Happy un-Earth Day
Earth Day! It’s been. It’s gone. Did you celebrate? How did you celebrate? LOML and I were prepared for a day of picking up litter on our road along with the safe disposal of hazardous waste and, maybe, a bit of yard-tidying. We loaded the hatch of the Rolls-Can-Hardly with our modest collection of hazardous […]
Whimsy in the garden
Has the joy of gardening really returned? Is it possible after such a long drought that homeowners really want to garden just because they enjoy it? Thankfully, all signs point to ‘yes’. I’ve been back and forth across the country over the last two months, speaking at home shows and gardening events. In every city, […]
All Y’all
Where did all the pronouns go? I know you might be thinking, “Don’t go there, Theresa”. But I’m not talking about the pronouns we use to describe ourselves, I’ll get to that. I’m talking about the pronouns that have disappeared from our commentary/conversation. Sometimes it sounds as if we just don’t have the time to […]
Luxury backyard kitchens
Outdoor kitchens continue to be a backyard luxury that more homeowners are making a reality in their spaces. With more appliances being built to withstand our Canadian environments, any options that you have inside are now available outdoors too—plus a few extras. Smokers and barbecues have become a focal point for the outdoor kitchen, but […]
WTF, WTH and Geez
Let’s start this column, again. I’m having a moment. Perhaps it’s a senior’s moment. Well, let the seasons change. March Break 2023 is in the books. March Break is something LOML and I don’t miss. March Break, it meant I had to book my time-off moments after the previous March Break ended to ensure that […]
Put it on the table
“So, Theresa, tell us how it is you managed to have a profit this year.” “Well, that’s a really interesting question. Let me see. Oh! Oh! I got it. Like diets, the more you bring in and the less you put out equals a gain.” Who knew I could be so profitable? I can turn […]
Are meadows a good thing?
I have an interesting question for you; Do wildflower gardens help pollinators? Now the easy answer is yes, of course all of those happy blooms feed many of our at-risk pollinators, including several species of bees and butterflies. I have even removed my lawn in favour of a meadow to help reduce the ‘grass-monoculture’ in […]
What we build, and don’t build
I usually like to explore around the edges of County problems, but I feel it’s time to be uncharacteristically blunt. I’m not liking where we’re going. It’s like when you leave Quinte Mall, and can’t remember where you parked. So you roam around to try to find the memory of where you were when you […]
Choose your own adventure
On this last Sunday of February, I can’t help but think about the coming of warmer weather. And, with warmer weather approaching, I start to ponder all of the outdoor projects on my list. Projects like moving the raised garden I foolishly put too close to the crabapple tree. (The squirrels used the tree as […]
Who’s my ginger peachy
Valentine’s Day! I hope you celebrated in some way, shape or form. It’s one of my favourite days of the year, right after Boxing Day and the day after Valentine’s Day. When I was a youngster, in elementary school, Valentine’s Day was celebrated in the classroom with a decorated cardboard “mailbox” on the teacher’s desk […]