After a thoroughly wet year in 2011, the ground finally dried out this spring. And kept drying out, and kept drying out. In May we went 15 days without rain and watering became a routine. In our situation, it is necessary to have our garden and orchard on a south-facing hillside that dries out relatively […]
Tag Archives: Michael Staddon
Meet some of my orchard friends!
The other day I was able to photograph a few of my buddies in the orchard. (All pictures taken May 7th) Do you see anything special here? Here’s a better look at our NEW RECRUITS! Adorable! A few minutes after taking the above pictures, I witnessed something else. Hurrah for Mrs Wasp! She just caught […]
Late April Snow!
We’ve had snow in April before, but it is usually just a light dusting, and early in the month. What made it especially unusual this year was the warm weather preceding it, which had caused many plants to leaf out and bloom early. This situation enabled us to take pictures of the snow with things […]
Rosemary Update
Its has already been four years since I first wrote about growing rosemary outdoors up here in the mountains! I still do not know if anyone else grows rosemary outdoors year-round in north-central West Virginia. But the Creator has given us a treasure in the Rosemary plant with many hygienic, culinary and medicinal uses. Can […]
US Supreme Court Upholds Freedom of Religion
9-0 the US Supreme Court rules that the federal government (including agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has no business interfering with a religious institution’s decisions on what ministers to hire and fire. It would simply be unconstitutional. The Court’s Ruling “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the […]
Santorum Surging!
I had decided to vote for Rick Santorum in the Republican primaries. I didn’t care that he didn’t seem to have as much support as the others at first. The primaries are not a time to vote for the one you think everyone will vote for, but a time for Americans to show their honest […]
Horrah for Hardy Kiwi! 2011 Report
Experimenting with hardy kiwi in the mountains of north central West Virginia has been an interesting experience. Also called “kiwi berries”, Actinidia arguta is a species of kiwifruit that grows a smaller, smooth skinned version of the big fuzzy ones we are familiar with in the grocery stores. As its name implies, it is much […]
Remember Spring
Most of you know that I enjoy the fall season. It is the middle of autumn now and we have experienced the joys of reaping what was sown, and drying, canning, pickling… and being pickled (in our own sweat!) 🙂 And of coarse we are looking forward to Thanksgiving, when “the frost is on the […]
“My Joy Therefore is Fulfilled”
“He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled" (John the Baptist, speaking of Jesus in John 3:29). One of the foremost characteristics of Robert and Kendalyn’s wedding was joy. It was […]
Turkey Hunt!
This was no normal turkey hunt. In fact, there is no such thing as a normal turkey hunt around here, because none of us had ever turkey hunted before! However, a friend from church happens to be a real pro, and out of his overflowing generosity he asked if any of us would be interested […]