It’s the first week of May and the elderberry plants are knee-high. Considering they were pruned to the ground in February, 18-24” of growth in 3 relatively chilly months is  pretty impressive. Not many other plants in the landscape grow at this rate during the sometimes inhospitable months of spring, but one that comes close is the mayapple (and also, I’ve noticed, garlic mustard).

I don’t think I had ever seen mayapples before moving to southern Ohio. True to their name, they are presently bloo…

This year we’ve been going through the liquor at an astonishing rate.

Really, it’s mostly been me. Beth being a lightweight, and having declared her first taste of gin “nasty,” has not contributed evenly. But to each their strengths. 😂

Honestly, though, I’ve not been drinking much of the alcohol we’ve run through. I mix a drink, take a sip, dump the rest. Then I alter the proportions, mix another drink, sip, dump. It’s not gone down the drain because I’m nervous about what all that alcohol, a …

In late August the elderberry bushes are nearly finished fruiting, and as the dark purple berries fade a new palette emerges across the fields: purple ironweed and goldenrod, now fully in bloom. Ironweed intrigues me perhaps because, unlike goldenrod, it is a flower I didn’t grow up with, but one I first met as an adult in southern Ohio.  It’s also a plant that starts as a humble florette of spear-shaped leaves at your feet in May. Then you turn around in August to find the flower head nodding d…

The days have gotten warm enough that the ice on the edge of the pond is melting. Hurray!

Meanwhile, the freezer reveals that our supply of last year’s peppers is almost exhausted. Booo.

How did that happen?  We’re usually eating the last of the frozen tomatoes around March, but the peppers last until May. 

This is probably what comes of someone’s insistence that we don’t need to grow so many hot peppers.  It’s easy enough to eat up those sweet peppers with spaghetti dinners and liberally adding th…

Ever visit Fort Hill Earthworks and Nature Preserve? It’s about about 30 miles straight north of our home, and we managed a visit last weekend before the snow fell. Our hike began with a long, steep climb. Unlike a lot of nature preserves Fort Hill permits dogs, and Wilbur was happy to accompany us.

Beth, who had Wilbur on the lead for the start of the hike, was just as happy Wilbur was with us as he practically pulled her up the mountain in his enthusiasm. I, 20 ft below, slogged along on my o…