nesting know-how

Since we've been having such great bird activity here, I thought I'd treat our visitors to a spring treat: nesting materials. The great thing about a project like this is that it takes next to no time, plus it's free. Just gather a few spare household and garden items and secure them outside for your feathered friends to discover (read more details here). Our neighborhood birds have their choice of cotton yarn and some dried-up strawflowers from last year's containers -- I cut both into 4- to 8-inch pieces. Then, I piled it all in a clean wire suet feeder and hung it on the balcony. So easy.

Come and get it, birdies!

spring fever, part 2

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to announce our newest development: Five days after being planted, the tomatoes and tomatillos have sprouted! Can you believe they grew this much overnight? I checked at about 11:30 p.m. and nobody was poking out of the soil yet.

spring fever, part 1

This morning, I woke up and immediately I knew: It was time to defy my winter blahs and do something springy. Today I would plant my tomato and pepper seeds for our container garden. Ian and I had already saved seeds from a bell pepper and a hot chili we cooked with, so I ran out to Stein's (a local garden center chain) and bought container-friendly tomato seeds, plus some tomatillo ones (right...not official tomatoes, but something that's easy to start from seed that we want to make room for on the balcony). Here's how I did it.

These are the supplies I used...pretty self-explanatory except maybe the aluminum sheet cake pan (with a cover) and the circular brown things. Those are cut-up toilet paper tubes that I've been saving for this very purpose. Though peppers and tomatoes transplant pretty well, one can always use an extra safeguard. When the seedlings are ready to be moved into larger containers, I can just plop each tube in the soil without disturbing the root system, and the cardboard will decompose over time. 

First, I spread a thin layer of soil in the tin.

Then, I nestled the TP tubes in the soil and arranged them in six rows -- one for each variety: Containers Choice Red tomatoes, Oregon Spring tomatoes, tomatillos, bell peppers, poblano peppers, and chili peppers.

Next, I filled the tubes with soil using the cute little hand trowel Ian bought me for my birthday.

These are the bell pepper seeds we so lovingly cleaned and dried. My dad taught me this trick. I loved that we could taste what we'd be growing -- no guesswork required.

The seeds need to be 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep, so I just sprinkled a few into each tube, poked them in a tiny bit, and added a thin layer of soil from the tin.

Last step: watering. A slow, steady stream into each tube does the trick. I'll check them daily to be sure the moisture level is good. The soil should be damp, but not soaked.

I covered the tin to keep the moisture in and to reduce the draft. There's a hole on one edge of the cover, so the air should circulate sufficiently. I'll keep an eye on this, too. The tin is in the sunniest window, right next to Sprout. Some of the seeds may germinate in just three days, according to their packets. I'll update you soon!

Have you ever started seeds? What were your tricks? 

merry christmas from the badger state

This birthday being his 30th, Ian and I decided to make a weekend of it. We drove to Madison on Friday the 3rd, right before the day-long snow started, and checked into the Best Western on Capitol Square (our room overlooked it -- see the photo below). The weekend was lovely and included fantastic food, some craft beer, and a bit of sightseeing. I hadn't been inside the Capitol for about 20 years, so we popped in to look around and found that it was already decorated for Christmas. While we were there, a choir was taking advantage of the fantastic acoustics. Not that we minded. If you're ever in town during December, stop by. It's beautiful.

and heaven and nature sing

baby, it's cold outside

All is well here in our little corner of the world. I'm about ready for bed (my new job -- which I love! -- requires me to wake up hours earlier than I had when I was freelancing full time), but wanted to share this photo with you. It's our "winter garden," complete with two bird feeders -- their patrons spend as much time playing and fighting among the branches as they do eating. You may say it's a clever way to distract people from them (the apartment rules on them are quite ambiguous).

I'm pretty proud of the planter, which contains an armful of broken boughs donated to my cause by a woman at a tree lot, plus some red dogwood and variegated boxwood branches. Can you think of anything else I can add to it? I'm considering it a work in progress.

first, the good news

In honor of my friend and mentor Nelia Beth's visit yesterday, I made a treat I'd been craving for quite some time: Butterscotch Blondies. These bars are quite easy, and you probably have everything you need already. Plus, my brother-in-law, Andy, has proven that they're a great base for additions like chocolate chips and M & M's. Hungry? Click here for the (light!) recipe.

And now for the bad news: The day after we bought my car, I got rear-ended by a woman who I highly suspect was talking on her cell phone when she drove into me at a stop sign. Her pickup doesn't have a scratch on it, but my poor car is sporting a pretty big dent (and until this morning, a dangling license plate light, visible at right). I don't doubt the car's great safety rating: I definitely heard the impact but hardly felt it.

Now I just have to wait for her insurance company to approve the ($1,800!) bill. The man who did the estimate told me he thinks it will take two weeks before my car's fixed. Thank goodness I'll have a loaner. Have you ever been in an accident? How long did it take the shop to do the repairs?