Wait! Don’t toss that used Christmas tree in the trash. Fresh cut, evergreen trees can be repurposed to enhance wildlife and our natural environment. Only recycle natural, untreated trees, free of flocking, fake snow, scents, and chemicals. Before donating your used tree, it is important to remove any hooks, lights, garlands, and decorations.
Reduce waste and help the environment. Choose a doable option from the following list. Then, check your local news...
Crisp, spicy, and sweet gingersnaps are the perfect cookie to enjoy along with a glass of milk or a mug of your favorite coffee. This month, my husband is on a gingersnaps kick, daily dunking his cookies in coffee. But why stop there? The spicy warmth of ginger, the holiday scent of cinnamon, and the deep, rich yet sweet infusion of molasses yields a festive flavor when added to a variety of foods.
Whether you make your own gingersnap cookies, or buy a bag, here’s a few wonderful ways to perk...
Decorating an evergreen tree with edible treats for wild birds is a fun winter project. It’s a great opportunity to watch the wild birds in your area, while they feed before you. If there’s a handsome evergreen tree begging to be decorated in your yard, you can easily start an annual tradition the whole family will enjoy.
Here are a few ways to find a tree for this cute project, if your yard lacks a majestic evergreen–
Before dipping a soup spoon in your bowl, let’s delve into the history of Brunswick Stew–long enjoyed by hunters and royalty. There are as many versions of Brunswick stew as there are stories about its origin. Brunswick County, Virginia claims to have created the stew in the 1800s during a hunting excursion. It contained squirrel and was prepared outdoors over an open fire. While the ingredients may vary from one region to another, one thing is common, a combination of meats is typically used...
Woolly Bear sounds like a cuddly, furry stuffed animal, but it’s the name of a real, live insect–a fuzzy, banded caterpillar. This bristly caterpillar is about two inches long. It is recognized by its three distinct color bands–black, rust, and black.
It’s not venomous and doesn’t sting, but some people develop an irritating rash after touching the caterpillar’s bristles. So be careful.
In fall you may see it during the day, feeding on plants, preparing to hibernate.
Woolly Bear caterpillars...
Once the foliage on maple, oak, gingko, birch, poplar, sweetgum, sumac, hickory, and sassafras trees have finished their showy display of autumn colors, they fall to the ground. Then comes the decision–what to do with all those fallen leaves?
Leaves are beneficial to the environment in many ways. Instead of bagging up fallen leaves and sending them to a landfill, consider this.
Fallen leaves provide winter shelter and food for bumble bees, butterflies and moths, beetles, millipedes, and...
This feature showcases an award winning middle-grade book and its author. Susan Thogerson Maas won a Cascade Award for Best Middle-Grade Book for her book, Abbie's Woods: Defending the Nest. We share a book review, and an opportunity to get acquainted with its author in a Q&A.
Featured Book Review of Abbie's Woods: Defending the Nest
Middle-grade readers, teens and adults will resonate with the many facets of Abbie's Woods. The main character cherishes the beloved woods behind her house...
Scarecrows are synonymous with fall. Surrounded by an autumnal palette of colorful leaves, pumpkins, Indian corn, gourds, mums, and more, a scarecrow complements the seasonal decorations. My ideal scarecrow face is cheerful, one that brings a smile to my face. Scarecrows are fall’s signature smiley faces. So, let’s make a scarecrow to welcome guests this fall.
Scarecrow Making Event and Contest
During our homeschooling years, our family hosted a Scarecrow Making Event and Contest. It was...
Spiders, spiders everywhere you look, they’re building webs, making bold appearances. Sometimes in the most unusual and unwanted places. It’s like they’re begging me to feature them. So, I’ll share my recent sightings.
Opening the back door of my car this week, I discovered a spider web inside, extending from one side to the other, and a small spider, busy at work. Orb weavers have built a web just above our hummingbird feeder at the edge of the covered deck. Yesterday, I was about to place...
Attract wild birds to your yard with a gorgeous, yet easy to make, wildcrafted bird feeder wreath. This simple wreath is not only beautiful, but beneficial as it’s filled with all things edible for wild birds. It’ll attract and feed wild birds through the sparse months of late fall and winter.
