Spring Garden Joy in May

What brings you joy in the spring time? I enjoy seeing so many gardens come to life after a long winter.  my joy comes from the success of the plants I have growing. In the veggie garden right now are my cooking greens & lettuces.  I feel lucky to be in Rochester, NY and have the Fredrick Law Olmsted designed gardens to walk through here.  As the calendar says mid spring, the lilacs in Highland Park are bursting with their fabulous scent.   

This is some of the late fall 2022 Collard I planted last year.  It was not big enough to harvest last fall and it has overwintered here.  We had an odd winter and it was not cold long enough to kill this off. 

Why I love gardening. My paternal Grandma had an amazing green thumb. Growing up, I helped her in her gardens.  I have fond memories of her yard in the spring bursting with colors. Some of the flowers and plants in her gardens: roses, zinnias, geraniums, peonies, sweet potato vine,  pansies, petunias, snapdragons, raspberries, blackberries, violets and many others.   

This is perennial sage in my backyard garden.  I have many fond memories every spring when the snapdragon bloom.  it still is my favorite flower and she always put them into water whenever I harvested the wild snaps near her summer cottage.  As I grow older, I am grateful for all I have learned from her about gardening and food storage.  She is the reason I started canning tomatoes.  Now in the winter, I can enjoy the fresh tomato flavor forth summer garden.  Thank you Grandma.  

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  As an ally, I want to support and stand up. 

 Free the People ROC

 

We need to support our brothers and sisters.

#bekind
#blacklivesmatter 
#blm 
#standup
#listen
#lovewins

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$68 stay in the community

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This stunning statement necklace is made with a OOAK Dichroic Glass focal.  Always happy create custom pieces for your special person.  

 picture by Pixel Wave

Action of Pride

 What is one this we entrepreneurs do not do regularly? Practice Self Care & take Vacation or Time Off. As a small business owner one thing we forget its to take care of ourselves.  I am using the time off to rejuvenate myself.  It is good to take time off and take personal me time.  Join me and put down time on you calendar every month. I put everything on my calendar so I am not double booked. This helps to not miss the special party by a friend if it is on your business calendar as down time. Please let me know how scheduling your time helps your business.  your feedback is always welcome. 

 

 

 BLACK LIVES MATTER

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY. 

 Free the People ROC

 The chaos has been difficult to watch recently.  We have to stand up and vote for what we need.  Call your representatives at all levels; local, state, federal.  Send letters and vote out those who do not represent positive change. Search these topics:
I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter
and read from fact checked news sources. 

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These are part of the Copper Geometry line. 

Copper Twist 

 

Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community

Copper Geometry Line Lanuch

  We have a Winner

 

Gods N Gladiators founder Alexandros Hatzigiannidis won the jewelry giveaway from the launch of the Copper Geometry jewelry line.  So happy to be able to pick a winner.  Congratulations to Alexandros!   

His shop :Gods N Gladiators

 

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Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community

 

 

 

 

Gardening as Winter Ends

Spring Countdown

 In 27 days on March 20 it will be spring.  I love the color burst of Spring. My love of this comes from my paternal Grandma.  Growing up, I helped her in her gardens.  I have fond memories of her yard in the spring bursting with colors.  I helped pull the weeds from around the roses.  While her children were growing up, she grew fruits and veggies.  She had plums, raspberries and blackberries when I was growing up. Summer flowers in Grandma's garden included: roses, zinnias, geraniums, peonies, pansies, petunias, snapdragons.  She had a second garden at the family cottage near Alexandria Bay, NY in the 1000 islands.  The flowers were in whiskey barrels at the entrance to the home.

 Backyard Visitors

Our suet feeder seems to attract a wide variety of Woodpeckers to my garden.  they enjoy the food in the winter we provide and in the warmer months they feast on the insects in the garden. It is nice to have a back yard habitat they enjoy. 

 My pond is right next to this feeder.  When it is warmer, the birds enjoy the waterfall and their bird bath at the top of it. Have you made a space that is friendly to local wildlife?  Always be kind ot others.  I was taught this by my Father and honor him by my practice of it.

 

 

 

 As I countdown to spring, the garden design is finished for the veggies.  Very happy to have a plan to grow by so I do not end up without space for a favorite vegetable.

 

As winter is winding down, my garden catalogs help me plan for the warm season.  As the designer in me is active, there as some new jewelry designs for spring, too.  Working on Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets in Copper and Sterling Silver. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

 I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brothers.  

 

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

#lovewins

 

 

 

 

Shop Small

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For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community. 

 

Valentine Sale Success

 

Last week, I had my 3rd online event for my business as a sale for customers.  It was a digital sale on zoom and was a success.  As with any new endeavor there were great parts I will use as a model for my next digital event.  Being new to this idea I took feedback from attendees as I have from the prior two events in December. Shown at left is one of the free gifts for those who attended.  

