Today I was talking on the phone with my dear mother, and looked out the window at the bird feeder and was telling her about the gold finches that were feeding. The males look more olive than gold until spring and summer when they exchange their olive green feathers for gold. I looked up, and what did I see running across the grass in my direction but a big, beautiful and fat robin! The first of the season, and it is still so cold, we even had a little snow this morning, and more in the forecast.
I looked again, and saw another robin, then another, then realized that every bird, about a dozen or more of them, on the lawn was a robin. They were doing their very best to listen for those worms, but the ground is too cold and frozen yet to provide them with much to eat. Since it’s unusual to see so many at once, I can only think that they are migrating into the area.
Finally! A sign of Spring…and this year, since we’ve been having the coldest winter in 25 years, give or take a year, I can’t wait!
As we long for the summer sun, my son enjoys taking pictures, and took this one in our yard, a bit of color against the whites (snow!), greys and browns of winter. It’s so very cold this weekend, with some snow predicted Sunday…perhaps the longest, coldest winter we’ve experienced a long time, and it’s nice to be able to post about things that just might be more important that gardening.
As you know, aside from gardening, I spend a lot of time sharing the health benefits of many plants, but this time, I want to share the health benefits of something else, cells, little microscopic stem cells. C’elle has provided a way for woman in particular to invest in the future health of themselves, or those that they love, through their own stem cells. They have found a way to harvest these cells from the menstrual blood, and can provide you with what you need to do this in the privacy of your own home. Pricing is something that should be taken into consideration, but who can put a value on something that can benefit life-threatening diseases that you, or blood-relatives such as your parents, a brother or sister, or one of your children may face in the years to come…diseases like Parkinsons, Alzheimers, and so many others.
Visit the site and learn more, give it some thought, and consider ordering what you need to help those you love form the privacy of your home.
Last year I decided to buy some blinds for our bedroom…our old ones were a dark brown color, and I wanted to brighten the room, so purchased white vinyl blinds, only to find myself squinting when the sun rose very early in the morning…challenging for a night person like myself!
At the time, I had not been introduced to the Shade Store that offers a wide variety of shades and blinds, including wood or metal blinds that can completely block the sun.
What I found unique about this site, is the fact that they offer Eco-Solar shades that conserve energy, absorb heat in the summer, protect you in the home from harmful UV Rays, and reduce glare without obscuring your view of your gardens, or in the case of the picture above, the City. Their Eco-Solar shades are made from 100% recyclable materials, another good thing for the land that we love.
Their Solar Shades are “Green-Guard Certified”, and if you, like me, are not sure what that means, visit the link above and look in the little box in the upper left of the landing page, then click on “Green-Guard Certified” for an explanation..impressive!
The theshadestore.com is offering my readers a 15% discount, this is not available at the site, only to those who are reading this post. When you make your purchase and check out, use the code IZEA01 and save.
Being on a tropical theme today, I thought I’d look and see what videos are available for the tropical gardener, and I found quite a few! I didn’t realize that, in the right climate, Banana Plants are fairly easy to grow, and also didn’t realize that they produce fruit at only 6 feet tall! I hope you enjoy the following, there are other videos available by “Mr. Green Thumb” if you click the links that show after you view the video. Enjoy!
We have had some Spring-like weather this week, and the snow has all melted. Valentines Day is tomorrow, and for some of us, there is romance in the air. My husband and I were talking last night about this being our 31st Valentines Day, including the one that took place while we were dating.
We were married in April of 1979, so our 30th wedding anniversary is coming up. It brings back memories of that busy but wonderful day when I married him, and our travels the next day to one of the caribbean hotels on the island of St. Thomas. We chose this Island because a friend of my husbands was able to help us find a good all inclusive vacation package, although we were on a honeymoon, not a vacation. Many weddings were taking place at that time, and I would say that a majority of our friends went to the Bahamas. Wherever you go in the islands, whether the Bahamas, in Jamaica, Panama, or the Dominican Republic (a neighbor of mine is vacationing there right now!) it is beautiful this time of the year.
Since this is a gardening blog, may I say that you get an eyeful of unique tropical plants that you will not find here in the US, especially here in the Northeast where many dream of escaping the cold for warmer climates, unless of course you are “into” skiing! I have many mental pictures, and some fading photographs in an album to remind me of those beautiful days…you who are living in this age of digital cameras are so blessed with pictures that never fade!
Whether you are thinking caribbean vacations or honeymoons, breezes.com will inspire you, and the pictures are so beautiful if you’re in a cold climate.
May I wish you all a Happy Valentines Day!
Bahamas Botanic Garden in Nassau image from bahamas.com
One of my other interests besides gardening is going to auctions, especially vintage book, paper, and historical document auctions. Recently I was going through a box of items that I’d purchased about a year ago, and came across 2 relatively hard to find books written in the 1970’s about making dye from plants, and then how to use it. For those interested in this sort of thing, I do have these items up for auction, please click the titles to be taken to the auction, and following each link is a sample recipe from the book:
The whole plant, roots and all, can be used. Chop it up, put it in a pot, cover it with water, and boil it for about an hour. Unfortunately, this is a smelly one. Strain and add enough water to make up to 4 gal. Thoroughly dissolve the iron in some of the dye ooze and add it to the rest of the dye. Stir.
Meanwhile, fill another pot with about 4 gal. water. Dissolve first the cream of tarter then the alum in some boiling water and add it to the pot. Thoroughly wet the wool and add it too. Now slowly raise the temperature to the simmering point and hold it there for a short time. Transfer the wool to the hot dye ooze and simmer it there for another 45 min. Cool and rinse til the water runs clear. Without the iron, you will get a yellow.
These may appear to run high in price, but are offered at less than what I have found for these old editions elsewhere.
I am considering looking back at my posts on various blogs that I own to see how many times I’ve mentioned that it’s snowing outside. It’s snowing yet again today, this winter feels like a winter for the record books…we haven’t seen the ground for over 2 months now. I guess it’s nicer than looking at the grays and browns of winter, adds a nice brightness to everything, but this year for some reason I find myself looking forward to Spring more than usual.
With Spring comes thoughts of focusing on the outside of the home and on gardens, perhaps this is why I received free tickets to a Home & Garden show in our local area yesterday. When you are making plans for your gardens, don’t forget to think about what your house looks like from the outside. In fact, right now the outside of the home is more of a focus than the property here in the northeast as there are no blooming flowers, or green leaves to distract your attention. One thing you might consider is your window dressing. You think of curtains and blinds inside, but the outside can be dressed up a bit, too, with some beautiful exterior shutters. I noticed some pretty ones at larsonshutter.com, and liked the idea of free shipping and the sale they were offering when I visited.
In spite of what any ground hogs might have indicated yesterday, I’m all for an early Spring this year.
Last year I decided to buy some blinds for our bedroom…our old ones were a dark brown color, and I wanted to brighten the room, so purchased white vinyl blinds, only to find myself squinting when the sun rose very early in the morning…challenging for a night person like myself!
