A Daily Life

It’s not a big secret that I’m plus size and have been for years and years.  I exercise regularly, watch my diet, and am generally in good health.  I can’t seem to lose weight, but I can be healthy. Years ago, a co-worker was struggling with her weight.  She made a memorable comment to me one […]

As I’ve mentioned before, I love reading.  It entertains me, relaxes me, makes me knowledgeable and helps me to live a better life.  Within each book, even the mysteries I love so much, there are gems of wisdom to discover.  A few books though are truly spectacular, including Nina Sankovitch’s memoir, “Tolstoy and The Purple Chair“. After […]

For the last few weeks, our weather has been blah.  It’s been overcast, ranging from drizzling to steady rainy most days. I’m sure it’s a contributing factor to my blah mood, along with all the hours at work.  I’ve taken some walks during lunch, risking getting wet, but finally I had to start working out in […]

The local botanical gardens has this lovely stone sculpture in one of the gardens.  I love its grace, affection, and permanency; it reminds me of my favorite boy toy and myself. Word for tomorrow – SHOOT.  If you prefer to work ahead, see the list for the week under “A Word A Day”.

Fall is definitely on its way.  One of the attributes of fall is the various scents, from fallen leaves to baked apples to cooked pumpkin.  Or in the case of my garden, winter squash.  I started harvesting them several weeks ago.  They need to cure for 7 to 10 days before cooking, and tonight was the […]

I did a lot of work in the garden this preceding weekend.  Of my six pepper plants, four had almost no peppers and no new blossoms, so I pulled them out.  I also trimmed back a bunch of tomato branches that likewise had few blossoms and no tomatoes. A few weeks back, I started rubbing […]

Mother Teresa once said: Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier. That is a wonderful philosophy to have in life. I find from my own personal experience, that it is possible to spread happiness to others through a smile, a kind word, lighthearted chit-chat, and random acts […]

© 2011 dogear6 llc Whenever the question is asked what I do with the parsley that I grow, my answer is that I grow butterflies!  Every year since I’ve had my herb garden containers on the deck, I’ve had butterfly eggs grow into caterpillars which then went into the chrysalis.  Eventually it splits and a black swallowtail […]

In addition to my mint dying after being invaded by ants, the squash bugs have shown up.  These are not the squash vine borers, which attack the vines at the base and rot them out.  The vine borers are why I no longer grow summer squash.  The winter sqush vines are resistant and don’t need chemicals […]

Shortly before going to Atlanta, my spearmint was dying in the center of the pot.  I found it odd that the heat would affect it like that, as in past summers the heat never fazed it.  While I was gone, my favorite boy toy moved the herbs to stain the deck and discovered that the […]

I will get to todays word in just a minute. I’m having a great time in Atlanta.  Not only am I seeing my daughter at night after work (for both of us), but yesterday I met her for lunch as well.  We went to a burger joint near her employer and since I picked her […]

In past years, I kept the basil cut way back to encourage it to keep growing.  This year though, I let is just grow and grow so that it would bring bees into the garden.  It’s gotten super big!  It’s probably about four feet tall, and so heavy it’s bent way over, nearly touching nearly the […]

I’m always a little frustrated at this phase of summer.  In a few short weeks, my winter squash has gone from lush and productive to looking straggly.  Now the race is on to keep the vines alive long enough that the squash will ripen. It happens this way every summer.  One day it’s all looking […]

Sometimes it’s hard wrapping my head around a new project, especially something I haven’t done before.  There are different ways to start, one of the best being watching someone else do it first.  Someone explaining how to start is nearly as good.  One great thing about maturity is that it gets easier to start new projects […]

When you’re a beagle, what’s the easiest way to get from one side of the yard to the other?  You go through the garden.  Not around, not avoiding the squash vines, but right on through. I don’t think he’s causing any damage – at least no more than the heat is – but each time […]

Like many other parts of the country, central Virginia has had lethally hot weather lately.  Friday, the heat index was 117 degrees before noon.  On Saturday, the actual temperature was one degree short of breaking a record.  The humidity is terrible also – visibility is hazy and the pollution count is high. I give thanks for […]

I was out in the garden last night to take some pictures and realized – gasp! – there were enough beans to start picking!  I didn’t think anything would be ready for a few more weeks, so it was a very pleasant surprise. Word for tomorrow – STUNT.  If you prefer to work ahead, see […]

When we moved to Virginia in early 2008, we planned on staying for a while.  I hadn’t had a garden for years due to my hours and our moving so frequently.  The 2008 garden was a total failure – we threw seeds into the empty flower beds and hoped for the best.  We did learn […]

Hovering and flying over the flowers at this time of the year are the bees.  While I’d mentioned earlier that I only saw one bee regularly on the salvia, my favorite boy toy said he’s seen quite a lot of bees during the day.  There must be – my squash plants, while not very big, have a lot […]

Yes, yes, I used that one!!  And I use it every time I go to Starbucks and get an iced tea – “I would like a black, unsweetened, venti iced tea.  Shaken, not stirred.”  They laugh at me, but the truth is that they actually make their tea by shaking it in a martini shaker.  And […]