Wild birds consume lots of berries and seeds. Late summer through early fall is the perfect time to collect stems from trees, bushes and plants yielding berries and seed pods that birds eat.
The natural...
Landscaping with rocks? It’s a no-brainer, living in Tennessee. When the shallow well was dug on our property, a huge boulder was struck sixteen feet underground. The heavy-duty excavator tilted forward, raising the back of the machine slightly off the ground, (eek!) as it strained, pulling and lifting the heavy rock out of the deep hole. No surprise discovering that the massive boulder measured seven feet wide.
Landscape Feature Rock
With the heavy-duty machinery on site, we asked the...
When your dinner entrée features bursts of juicy, sweet pineapple, you’re enjoying a taste of the tropics, no matter where you call home. Here’s how to ensure meal prep starts with the freshest, sweetest pineapple possible.
Is it Ripe? Pineapples do not ripen further after picking, so it’s important to select a ripe one. To tell whether a pineapple is ripe, turn it upside down and sniff the bottom. Select one with a sweet fragrance, golden near the base, and firm, but not too hard when...
Fall Migration for hummingbirds is almost underway. Early morning hours and dusk are the best times to watch nature’s skilled fighter jets aka hummingbirds dive and dine at your feeder.
Our feeder is in a new location this year, so it only gets about two visitors at a time. Next year, I expect we’ll see more, as hummingbirds have great recall of location and return to feeder sites it previously visited.
There are ways you can help hummingbirds as they undertake the 4,000 miles trek south to...
Jade plants are low maintenance, beautiful succulents with naturally glossy, thick, rich green leaves, often forming clusters like rosettes with rosy, blush edges on long stems.
This spring, as I spruced up my parents’ backyard décor, sorting through various plant containers my mother tended before her passing, I rescued a pot of jade plants long overgrown by flowering ground cover. In its hidden, shaded spot, the long stems reaching for sunlight were...
Where boys grow as tall as cactus in character and resolve–
Protector - Book Review by Deborah S. Tukua.
Its 1870, in rugged and wild Wyoming territory. The Miller boys of Legacy Ranch grow into men in a hurry, especially when their Pa is away on a cattle drive and they're challenged with hard decisions to make and enemies to outsmart. Captivating western with action, adventure and plot twists. For ages 10 to 15.
Meet the Author, Anna Grace Miller
It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to...
In Pipestone Strong, the middle-grade historical fiction book I’m writing, a Cheyenne grandfather finds and collects wild bird feathers. After identifying the bird species, he dips the tip of a feather in ink and draws an illustration of the bird in his sketch pad.
The first bird in Grandfather’s sketch book is a Mourning Dove. Showing the drawing to his grandson, he said he found the feather on the ground under the large sunflower plants in the garden, where the mourning doves feast on...
Summer festivities are best enjoyed with an ice-cold fruity beverage. I whipped up a pitcher of this classic, chilled beverage to celebrate our wedding anniversary and Independence Day.
Do you love vintage glassware, plates, and linens? If so, you’ll love perusing the lovely vintage ware from my personal collection, I used to style each color photograph in this book.
In keeping with the style of the book photographs, I selected my favorite vintage glass pitcher. It has a cardinal bird on one...
We haven’t had a dog since our treasured girl of many years passed away.
Imagine my surprise hearing a little dog bark just off our deck. I stopped what I was doing, froze, and listened. I heard the bark again. From the sound, I knew it was close, but nothing moved. Peering in that direction, I didn’t see a dog or any other animal. But it was there. Surely my ears weren’t deceiving me. The barking stopped as I walked to the far end of the deck. Sneaky creature, shut up as I scanned the grassy...
Growing up in Florida, we often swam in murky lakes and rivers without giving it much thought. Due to the presence of tannic acid, the water was the color of black tea, our family's favorite iced beverage. Wading in the warm water each summer, you couldn't see your feet or legs as you went deeper. We splashed and played never fearing the alligators and snakes residing in those brownish waters.
On one occasion and never again, we floated down Ichetucknee Springs in rubber inner tubes, bottoms...
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