Remembering Christmases past

We spent a wonderful time in Lecce, Italy some years ago over Christmas.

These stars, hung above pedestrian streets, were magical.

Here is my favorite compendium post about Christmases past.

Presentations in spring

Being a part-time resident again, now splitting time between the Southern Appalachians in Western North Carolina and the Northern Appalachians in Bas St. Laurent, Quebec, I'm clustering my volunteer presentations and classes for spring and fall, when we're here in Asheville.

It's a bit hectic, but always fun, even if sometimes a few too many commitments (this last year has included many, many more landscape consultations than I normally do, thanks to a garden writer friend connecting me to the editor of a regional magazine, leading to a feature pointing to me as one of three garden coaches (I was the naturalistic garden one, of course).

I do these as benefits for the NC Arboretum, Botanical Gardens at Asheville, local landtrusts, conservation groups, and other charities;  they're always interesting consultations, so I'm glad to do them. They're two-hour visits, with a preview questionnaire with photos, followed by brief summary from me.

This spring, I have three classes scheduled for the NC Arboretum, a presentation for the Southern Appalachian Plant Society in Johnson City, TN, and a couple of Saturday programs for Reems Creek Nursery, a local nursery in Weaverville, just outside of Asheville.

That's enough, I think!

pocket meadow in spring

A couple of images I sent for my pocket meadow talk and four-season vegetable gardening complete the picture.

early May vegetable beds

Small contributions: reducing plastic use

I've been trying to reduce our plastic use:  using beeswax wrappers instead of plastic wrap.

It's a bit challenging for some foods, but I've found for bread and muffins, it's not too bad, and I can use the wraps - short-term - in the freezer, where I normally have used freezer bags.  They work great for countertop/shelf storage, too, along with my linen "bread bag."

In the freezer

This rather dimly-lighted image from our freezer includes yeast bread and muffins - all waiting to be thawed out and eaten in the future.

Perfect.