I think city girl Steph's drawing sums up our recent trip to the Amish Market -- about half-way between DC and Baltimore -- very nicely.

Defending my islands. Should this yard be plowed under? Apparently yes, says another blogger.

Over at Garden Rant, right here, someone has opined about islands in front yards, you know, those roundish areas some of us create in lawns so we can plant shrubs, grasses, and other plants. Who knew this was in such poor taste? Not I. The real question is why I am bothered by a stranger's personal opinions. Maybe posting about it here will help me stop grumbling in my head.

Marie, over at 66 Square Feet, would no doubt saute these up for dinner. I'm still doing research. But they are beautiful.

No, I don't want to get rid of this. I love my rotary phone and would use it if it still worked.

Good friend M--- says "my house needs bulbs." So we planted 120 bulbs--approx 60 on each side of the front door. Next report: March 2010.

M--- said "I hope it will be a riot of color!" Pickings were slim at the nursery when she shopped for bulbs on Nov 18. Yellow tulips, daffodils, a few red ruffly tulips, and one lone bag of white tulips (I think).

That's a lot of blue paint. I would love to walk through this house, with all its curious additions.

More fungus among us.

These nice specimens are on a tree stump next to the pond next door. The beavers got the tree a year or more ago, and then it looks like there may have been a stupid human trick with fire. Looks and feels ashy to me. I wonder if the fungi would have grown even if the stupid humans hadn't applied fire to the stump?? You just never know. It's things like this that make me so interested in climate change. What are we doing right now that we aren't aware of that might have an impact 100 years from now? How can we understand it all so we can make the right decisions in the right order in the right place? I'm not a denier or even a skeptic. I'm a confused. I heard an architecture critic say the other day that we are so fixated on car emissions when actually buildings emit more bad stuff into the atmosphere than vehicles. I guess we just do the best we can for now and hope. Or have faith. Or knit.

The zen of my knitting fixation.

I do the same stitch, knit, over and over and over. In different colors of either cotton or bamboo thread. Different lengths and widths, but all end up as a neck scarf. I've given away two (three?) but eventually I'll hand them out to all friends & family, until the fixation ends.

Sage from my herb garden.

I made this recipe. Instead of gnocchi I ended up with a kind of cheesy, creamy spinach that was very, very good. I'm sure I failed because I (a) didn't follow the instructions very closely, and (b) didn't measure the ingredients. I don't think I'm well suited, psychologically speaking, for recipes that demand much attention to detail. So rebellious of me.

The pond next door. Those grasses!

Purple cauliflower.

I planted narcissus bulbs in early summer, in a couple of big pots. Could these be baby plants from the bulbs? That doesn't seem good.

Basil seeds for next year. I miss my basil.

Rain has made me grumpy. I want to be outside doing .... anything.

All gone now. I picked these late last week.

Persimmons. I like them a little under-ripe. I wonder if I could grow a tree / shrub? around here. Inside the deer fence, I'm assuming.

Hellebores surrounded by maple leaves. And the mystery flower continues to bloom despite frost that has killed most other annuals. What IS this thing?

Bees first, then (maybe) chickens.

When I saw chickens on Sunday at the farmers market, it of course renewed my interest in raising a few. For the eggs. The idea of raising chickens who will happily produce protein for my dinner table is very appealing. No need for store-bought meat and chicken and fish that has been god-knows-where and is full of god-knows-what. There are obstacles to overcome: local rules and regulations, keeping a vigilant watch over the hens while they're out of their house so the hawks, foxes, and raccoons don't get them, convincing my husband that this isn't a crazy idea.

I talked to a beekeeper and hen-raiser on Sunday. He told me one thing that has stayed with me. He said, kindly and not condescendingly, "just don't turn your chickens into pets." Even though I really do want to raise chickens for the eggs (and for a little meat when the chickens, you know, pass on) I fully acknowledge that I would turn chickens into pets in short order.

I think I'll start with bees and graduate to chickens if the bees work out. I don't think I'll have an emotional attachment to bees. Although now that I think of it I do have an emotional attachment to my worms. I'll keep on thinking about this.

Still hanging in there.

From bottom to top: Parsley, chives, fennel, and burnet (or something like that).

Chickens! I want chickens!

A post-Halloween porch in Takoma Park. Who's the guy to Bill Clinton's right?

Until I hear otherwise I'm saying that Cyradaria/SEC is right. It IS Shimon Peres. Picture lifted from here (a very odd website).

Hmmm. Maybe my FaceBook gardening habit is worse than I thought. See links below.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33626149/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/31/scamville-the-social-gaming-ecosystem-of-hell/

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1935698,00.html

But I'm hooked! I'll be careful... although one article hinted that you can be careful personally but if another "friend-gardener" isn't careful then you're at risk too. The economics of it are very interesting. Although I'm not sure I believe all the statistics in one article. For example, one said that FarmVille claims to have 60 million players. 60 million? really? I guess maybe worldwide, but still.

Picture is from a front flower bed, about a week ago. Amaranth, celosia, and 4 o' clocks (Mirabilis jalapa), also called marvel-of-Peru and beauty-of-the-night. Aren't those great names? The amaranth and celosia came up from self-sown seeds, and next year I should have lots of self-sown 4 o'clocks too. The deer don't bother with any of these plants until late in the season (now), but even now they really don't want to eat those 4 o'clock plants, which are so big and bushy but must taste horrible. Ha! to the deer! I'm going to plant tons more next year too. And nasturtiums, which they hate. And Russian sage. That's about it unfortunately. Well, butterfly bushes of course. And tickseed and eucalyptus. And rosemary and thyme. I guess it's not too bad, planting only things the deer won't eat. I walked outside tonight just after dark and a couple of small deer were about 15 feet away eating my clover. They looked up at me but then kept on eating. And I heard more across the street, and more to my left. It's kind of weird now, knowing that all night long there's a parade of them criss-crossing my gardens and yards.

First frost last night. Nasturtiums got bitten. Sad.

An email review from my friend SEC (aka cyradaria) who saw Bruce & the E St Band on Monday in DC.

Last night: Best concert of the Bruce dates I’ve seen to date. A real mix – mostly Born to Run, with some Irish foot stomping music, a smattering of the Rising, plus a lilting encore of Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher with back-up singers moved to the front as soloists. Very high energy. Everyone at their performance peak. Greatly improved sound system – really rock and roll – and a greatly improved stage. Not the simple stage but there were several wings and a mid-audience mini stage where he came out for a bit and moshed it back to stage rapidamente. Very warm, personal performance. Performed Lenny Sullivan’s favorite song -- -- Cowboy Pete – up-tempo. He also did No Surrender which isn’t often performed.

[review used w/ permission; photo used without permission but I got it from some sleazy celebrity website so I'm not too concerned--is that wrong?]

The park next door.