Gardening and Observing Life in SW Washington

Posted by: BriarCraft, 5:30 AM GMT on May 11, 2013 +1
Yardening? No, it's not a typo. It's what many of us do around home -- yard work and gardening -- yardening.

It becomes extreme for many reasons. Depending on where you live, a heat wave, late/early frost, flooding, drought, insect invasion, plant diseases, and/or weed seeds floating over from your neighbor's unkempt yard all can lead to extreme yardening efforts. Or in my case, extreme measures are necessary because my yarden was conquered by weeds last year while I was recovering from hip replacement surgery. Now, I've got my work (and fun, too, I admit) cut out for me.

Whether or not you're a yardener, you can sit back and enjoy watching someone else work. After all, that is one of the favorite pastimes around WUville. Or you could show-and-tell about your own extreme yardening. The rest of us will be happy to watch you work, too. Kibbitzing and armchair supervision is welcome, and maybe even needed.



Updated: 5:33 AM GMT on May 11, 2013   Permalink | A A A
Posted by: BriarCraft, 10:38 PM GMT on April 08, 2013 +2
April 8, 2013:
To Spring or Not to Spring
That is the question.

March gave us less than half the normal amount of rain and a couple of degrees warmer than average. So, on March 31, I rototilled the garden. Of course, it's way too early for warm-weather crops, but I was anticipating some early lettuce and cabbage. Ah, well...

A bit of rain arrived on April 4. That was fine. Give the stiff and sore muscles a chance to recover befor...
Updated: 8:47 PM GMT on May 02, 2013   Permalink | A A A
Posted by: BriarCraft, 1:09 AM GMT on March 21, 2013 +4


The first thing that draws the eye when approaching the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum is the Boeing 747 airliner sitting atop the Wings and Waves waterpark adjacent to the museum. And yes, that is a real plane, not some scale model. The museum itself is housed in two huge buildings, one containing propeller-driven airplanes and the other housing jets, rockets, drones, and spacecraft. Good thing I wore comfortable walking shoes!

The mo...
Updated: 7:44 PM GMT on March 27, 2013   Permalink | A A A
Posted by: BriarCraft, 7:12 PM GMT on February 20, 2013 +7


The robins returned en masse on February 18, a gray day. The sun came out on the 19th, as did my camera. According to the map below, found on All About Birds, robins are year-round residents here. But they're not. They appear in February or March, court, mate, build nests, and make babies. By July, 80% of them are gone. A few remain until September or October and then they are gone, too. I don't know where our local robins winter. Perhaps somepla...
Updated: 9:07 PM GMT on March 07, 2013   Permalink | A A A
Posted by: BriarCraft, 11:49 PM GMT on January 23, 2013 +4
Sometimes we get so focused on what's new that we forget the old. It's old, after all. What good can it be? There's something better now to replace it. Right?

Our ancestors often had to make do. They were resourceful, making the most of what they had. A lot of the things they did aren't really practical for us to do today. Who among us wants to make our own leather or make our own soap? No way. On the other hand, we aren't the only ones to want s...
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