Living and gardening in an older Hudson Valley home
The Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi, beauty in imperfection, is an appropriate design parameter for the woodland garden. Using tree branches and tree trunks is a great way to build rustic features. Over President’s Day weekend, Andrew and I built a bridge and an arbor using a combination of wood from Home Depot and wood gathered […]
Last weekend, Andrew and I entertained former Newburgh neighbors for dinner. They were among the first people we met when we moved to the neighborhood and we have stayed in contact with them – they just moved a mile away. We had a lovely evening discussing the neighborhood, both the Town and the City of […]
Designing and building woodland paths is a fun and rewarding experience. No matter how arduous the preparatory work to make the paths, upon completion the feeling is one of amazement and satisfaction. The woodland paths in my garden are designed to make all parts of the garden visually accessible. Additionally, they are necessary for transporting […]
Even in winter progress has been made on the woodland garden. We have had some slightly warmer and sunnier days this week. I hired a local landscaper, Lynn Warren, to help me with the removal of all the debris I generated over the summer and fall in the woodland garden. I had large piles of […]
Last year, while I was working in Brazil, I had a landscaping company mow my lawn. It was a wonderful thing to come home and see this neatly mowed and trimmed lawn. However, the $200 charge for each visit wasn’t exactly cheap. Between mowing the lawn and cleaning up the leaves, I spent a lot […]
When I lived in Denver, Colorado I had many wonderful neighbors. I didn’t give it much thought when I moved to Newburgh, but I hoped I would have good neighbors. Without a doubt I can say my neighbors are incredible. – even better than I could have imagined. We enjoy our neighbors. They are intelligent, […]
Living in the northeast one must be prepared to appreciate all seasons. It is only the beginning of December, so winter is not officially here yet, however our first real snow has blanketed the ground with a layer of snow and ice. It surely looks more like winter than any other season. Snow allows your […]
Nature produces beautiful objects. Andrew and I enjoy making things from objects we find in and around the yard. Crafting things has been something I have done since I was a little boy. Autumn is a particularly good time to make crafts. Seed pods, acorns, dried flowers and pine cones all make wonderful useful holiday […]
Raking leaves doesn’t have to be boring. While looking at the bright crimson leaves from the maple tree, I hit upon an idea. Most of the leaves in my yard, after they have fallen, are a shade of yellow. The featured image photo shows my neighbor’s maple with a bright red circle on the ground. […]
It seemed to happen over night! First the leaves began to change and then they started to drift off the trees. After some rainy weather over the past few days and a windy night, the leaves dropped like an avalanche. The catalpa and sycamore leaves are huge and have fallen at a significant rate. No […]
