-
Dutch Iris
My favorite flowers are Dutch Irises and now Dwarf Irises. I’ve always loved the deeply colored ones, and every year am adding a couple more to the shady front yard. Last spring I tried a mix of yellow, white and purple Dwarf Irises, which grew tall behind my rosemary and lavender. I’ve moved half of them to a sunnier location…
-
More and more flowers
Flowers are quickly taking over my kitchen garden. I suppose that is okay. Many of them are spring blooming and will have died back before the summer growing season gets under way. This has now been planted out front for the summer!
-
A Shrew!
I found this by the deck steps this afternoon: One of my students identified it as a Least Shrew, and based on the Smithsonian’s list of shrew species, I think it could be either the Least Shrew or the Southern Short-tailed Shrew. It is ironic that I should discover this the day after boasting of my garden’s plethora of earth…
-
Signs your soil is healthy
Last summer when we dug up a new area for the vegetable garden, I decided to quit using pesticides on my vegetables. I had never used them heavily, but as I read about the potential damage to bees and nematodes, I couldn’t see how hurting the things that pollinate the plants and the things that nourish the soil had any…
-
Holding Pattern
In my immediate circle of friends there is a lot going on – joyful, devastating and just plain difficult. And none of it is my story to tell. For once, our life seems fairly stable in a holding pattern of sorts. I dread the potential fallout from even typing such a thing. For someone who believes in Jesus and trusts…
-
Rainwater Cistern Pump Troubleshooting
Several months ago, we were bestowed a 500 gallon rainwater cistern with a submersible pump. The pump turns on when it senses pressure changes such as squeezing the hose nozzle. Several weeks back, it grew less and less responsive taking several minutes to turn on. These were the steps I went through to troubleshoot: Shake the hose Fling the hose…
