I miss our backyard garden – the battle with the red clay, the monster zucchinis and tomatoes, plentiful peppers, and even the dispirited cantaloupe. The last remnants of it were wiped away when the yard was re-graded a few years back. So there’s this large backyard with nothing to do. It’s a shame, having the … Read more
National Preparedness Month (FEMA) Four days before the month ended, I learned that September is National Preparedness Month. Did you know that? What are your plans? Really, any month or day is a good time to prepare for emergencies – floods, earthquakes, blizzards, tornadoes, and nasty human behavior. As we’ve seen, these things can strike suddenly … Read more
Many people are not satisfied with the look and feel of their backyards. Often our property takes a lot of work to maintain, yet we don’t get a whole lot of satisfaction from it. So it is not a surprise that many people scour the internet and books to get backyard landscape ideas. Have you … Read more
I recently called my local trash / garbage pick-up company and told them to cancel my service. They asked if I was moving or found a better rate through their competitor. I replied that I no longer generate any trash! I don’t think they believed me. The truth is, that I still generate some trash, … Read more
I first heard of Cub Cadet in the 1990’s, when visiting rich relatives who had a sprawling spread of land that was used for recreation as well as for income. The “farm” as they called it, included fishing and recreational ponds, hunting grounds, woods for hiking and camping, an apple orchard, and many plots of … Read more
Temperatures continue to yo-yo but officially, it’s Spring. As noted in my winter skin care article, despite the snow and rain, the amount of moisture in the air is reduced by the frigid temperatures. Add to that heated indoor space, our skin needs help holding on to every bit of moisture it can get. But … Read more
I debated about posting another PSA but after hearing a few encouraging words this morning, I thought why not? While the major news sources are set on keeping us aware of death tolls, I was happy to see in a local paper that the first three Marylanders to contract the coronavirus have fully recovered. Usually … Read more
As the month winds down, there’s still plenty of summer’s high humidity than usual due to an abundance of rain and 90-plus temperatures. That’s music to the tiny little ears of ticks. They are active any time the weather is above freezing, but are really busy between April and September. Tick 101 When You’re Really … Read more
Part of our Backyard Farming / Urban Homesteading operation consists of growing dandelions and harvesting them to make roasted dandelion coffee. The roasted roots can be ground after roasting and put into jars or tea bags and sold online or at Farmers Markets. It doesn’t taste like coffee, but it is very good. Recipe for … Read more
Dandelion Tops cut and ready to be battered and fried Eat dandelions? Yes, and the nice thing is that 100% of the dandelion is edible! Historically, Europeans brought dandelions to America as a food crop but now it is considered to be one of the most annoying weeds plaguing the suburban lawn. Go figure. Being … Read more