Choice Morsels

I've often spoken about having drainage issues around my house that I'm working on here and there, but you may not be able to picture actually what I'm talking about.  Below in one such example: This is a picture of my Hosta bed on the northeast side of my house, adjacent to the garage after an ordinary, fairly heavy over-night thunder storm: The water pooled largely because the ground on the outside of the bed is low and, during a down-pour, water also spills over from the corner rain gutter above. (It does disappear overnight generally!) Because my property is lower then the property on either side of me, it often takes some imaginative engineering to over come such issues. Next: The "After" photo: I created a pea-gravel filled drainage channel bordered by brick pavers, then raised the soil level on the other side of the pavers. It actually rained after I first finished putting this in and there was no pooling after a moderate ...

Today was nice out, so I devoted much of the day to spring clean-up in the back yard: mowing up leaves, edging beds & laying in some pine bark mulch. (Often just along outer edges of larger beds that remain largely mulched with pine needles.) Today's Good Eating topic is a spice profile: Dill Weed. Probably because I've sprouted some seeds that are nearly ready for moving into the garden! This feathery savory herb gets it's name form the Norwegian word "dilla" meaning "to soothe."  (As medicinal herb it has been used to soothe digestive troubles.) In the herb garden, it's also a fav food for Swallowtail larva! Health Benefits of Dill Weed include:     * Being an antioxidant with  dietary fiber, that can help control blood cholesterol levels. * Being rich in folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin-A, vitamin B-carotene & vitamin-C.  ( Use Dill fresh for the most vitamin-C benefit.) * Being a good sourc...

The Mama Kat topic for today is "Pinterest Inspired!" So here are some Pinterest inspired ideas for the yard & garden that I'm giving a whirl: Adding copper pennies to my bird bath to keep algae out. The copper has a chemical interaction against the algae, so pennies must be dated 1982 or earlier for adequate copper content. I dug around in my coin jar and found several pennies from the mid-70's, including one for 1975, the year I graduated! Into the bird bowl it went. (I can't say this works 100%. After awhile the algae seemed to build back up, but it was less severe.) Banana Peels For My Roses: I actually started chopping up banana peel and digging it into the ground around my various roses a couple years ago, ever since someone told me that "Roses Love Banana Peels." What I'm going to try that's new is : mixing used coffee grounds with chopped banana peel and mixing that concoction into the soil before I plan...

I have things in my garden I don't know the names of, but I like to. So, I spent this morning searching the web, trying to figure out what these flowers I have are: Let me introduce you to Summer Snowflakes! These are a member of the Snow Drop family of early spring bloomers. There is also a "Spring Snowflake" that performs better further north, according to what I read, but the "Summer Snowflake" is best for the deep south. It looks something like a giant Lilly of the Valley, with a row of 3 to 5 white bells with the little green  markings.  It's sort of an old fashioned heirloom flower obtained by passing from gardener to gardener. I've never seen it in garden catalogs. It's a bulb which I got from extensive, but abandoned garden, that was behind the flower shop where I used to work. (The lady who used to own the flower shop lived in an apartment behind the business portion and cared for the garden until she died.) She liked sharing...

Welcome to a new week in March! Today's Good Eating recipe is one from Pillsbury. I signed up for 30 days of slow-cooker recipes from them, though I have to say this one for "Pork Chops & Apples" is the only one that struck me as interesting. And it is delicious! Pillsbury recipe users always leave lots of comments on recipes, so I read through those before trying the recipe. (always a good idea with Pillsbury's stuff.) There were a few good pointers and I've included those suggested revisions in the recipe (like not cooking apples for whole 4 hours or cutting them too small!) Slow Cooker Pork Chops & Apples: Ingredients: 4 to 6 center cut, bone-in loin chops, (depends on how many come on a tray at your grocery.) Do not trim off the fat because, in a slow-cooker, that helps the meat be tender. Salt & Pepper to season chops with. 6 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon red pepper...