Little Birdbath Garden

This little birdbath garden has been a real battle to get going this summer. I think now it finally is starting to look like what I had envisioned when I dug it out in the fall. I bought some black-eyed susans and blue asters. Both are perrienials, so hopefully they will return and spread making this a fun oasis for the birds and squirrels.

Marigold Seeds

I've decided to dry out and save some marigold seeds for next year.

Triops

We have a pet Triops that lives in our kitchen. He is cute, has three eyes, and looks sort of like a horseshoe crab. He is sort of elusive and small, so it was difficult to photograph him. We had two Triops, but one died and then this guy ate his dead body. Gross, right? But, that is what they do. Jason didn't name our pets because they only live for 90 days or so, but I have ended up calling this guy, "Triops Friend," as in, "Have you fed the Triops Friend today?"
Click on the title above for Triops facts and information. You may want a cannibalistic little pet of your own one day!

Refreshing Pool

Earlier this summer, I painted our kitchen, put up new blinds and made curtains for the dining area.

Garden

I kept the garden low key this summer. The mint, strawberries, shasta daisies and rosemary all came back. I added morning glories, pumpkins, bird house squash, and marigolds. Jason put up a squirrel feeder and we've been having fun watching the squirrels try to figure it out.

A Trip to Fort McHenry

I went to Fort McHenry yesterday with my friend Clare and her friend Camila from Brazil. The weather was beautiful and we went on the full tour (which was complimentary yesterday to our happy surprise). There were reenactors playing the drums, cool sculptures, canons, mannequins, the sea wall walkway, tugboats, neat patterns and more. Then we went to a great pub in Locust Point and had delicious blueberry cobbler! A fun, summer day! Thanks Clare!

Plantable Paper Pulp

I recently taught one of my classes how to make paper. We blended old telephone book pages with old construction paper and then added grass seeds to one batch of pulp and wild flower seeds to another. My students made "Happy Spring" cards for Earth Day to give to a family member or friend. Then I decided to save the pulp to make some paper later on at home. I drained the water out using a colander and squeezed and squeezed the pulp. I brought it home and let it dry on the patio in the sunshine. It didn't dry out by nightfall, so I brought it inside into the basement. Then I didn't go back down for a week, thinking "its drying down there and I can put it in tupperware later on." When I finally went back down, it was growing! Much to my surprise.....I've just been letting it grow now and might plant it soon.

Easter Sunday at the Druid Hill Conservatory

Ah, the heater on a cold day....

Eli finds the warmest places in the house, sometimes going from vent to vent to see which one is the best nap location.

Gulls having breakfast on President's Day!

Pigeons, cardinals, morning doves, sparrows, woodpeckers, crackles, finches, squirrels and the occasional crow are the norm at our bird feeder, but last night I put out some stale cookies and bread and the seagulls visited today!

Tea Towel Article

My Etsy shop is featured on Etsy's blog, the Storque, today. I'm very excited to be included in this fun article on tea towels.

Drawing Class

I've been taking a drawing class at Towson High School for teachers. I had fun drawing with charcoal....it has been awhile.

Valentines

On Ice/New Shelf

William Penn's Hat

My school sent me to Philadelphia to an AP workshop this weekend and I was very excited that from my hotel room (on the 24th floor) I had a view of both William Penn's statue on top of Philadelphia's City Hall and the PSFS building!

One of my favorite classes in college was an architecture history class where I learned so many interesting facts about architecture throughout the world and those facts have stayed with me. In particular, I remembered that at one time architects didn't build their buildings taller than the top of William Penn's hat and that the PSFS building was the first skyscraper built in the International style in the U.S. It is like a file cabinet for businessmen, modern and organized with lovely red neon letter lights.

While I was enjoying all of the modern sights of Philadelphia, I was also enjoying the historic, classic sights too. I was quite taken with the inside of an elevator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Perelman Building.