New birdies!

Dear garden friends,

I'm always excited when I see a new bird around here that I've never seen before. Funny thing, we have many more birds here in town than we had "out in the country" at our previous house. We have a lot more of the domesticated types, such as the mourning doves, although we did have those, too.

Yesterday I came home and noticed that two birds were sitting on my front porch, one on the top of the window shutter and the other on the front porch light fixture. I didn't recognize them. Turns out, they are barn swallows, which apparently are a protected species in Texas. I noticed a little daub of mud in the top corner, and thought that it was a dirt dauber's nest. Nope, turns out it's the bird's nest. It's a tiny little thing, hanging off the boards.

When Husband and I came home from the store earlier, they swooped at us and tried to chase us away. I guess it's a good thing we don't get a lot of traffic on our front porch!

I don't have a photo yet, but here's a link to some great photos taken by Bobby Castlebury that shows the gorgeous colors of the birds. And here's more by photographer Greg Lasley. I'm hoping to eventually get some pics of my own to share here.

dig it!

bobbi c.

Little did I know....

...that the urban homestead I featured on my post earlier today was featured on Nightline last night! Grrrr....and I missed it.

If you missed it, too, check out the link on the ABC News website for the whole scoop, uh, article, Living the Real Simple Life. Inspiring! and all that on only 1/5 of an acre.

Dig it!

bobbi c.

What will you do with your Economic Stimulus payment?

Dear garden friends,

Since we received our "economic stimulus payment" the other day, we've pondered what to spend it on. It irks us that we have to spend some of it on things like gasoline, but the rest of it? I'm thinking about a greenhouse, or a nice set of patio furniture, or some new eco-friendly flooring for our kitchen...or perhaps some plants. Lots and lots of plants!

Happy gardening!

bobbi c.

A must watch video

A truly inspiring website....read more about the family and their urban homestead HERE.

Happy gardening!

bobbi c.

Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar Video

Dear garden friends,

I've been a fan of the publications from Taunton Press ever since they published my Fabric and Fiber Sourcebook years ago. I really miss their old Kitchen Garden magazine, but their Fine Gardening Magazine is pretty good, too. It focuses more on landscaping than KG did, but the articles are all accessible to "common folks" and useful to home gardeners. I get an e-mail newsletter from them, and this issue included a video about making an easy-to-water strawberry jar.

http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/

I've always loved the idea of strawberry jars, especially for herbs, but here in this frequently hot climate, they dry out too fast. I think this might just be the answer to that problem.

The video is on their website, take a look if you're interested in a cool idea for planting strawberry jars for your container or patio garden. And of course, you can grow strawberries in them, too! (If you want to sign up for their free newsletter, there's a link on that page, too.)

Dig it!

bobbi c.

Everybody loves recipes!

Great veggies from Angel Valley Organic Farm last summer...


Dear garden friends,

My friends Jo and John over at Angel Valley Organic Farm have included quite a number of great (and easy) recipes over on their website. When you get the chance, check 'em out. This time of year Jo and John do a great job of bringing fresh organic veggies to their farmstands in Jonestown and Austin, TX WAY before anything in my little piddly garden is ready to eat.

http://www.angelvalleyfarms.com/recipes/index.htm

Enjoy them, we really have!

dig it!

bobbi c.

Free organic gardening course on-line...

From our friends at GardenVille, a free on-line course in organic gardening. Check it out!

http://www.gardenville-university.com/

bobbi c.