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Stone Mountain State Park
Friday we probably set record time packing for a family camping trip. Once you have been on several trips and are resigned to the fact that your car is indeed too small for much more than a few creature comforts, packing for tent camping becomes simple. That morning I ran to Walmart for hot dogs and other camp food, table cloth clips, and I.C.E. whistles (because I’m a sucker like that). Joe came home around 12:20 pm, and by then…
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Forest Ridge Park
It’s not often we get to see the fruits of Joe’s labor, but yesterday the boys got to participate in a ribbon cutting of one of his projects. Two winters ago, he took us out to hike in the snow at the future site of Forest Ridge Park at Falls Lake. Saturday morning, Joe nonchalantly mentioned wanting to go out to the park opening, and he gave us no indication that this was a thing, that they would announce the engineers,…
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DIY Plastic Bin Worm Farm
Today’s project is making a worm bin or worm farm from the old city recycling bin. First I want to point out how lucky we are that our city collects recycling at the curb and provides bins. Raleigh upgraded to larger recycling carts a few years ago, and we hung on to the smaller bin. I’ve use it around the garden to toss in weeds, and the drain holes ensure that it doesn’t get stinky after a rainfall. This morning…
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Resolutions for 2017 – Habitat for Birds
One of my favorite winter pastimes is backyard bird watching. We typically keep a steady supply of seed in the feeders, and occasionally put out a block of suet. Last week my youngest son and I made a fresh batch of peanut butter pine cone feeders, which the chickadees especially love. While I love putting out food for the birds, it doesn’t make me as giddy as seeing a bird land in a newly planted tree for the first time.…
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Resolutions for 2017 – Native Plants
This year I’m trying something a little different for making a New Year’s resolution. I don’t want to have just one semi-ambiguous goal of bettering myself. I want to have a set of attainable, clearly defined goals to better the world around me. These should be a mix of fun, challenging, and maybe even uncomfortable goals. The first goal involves native plants. “Biologists and other scientists consider invasion by exotic plants to be one of the most serious problems facing…
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Fall Garden Inspiration
Frost hasn’t hit us yet, so we are enjoying some of the final blooms of the season. Yesterday I was at Lowes, where all fruiting, flowering and shade trees were on sale. I suppose they are past their visual prime, but it is the perfect time here to plant them. We’ve been building a shed in the back yard, and the site selection required that we move a blue cedar, camellia and redbud (well, cut down and left for dead).…
