Steel City then Fallingwater

I must say that even though Will and I spent our Saturday night in Pittsburgh watching the Pirates (his team) play the Phillies (my team), I did not feel far from home or out of place. I would say the ratio of Phillies to Pirates fans was about 1 to 1.
Now, it is well known that Philadelphia sports fans have a notorious reputation, but this is hard to take when I am sitting in the stands (albeit in another team's "house") minding my own business, contently watching the game when some 20ish year old girl behind me yammers on endlessly about how obnoxious Philly fans are, etc etc etc... It just so happens that in our section there were many Phillies fans and it was all good, no beer dumping, no shouting, no instigating, just a mellow good time. I was proud. So girlfriend, give us a break, please! We are not all of the "500 level, take no prisoners" mentality, we do not all get locked up in the stadium jail nor do we damage opposing team property and trash talk constantly. We just want to watch our team play and have a good time. But don't think for a moment that we won't cheer for our team and wear our colors proudly regardless of being in your house, our fan-ship knows no boundaries. Go Phillies!!! I almost forgot to mention that Wills and I both had Pirmanti Bros. sandwiches, a Pittsburgh tradition. It's a sandwich piled high with steak, roast beef or which ever filling you choose, then loaded with french fries and cole slaw (yes, in the sandwich)... mine was pretty good I must say.

On the way home on Sunday we stopped to visit a place that I have always wanted to go... Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, Fallingwater. It was spectacular. Words simply do not do it justice, you have to experience it. It is a wonder of architectural design and nature.
I am still in awe.

Garden report

Here is a glimpse into my early spring garden. Every spring I lament over how I cannot grow my most favorite of all flowers... the tulip. I've tried and tried only to be furiously disappointed when tender shoots each spring are decimated by rabbits, moles and chipmunks. I suppose tulips are their very favorite too. Anyway, I have accepted that tulips just are not part of my landscape. Will understands my love of tulips and has often surprised me with cut bouquets from a florist and has sent fresh flower arrangements to me at work always making sure that no matter what the season, at least a few tulips are included... I'm sure the florist loves it when he is asking for tulips in August... hee hee.

Right now my white dogwood trees are blooming, white candytuft (a ground cover), mini-mini daffodils and the prize of my spring garden, the five leaf akebia... (above).It is a woody vine that's covered with segmented green leaves and blooms only a short time in the spring. (Sometimes I actually miss it blooming, it is very brief). It produces waxy little chocolaty-purple flowers that smell really sweet.
On deck for blooming early in May: Prairie Fire Crabapple tree, various aliums, peonies, Viburnum (white) and if I'm lucky my Nelly Moser clematis.

Earth Day

Below is an excerpt from ecologue.com ... it's a pretty cool website and offers easy ideas for living a "greener" life. Please visit their website if you would like more information.

Earth Day, Earth Week, Earth Month —
April is the time for remembering this big planet we call home. Around the world, people are focusing all things eco-friendly — from community and volunteering events to news specials, eco product promotions and even new green websites (like Ecologue!).
Eco-living is center stage this week, but why stop there? Make Earth Day a kick off for year-round greener living. Get started with these easy ideas:

Go Paperless
Sure, that junk mail is great fodder for a compost pile, but reducing waste is better than recycling. Take time this week to switch all your bills to paperless or e-statements. Consider canceling unwanted catalog and magazine subscriptions and sign up for a junk mail monitoring service, which removes you from mass mailing lists for small fee. Your letter carrier — and local landfill — will enjoy the lighter load.

Grill It
Cook-out season doesn’t start till after Memorial Day, but grilling is a more energy-efficient way to cook. Whether hosting a backyard party or cooking a weeknight dinner, always use real plates and silverware (or consider biodegradable plates), and shop for your ingredients from the local farmers’ market or food co-op, which will be brimming with fresh produce soon enough.

Get Crafty
Want to give a room a spring update? Consider a crafty recycling project for the kitchen, bathroom, living room or even garden. Look for ways to reuse recyclables: line garden beds with newspaper, turn old plastic bottles into a garden trellis and more. Or just refresh old furniture with a new slipcover or wood finish (try all-natural, soy-based strippers and low-VOC paints).

Shop Wisely
Looking for gifts for mom, dad, a grad or just for yourself? Bookmark shopping sites such as the The Rainforest Site, The Hunger Site, Care2 and iGive, where a portion of sales go to good causes (sometimes your choice). If you’re just in search of eco products, check out green ratings at Evo.com.

Hug a Tree
Well, not literally. Take advantage of warmer temperatures and update your landscape. Plant deciduous trees near your house. As they grow, the trees' lush leaves will shade your home from the warming sun. In winter, their bare branches let that sunlight through, which means less stress on your heating system and utility bills. Plus, more trees means cleaner air.

blooms and shrooms

Above is the current status of my orchid comeback! I noted in a previous post that I was surprised to find that it grew a new stem with buds... I was holding my breath hoping it would eventually bloom, as orchids have a tendency to "drop buds" for no apparent reason. But alas, it has pulled through and is blooming proudly! Pay no attention to the smaller orchid pot to the right with the short cut off stem, I don't want to talk about it...that one has not been as eager to regrow. Now, onto other items, it's been busy around here as you can see below, Will has been busy busy busy making garden mushrooms. Aren't they cool? We'll be selling them at Miller's lawn and garden auction on Saturday.

I'm glad I already have one, it's red with white spots...but perhaps I should have another one- maybe a green one?