 Happy to have the opportunity to show what I do to people worldwide.  Thanks to the pandemic, I have been networking on zoom and met people from at least 6 different countries.  What you learn with such a diverse group is there are many universal dreams and desires.  

 

 

Black History Month

 

What an inspirational lady she is and so happy to have seen the great things she did while in the white house.  Starting for me with the way she changed the gardens there and brought back vegetables.  She is an incredible lady and doing many things including her inspiring Girls Opportunity Alliance.   Becoming

The Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world through education, allowing them to achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries. We engage people around the world to take action to help adolescent girls and the grassroots leaders working to educate them.

 Girls Opportunity Alliance

 

 Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

 I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brothers. 

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Local & Shop Small

 

My shop:  Panda Wear
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
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Why shop small? 

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

 

 

 

Welcome August

Waiting for the slicing tomatoes & bell peppers to ripen.  There are so many green tomatoes.  Something ate several pepper plants this summer., something = garden visitor.  I planted more so we have a good harvest.  Peppers are great fresh and freeze well for cooking with later.  

Found this Black Swallowtail while visiting Brookside Garden in Maryland last month.  Happy to be back in the area dog sitting this week.  Should have pics of the puppy next week.    

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brothers.  

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

j

Buy local from the Maker

  

My shop:  Panda Wear Website
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Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

Summer Fruits and Mother Nature

 

It has been a hard summer here so far in the garden.  The alternating heat & extreme wet is stressing the plants.  We are doing our best to care for them in this dichotomy of conditions.  We had several bouts of 90's by the end of June.  When you add to that the 9+ inches of rain from 7/09 - 7/23( two weeks time) in my yard, it has been hard on the plants  We have lost peppers & beans to pests, kale and lettuce to rotting, and the berries stopped fruiting in the wet spell. 

 These are the 1st 2021 TOMATOES! These are along side today's harvest of fennel, wax beans and cucumber on the bottom. 

 

 I am reminded to enjoy the moment often this year.  Mother Nature had this so show us a few nights ago.   

Last week I had the privilege of seeing a one women show on RIT campus that was invitation only. It was incredible.  As we left the theater and headed to our cars, another attendee pointed to the moon. When I arrived home it was still peaking through the clouds.  This is phone pic without filters.  Wishing I had a long lens on campus for the great shot there. 
      

 

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

I invite everyone to Join me: 

stand up, listen to others, be kind and to support our sisters and brothers.  

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

 

 

Buy Local from the Maker

 My shop:  Panda Wear Website

Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
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Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.

 

Hello May 2021

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brothers.  

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

I keep this here as a reminder.  We need to support our fellow Americans and listen to them.  They should not have to deal with all the racism and hate aimed at them.   We can fix our society.  

Love wins.! 

Kindness matters!

 

Garden Vegetables

 Waiting for my snow peas to emerge from the dirt and become vines.  The greens are doing well.  they survived n the ground through the cold snaps we have had this spring,   even the 2 inches of snow that covered them.  We should be able to plant tomatoes, peppers, & tomatillos by the middle of the month.  need to transplant some lettuce and start new lettuce.  The lettuce is planted about every 3 weeks.  

The waterfall of my pond at right is a beautiful sound to listen to. Waterlilies are growing and should show flowers by the end of the month.

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Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.

 

 

Joy in my Spring Garden

Backyard Garden

The joy of the wildlife in the gardens this week was felt deeply by me. We had the privilege of seeing the cottontails courting so that means baby bunnies or kits as they are called.  The snow last week did not stop my greens from persevering.  they are all ding well and I should have some small leaves to harvest end of this week or early next week.  I was able to be outside within 10 feet of this one while she was eating for a whole and then she decided to come closer to me.  Maybe she wanted to be featured on the blog this week.

This beautiful wooly bear caterpillar was very active in the garden this week.  Sunning herself on this rock and moving around quickly to find the right spot to spend time.  She will become an Isabella Tiger Moth.  Hardy to many cold climates they are frequently seen in the fall in my gardens. Not sure what they prefer to eat that I seem to have,: do like to have them in the yard.  Please not not to pick them up, the hairs on them may cause reaction on your skin.  sometimes they are in the veggie garden.  planted the snow peas this past weekend.  One of my favorite things is to eat the fresh ones right out o the garden.

What is a garden without flowers you ask?  two of my easy to grow perennials in the garden.  Forget me nots, Myosotis or scorpion grass & primrose, Primula vulgaris.  they are  greeting me & the warm sunshine in the backyard flower bed in the early morning.  Fantastic way to start the day is a walk thru the yard and smell the flowers with a hot mug of green tea.  Spent time laying some cedar mulch into s few of the flower beds to prevent weeds taking over the areas. This is easiest to do in early spring before the weed seeds germinate.

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brouthers.  

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

 

Buy Local from the Maker

My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

 

Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.

This is my "diet" cupcake necklace.  Why not focus on what we want in a fun way?  great gift for the Mom who loves these or making them.