Moss skull-and-crossbones by Ladybird at the Instructables. I came across a step-by-step guide to creating moss graffiti at the Instructables that is different than the other two methods I’ve seen before: painting a moss slurry onto a hard surface (which I’ve tried, unsuccessfully), and removing living chunks of moss and placing them in the desired pattern. Rather, it’s […]
Woodland nursery
With the baby due in under three months, it’s time to start thinking about where it’s going to live. (Actually, we know the future location of its habitat: our former TV room, or “media centre” as Ben liked to call it, but what said room is going to look like is completely open for discussion.) […]
Making quince jam
This is a quince fruit, in case you’re not familiar with them (as I wasn’t prior to this past weekend). They are lumpy and somewhat pear-shaped, with fuzz almost like you’d find on a peach. Generally considered inedible when raw due to their sour taste, they smell divine, however – all sweet and perfume-like – […]
First snowdrop
Today, a milestone – the first snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) of the year! It seems early, but I don’t seem to have recorded its first appearance before. (Note to myself in 2009: I actually noticed the first bloom about a week ago, but it was only this weekend that I had enough light to photograph by, […]
Book review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Subtitled “A Year of Food Life,” it’s a personal account of back-to-the-land living crossed with an inquiry into the (big) business of food. It’s not a new book (it came out last spring), nor is it a new concept. But whether Kingsolver’s arguments for eating […]
PS: Comments are enabled!
My tech guru Brandon added a comment verifier for me so comments are once again enabled. Please email me if you have any problems commenting. (Thanks, Brandon!)
Rephorm design
Berlin-based Michael Hilgers is a busy fellow. An architect by training, he is also a skilled joiner who enjoys designing retail products. He had designed and independently produced the stackable polyethylene dialounge pair chair (above) and was touring it around at product fairs, where he discovered a dearth of outdoor design products – especially for […]
New year’s resolutions 2008
Happy 2008, friends, and brightest wishes for the new year. Every year, I make resolutions for the garden – and for myself as a gardener. Sometimes, like last year, they’re pretty straightforward (1. finish design for backyard. 2. Implement). Or, like my 2006 resolutions, pretty lofty (i.e. doomed to fail). This year, I’m going easy on […]