being not doing

The lavender bush, blooming in autumn.
The lavender bush, newly planted in spring.
This weekend we engaged in a superhuman final push to get the yard cleaned up for the winter. ‘Cleaned up’ is, of course, a relative term. We did not, as I’d hoped, prepare any beds for the transfer of rose bushes in […]

Dragonflies mating on our porch post.
I went outside this afternoon to enjoy the unseasonably warm day, and after my mole eyes adjusted to the sun, I noticed a pair of dragonflies mating on our porch. These dragonflies have been around the yard for a while now, and I also see them in the town […]

About half the tomatoes we received from the folks we know in Frederick.
This summer we expected to have three sources of tomatoes: our farm share; our own plants; and my partner’s boss, who brings surplus vegetables from his home garden into the office. As expected, we did receive quite a few from the farm […]

Praying mantis on the front porch one evening last week.
Praying mantis on the back wall this afternoon.
Praying mantis on the front window this time last year.
I was delighted to catch sight of mantises of two different colors in our yard this year, although probably both of a single species. The brown color and the […]

Male Polyphemus Moth in our backyard.
This has been a great summer for sighting large insects in our backyard! I can’t take too much credit, as they’re attracted to food sources already present that I simply leave alone. The cicada killers love our yard, possibly more so than other sandy-soiled backyards in our town […]

View of the falls from the Maid of the Mist plaza.
We’re back from our Midwest driving tour, having celebrated with both families and made brief stop at Niagara Falls in between parties. We also appear to have recovered from the head cold we contracted in Niagara and passed between us for a couple of […]

One of our homemade ‘earth boxes.’
I’ve never really been a master of DIY projects. There are plenty of things I do for myself or the house, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I tend to learn to do the things I want to learn to do and leave the things I don’t […]

Blooming row of yellow daylilies at the top of the front bed.
We returned from our trip this week to the sight of our yellow daylilies in full riotous bloom. They had started to bloom before we left, but the five days of rain and sun did them good and they are magnificent now. […]

The lavender bursting out in new growth.
My garden notes these days are trending more toward the ‘to be undertaken when I have more time, money and energy’ and away from ‘done done done!’ Happily, growth continues without me: the lavender has taken to its new home and is sending out all kinds of shoots, […]

Bloom from the peony that came with the house.
The peony bush in question.
My goal for this week has been to conclusively identify the peony that came with our house. It hasn’t been as easy as I’d hoped. Part of the problem is that I lack knowledge of the correct flower-describing terminology, which makes […]