Prunella vulgaris, the common self-heal, heal-all, woundwort, heart-of-the-earth, carpenter’s herb, brownwort or blue curls, is a herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. Wikipedia I usually don’t mind a little heal-all in and around the garden but this year it was extra prolific. It took over the herb bed inside and out. I could hardly … More Weekend In The Weeds
I meant to publish this yesterday . . . Thursday . . .Now Friday 🙄 Posted originally on my other blog, Grandma Is Blogging, in 2018. Slowing moving posts here from there. We used to feed the birds. That was until the cats started feasting on the birds. Inadvertently, we fed the squirrels too. One day, … More Throwback Thursday: Squirrel!
What beautiful weather we had last week! Clear blue sunny sky. Flowers blooming. Birds, bees and kitties busy. Note the elevated Kitty water bowl: a TONKA Toy dump truck. This TONKA dump truck has been through two generations (children & grandchildren) and now serves as our back porch watering hole for cats, birds, squirrels, … More Well, Sleet!
Hooray! Spring sprung! The much anticipated warmer weather, blue skies and tons of sunshine has arrived. Nature rejoices and so do I!!! Spring training on my back porch studio. Warming up with a small lump of clay (about 1/2 pound) this week. Spring training on the soccer field. Our grandson behind the ball and me … More Pop! Spring!
Feeding birds through the winter has been a family activity for over 25 years. It started as a homeschool project where we could observe wildlife first-hand. We learned about bird identification, social behavior (pecking order on and around the feeder), and which physical characteristics of birds dictated food choices (sunflower seeds, thistle, millet, nuts, berries … More Winter Is For The Birds
One of our many visitors this summer! One of the reasons I love throwing on our back porch! I had my hands in clay. Grabbed my camera and took a shot! My camera is a little muddy .
Waiting for me in my splash pan this morning! The frog wanna-be-potter was placed just off the back porch onto a nice cool shady rock. The frog climbed up onto a fern frond. The frog watched me for a seemingly very long time. I honestly thought it was contemplating whether or not to leap back … More Just Frogging Around
It has been a bit hot on my back porch this month. I have been firing loads of greenware (air dried unfired clay) in the kiln for a bisque firing. The bisque firing prepares the air dried clay (greenware) for glazing. Days are growing shorter. Kids are back in school. It is the end of … More Summer! Where did you go?
Due to the rain and high humidity, the weeds have taken over. I’m reading a lot about common weeds. Why? Because they are everywhere! I’ve learned their names too: Purslane, Yellow Wood Sorel (also known as sour grass)and Spotted Spurge. Apparently, weeds can tell you about the nature of the soil. Our soil seems to … More It’s A Jungle Out There
The falling leaves gather around my pottery wheel. My throwing days have come to an end for the year. The temperatures have dropped quite dramatically this week making it a challenge to photograph my pottery on my back porch. “They” say it may snow this weekend! This month I have been busy with many behind … More Take Time
Mid-June already? I have been busy throwing mugs . . . Enjoying time with our grandson . . . Celebrating birthdays . . . And gardening . . . Ah, summer. Summer is like childhood Full of warm memories And gone too soon.
Our resident groundhog, or something, never made an appearance today due to abundant snow and sunshine. But official word from Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania is we will have six more weeks of winter. Punxsutawney, PA – This morning, Pennsylvania’s own world-famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. https://dced.pa.gov/newsroom/punxsutawney-phil-predicts-six-more-weeks-of-winter-for-2021/
Today was glazing day. And laundry day. Glazing and laundry on the same day? What could go wrong? I shouldn’t ask. It is still 2020 after all! While eating lunch, I noticed a young Robin drinking from one of Miss Kitty’s handmade water bowls. It is nice see other critters enjoying a drink from my … More Behind the Scenes of a Part Time Potter
The back porch has a half dozen handmade pet dishes filled to the brim with cool fresh water. I made them just for her, Miss Kitty. She prefers drinking from the Tonka dump truck. It used to be our son’s now it’s our grandson’s Miss Kitty’s. So, I keep it filled with cool fresh water. … More You Can Lead a Cat to Water
Originally posted in September 2018! Not much has changed in our backyard. We are a little older and hopefully a little wiser. Â Summer vacation? Well, I really didn’t have one but I sure enjoyed my summer! I enjoy summer, vacation or not. Summer is my favorite season! Being on our back porch throwing things, … More What did I do on my summer vacation?
The sunflowers made it despite the critters of early spring and summer. You never now how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice. ~Bob Marley
I spent the day weeding yesterday. Wore myself out and ended up going to bed rather early. I woke up to an array of wild life this morning!
Back Porch Studio 