Oak Insights

Click on the photos below for a gallery of larger images.

Daffodils are blooming and the garden is about ready for planting. Click on the photos below for a gallery of larger images.

This has to be one of my favorite pictures of Den.

At dawn, in the eerie light of the snow, I went out to empty the ash bucket so we could scoop some more from the wood stove. The snow went up over my boots. I measured it out in the… Read more ›

It was nose-hair freezing this morning when I went out in my long underwear and slippers to warm up the car—about six below. I stepped out onto the porch, and something in the turkey pen caught my eye. The birds… Read more ›

Wendy organized a great birthday party for Mom this year. She and Tom invited us all to their place to celebrate the Saturday before Mom’s birthday. Bob and Cheryl were visiting from out west and Stuart picked up Jeff, so… Read more ›

This summer, I resisted the urge to kill the tomato hornworms in the garden. Instead I let the braconid wasps, tiny delicate creatures, lay their eggs on the backs of the worms. I counted about six infected hornworms the day… Read more ›

Four or five volunteer tomato vines came up among the peppers. They produced lots of flavorful, long-keeping tomatoes.

I saw this fence lizard laying eggs next to the front walk in a hole she dug out. You can see the gravel she pushed out on the walk. When I returned a bit later, she had cleaned everything up… Read more ›

Many, many thanks to Charlette and Jack for inviting all of us to their home for a fabulous party. Charlette’s gardens are beautiful, full of inviting spaces and interesting objects.

… said the spider to the fly. But in this case the cicada was not as wise as the fly in Mary Howitt’s poem

That’s how long it’s been since we tied the knot. Nothing fancy. We called our folks the night before and family who could come met us May 1st to witness the event. Mary Anne was very thoughtful and took pictures… Read more ›

The bees are out in force loving all the flowering weeds in the garden. The bleeding hearts (Dicentra) are starting to bloom and the bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is about done.

For the past two mornings, it was 18°F outside when we got up.

Snow started falling yesterday in the afternoon and kept up off and on till late this morning. About six inches accumulated before warmer air undid the whiteness.

The pay off for a day of working on the gravel road in the rain came in sighting these succulent beauties emerging from their winter slumber.

Last night it rained steadily and heavily. Early this morning, I set off to get pictures of the neighborhood streams as the water level peaked. Then I spent most of the day doing maintenance on our roads to stave off… Read more ›