Confused crab spider

Spiders are cool. Take the crab spiders of Ohio, for instance (Thomisidae). They’re intriguing little guys. They’re not web weavers, these spiders. They’re passive hunters, masters of disguise. Stealthy little critters, they change color similar to chameleon lizards and blend in with their surroundings, then lie still and wait their prey to scuttle or alight [...]

Garden photos slideshow: Minolta DiMAGE A1

I ran across this group of garden photos taken with my Minolta DiMAGE A1. That camera had quite the story behind it, a testimony to good customer service. Sometimes I miss that camera. My Sony Alpha A300 is wonderful, but I don’t have the lenses yet which would allow me to get some of the [...]

Inadvertently erotic produce

Yesterday, while putting away a new bag of white potatoes, one caught my eye. I laughed out loud. all by my lonesome near the hanging wire basket in the pantry. She, for it’s obviously a she, sports a potbelly. She even has a belly button (it’s an innie). She’s a potato with a pannus…Or a [...]

Burpee’s Spring 2010 TV commercial

Howie and I saw Burpee’s new TV commercial today. It’s a terrific ad! I haven’t gotten around to downloading it and embedding it here, and I can’t find it elsewhere, so just check it out at the link I gave. It depicts a woman wearing a flowing blue dress, strolling through her garden. She kneels [...]

How to cut onions without tears

Through the years, I’ve read all kinds of suggestions for making the process of cutting onions less tearful. People suggest everything from running the onion under cold water while you cut it (Hello! Awkward!)  to freezing it first. Some suggest slicing it only in a certain direction. None of those methods worked for me. I [...]

History repeats itself

I ran across this online somewhere and had to chuckle. 2000 B.C. – Here, eat this root. 1000 A.D. – That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer. 1850 A.D. – That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion. 1940 A.D. – That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill. 1985 A.D. – That [...]

Pompus pumpus pampus grass, err, bush?

These posts from our local Freecycle group cracked me up. The poster changed the spelling by the time she reposted the offer, but she still didn’t get it quite right. She at least figured out they’re grasses and not bushes by the time she made the second post. For the record, it’s pampas grass. I [...]