Leaf collection season is upon us.  Fortunately the Village has a curbside collection of leaves every fall and, like last year, we have been focusing on getting maximum value from this service.  And so, for the past week, pretty much every afternoon has been spent buttoning up the property for winter.
We use the rake, tarp [...]

Today I am on the topic of nature.  We have a large shagbark hickory tree in the front yard.  While outside gardening a couple days ago I noticed a small group of children staring at something on the ground.  I joined the kids to have a look and they explained to me a baby squirrel had died; [...]

 
In Brooklyn, each year I planted sweet potato vines (Ipomoea batatas) in containers sitting in my front yard.  They did really well in that sunny spot, blooming and producing tubers (sweet potatoes) that I learned to wash off and store in a cool but not freezing place for the winter.  In the spring, I would set the tubers [...]

Finally we managed to obtain some annuals to brighten up the garden.
Yesterday around five p.m. we drove over to the much talked-about Windmill.  I had imagined it to be similar to Atkins Farms country market I was used to patronizing in western Massachusetts (where I once lived).
Naturally, when we arrived at the Windmill, we realized the true [...]