Ring of Fire

On Friday night Will and I went to see Ring Of Fire, the music of Johnny Cash at the State Theatre in Easton. Johnny Cash has always been a favorite of mine and the show was great. Johnny Cash had once played at the State theatre so it was cool to be there to hear his music. I could write on and on about the man, the music but instead I've included a link for you to enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dqbv8a1Qtg

happy birthday bro!

High hopes

Today is the Philadelphia Phillies home opener! I have high hopes again this year for the Fightin' Phils but just like any other loyal Phillies fan, I am also prepared for the agony of defeat. Be it at the beginning of the season when they dig themselves a hole so deep that it would take a near miracle for them to recover and make the playoffs... or be it at the end of a long season where they are fighting just for a wild card spot. I know, I know, last year they actually won the division so the whole wild card thing was a non issue, but for anyone who witnessed the poor decisions made by management during the play offs, you understand my frustration. Regardless, I had the pleasure of attending one of the home playoff games last year and it was awesome (despite the actual outcome of the game). Anyway, a new season has begun and come what may, I will be cheering them on... it's not easy to be a Phillies fan, but I do believe! GO PHILS!

City vs. Country

Well here they are... the 2 hardest working cats in America, Spencer and Toonces. These are my 2 sweethearts catching a nap in yesterday's afternoon sun. What's funny about this picture is that these two do not usually lay around together. They lead very separate lives in the house. Spence tolerates Toonces' rambunctious behavior... you see, Spence is very dignified and proper, he obeys the rules and wouldn't be caught dead begging for anything. Now Toonces on the other hand is like a bull in a china shop. He is heavy on his feet and thinks nothing of eating anything he can find. I truly believe that Spence thinks Toonces is inferior. I think their behaviors are indicative of where they came from and how I got them. Spence is a city cat that I adopted from an urban Humane Society. When I walked in to see the cats available for adoption 10 years ago, there he was just sitting alone in his cage, calm, cool, collected- it's as if he was saying, "yes, you're going to take me, and I will allow you to". He has a cool confidence about him. Toonces was found hanging onto the back door screen at my parents' farm in the rural countryside (did I mention that this was during the remnants of an Atlantic Hurricane? Yeah, Hurricane Ivan). It was quite obvious that he had been on the streets if you will for awhile... he seemed starved and desperate for attention...nothing much has changed. Toonces is a bit nervous at times but very playful and mischievous. They are quite an interesting pair and I wouldn't change a thing.

John Adams

I used to look forward to turning on HBO Sunday nights just to watch "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Curb is over, but now I have a new reason to watch Sunday night HBO... John Adams. This is a seven part mini series chronicling the life of John Adams beginning with his involvement in the Continental Congress. I love American History, especially the Revolutionary War- but I'll be honest, I knew very little about John Adams. Not any longer! Watch out Pam- you will see a John Adams related question on my quizzes from now on... sort of in the manner that an English King, Queen or relative thereof appear on each of your quizzes. I periodically receive (and give upon request) "quizzes" from my friend Pam, who happens to work in Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress convened, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where John Adams lived during his presidency. And so it begins...

Two trips

Two trips. Yep, that's how many times i went to the plant dump with the remnants of my spring clean up. The picture above shows trip no. 1 which also included 6 huge garbage bags of leaves. The "plant dump", as I like to call it, is a place run by the township which allows its residents to deposit leaves, grass clippings, limbs, shrubs and brush. The great thing about it is that you can go day or night all year long. Whenever the mood strikes you to clip, mow, pull, prune or cut... the plant dump is always open. The township people then recycle the debris into mulch, etc. There are clearly posted signs to show you where everything goes...see below. There is also a place for grass clippings only and leaves only.

Why is there is no sign for "2 years worth of dead clematis vines/leaves that are all balled up into a huge tangled mess"...?? Where does that go, huh? I took my chances and left it with the "brush".
p.s. Thanks, Dad for the use of your truck.

Out like a lamb?

Here are my first blooms of the season. I feel I need to acknowledge them today, this second day of spring, as the threat of an inch of snow is upon us tonight. I hope they can make it. Primroses, in my experience, do pretty well through harsh weather, at least mine seem to anyway. I should also mention that I have exactly one crocus and one (and a half!) daffodils blooming too... but who's counting?

Stage one of my spring clean up outside continues. I've cleaned up most of the leaves and expired perennials and it's finally starting to look like an actual garden out there. Although I am worried now that I was a little too thorough and that I have exposed my tender plants to the elements. I took away the blanket of protection they've had all winter. It's just that this is the first spring in a few years that I do not have my store Eye Candy- needless to say with a full time job and the store on top of that, I was a little more than neglectful of my own gardens and property. All of my energy had been going into keeping my retail property (which had stone pathways, a huge gazebo and multiple flower gardens!! whew!) looking presentable. So this spring, as I mentioned in a previous post, I am a little over anxious to get things at my own house in shape!

"Nature's first green is gold"...

Happy first day of spring everyone! As you can see, I took matters into my own hands. A few weeks ago I cut some dogwood branches and brought them inside before they were blooming. Just this week the buds opened up in time to welcome spring. I cannot say it enough that I have spring fever. Every year around this time in March, I become so anxious to get outside and into my gardens... I can't stand it when the weather does not allow it- I'm like "Hurry up spring, let's go! Can't you see I have work to do"? I guess Ralph Waldo Emerson summed it up when he said "Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience". I wish I could.