Category Nature
Something went wrong
After such a hopeful start yesterday, this morning brought grim news: All of my pretty fish are dead on the bottom of the pond. Clearly something has gone very wrong with the pond conditions. Apparently fine for plant life but inhospitable to fish—what a shame. Something new to figure out.
Another day off!
Well, not entirely off—I had to take one call and a few emails in the morning—but for the most part I was able to unplug and enjoy the day. Started out with some pottering among the roses . . . . . . then off to the garden center to see if I couldn’t finish […]
Roses!
Now that I’m a gardener of roses I get to do glamorous things like accidentally break several branches while planting and then make the best of it by putting the blossoms in a pretty vase on my dining room table and feeling joy every time I look at them.
Making the best of it
If you have to work on Mother’s Day Sunday, you might as well do it in the shade on the roof with a view of the lake ahead and a honeysuckle vine upwind.
Stolen moments in the garden
I ought to have spent the day at my desk working through my mile-long list of thing to do. But knowing that I had a cartload of new plants waiting upstairs was more than morale could bear. So I ditched the computer for a couple of hours and got one section of planters done on […]
Nursery run
I’ve been sad not to be able to do my spring gardening due to the covid shutdown restrictions and nearly 24/7 work demands. But yesterday the stars aligned long enough for Justin to snag two shopping time slots at Molbak’s during a work break that was just barely long enough for me to be able […]
I’m less enchanted by the squirrels
Adorable tiny birds are one thing. Voracious squirrels who snarf a quarter of the birdseed in one go are quite another.
Turns out I need birds in my life
How many weeks has it been since the covid shutdowns began? Feels like forever. A new mode of living that, despite the overarching gloom of illness and economic ruin, has many small charms. For example, birds. Last week, on a whim during my masked grocery run, I bought a bird feeder and some seed. I […]
The comeback artist
The last thing I did in London before leaving my keys in the flat and catching an Uber to the airport was to pull my shamrock out of the dirt it was planted in, chop off all the leaves, and hide the roots wrapped in wet cloths in my luggage. I wasn’t sure if it […]
Sunset!
The natural beauty of Iceland never ceases to amaze. The sun was setting as we left our last waterfall and began the long drive back to Reykjavík. At first it was simply pretty—a rosy glow in the sky. But then the colours deepened as the sun lowered behind the distant Westman Islands, and it became […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 