograph yesterday, I took a look at some of my photographs from other seasons. Since I may not get the chance to take some photographs today, I'm glad a found some gems.

I really do love all the seasons. Yes, I love winter. I love snow, and hats & gloves, and snuggling, and hot drinks. I even love shoveling. Not to mention skiing, hiking, ice skating, fort building...

This winter has decided to throw a big challenge to my love at me. My poorly built house has been no match for the super chill we've had here this year. My bathroom pipes have frozen several times and burst twice. Even though I left the taps open last night, I woke to a frozen faucet this morning. I've got the space heater going in the hole in the ground as I type this and I'm hoping the pipes thaw without bursting.

So while I'm waiting for this...

ah... hot and cold running water...

I thought I'd go through the shadowy archives and show you some of these...

the 6 year old at 2

the first ride without training wheels

long autumn shadows in the woods

perfect for building fairy houses

magic everywhere

My knowledge of contemporary photographers drops precipitously somewhere in the early 90s. That said, this last photograph reminds me of Tina Barney in the way that the moment caught on camera suggests a narrative filled with drama.

afternoon light

Yay! Yay! Yay! While I was editing this post, the pipes thawed without bursting and water flowed! Thank you gods and goddesses of plumbing! Now if I can just get the tub drain and the washing machine to unfreeze so that the water from the girls' bath Monday will flow out and I can take a shower, and so that I can do some laundry... Well, let's not get greedy here! Instead, let's take the camera and go for a walk!


Shadows and light.



Peace.

Shadows

I am always inspired by the photographs at m.heart's blog, secret notebooks, so I am going to try to join her in posting shadow pictures this week. I think the best thing that can happen already has: I was outside knee-deep in snow this morning with my little point-and-shoot, trying to make a good shot. A neighbor who lives down the street, to whom I have rarely spoken, though I have now lived in this house eight years as of 1 March (not because we're unfriendly, just because I only see her in her car as she passes my house), pulled up behind me, rolled down her window and said, "A lovely day for taking photographs!" And it was.

the broom bush today

This delicate plant was a gift from a friend. We transplanted it from her house, but apparently chose a bad spot. In addition to the snow that piles on it in a storm, the snow from the roof falls right on it.

the broom bush last Spring

the shadow of my fence

another view

That's some pipe from my old boiler that I hope to add to the fence in the Spring. There are three sections like the one above that have various treasures worked into them.

the requisite icicles and shadows photograph

a goofy shadow picture

The 6 year old graciously posed with me one day last Spring on our way to the school bus. I'm wearing a sun hat and billowy clothes--I swear!--I don't actually look like a giant panda.





Peace.

Feed the birds

Our friend Jacy is putting some old bread and clementine slices on the tree.
(while I wait in the cozy house!)

Of course, it snowed again after she did this, but hopefully the birds will still be able to find their treats...





Peace.

More Clean Up

I finally took the tree down yesterday.
Look at all that lovely empty space!

We like to keep our tree in the yard,
Standing in the snow until Spring.
We sprinkle it with snacks for the birds.

Peace.

Happy Winter Solstice

Even though it turned out to be a beautiful starlit snowy evening, the bonfire at the wildlife sanctuary was canceled tonight. So we made our own fire and our own fun.

fa la la la la

la

la la la


Looking For Winter from December 2006

Watching the sparks

A photograph from the local paper.

peace on earth

Unbound Confine

I have been hiding from myself.
In the sunshine of Spring I am here.
Unbound Confine.