Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from me and mine to you and yours.
Category Archives: Family
It has been a busy past week or so with the holiday and all, so I thought I would bring you all up to speed on what has been going on.
Before I get into the details, here is an awesome photo of the autumn sky from this past week:
Yes, that was completely random and yes, I didn’t know where to fit it into this post and yes, I am looking for some mad props on the quality of the shot. Moving on …
This past week we took the kids into big bad New York City (or “The City”, as it is affectionately known here) to see the Christmas Spectacular:
The show was fantastic as it was the first time each of us had ever seen it. Times Square was, as always, sensory overload with hundreds of dressed up characters stalking people out like zombies. I’ve never seen so many ratty looking Elmos or Mickey Mouses (mice?) in my life and it became a game with the kids to see how well we could ignore their advances. Still, a good time as NYC is never dull.
It was a bittersweet moment on Thanksgiving as we spent our last holiday in the house I was born and raised in and where my parents still reside. My parents will soon be relocating closer to where we live and while we are thrilled to have them within a twenty minute drive, I’ll miss the old house deeply. Even more bittersweet is the fact that I could not get a good photo of the eats from Turkey Day. Food photography is not my strong suit and if I posted the lousy pics, it wouldn’t do my mom’s cooking any justice. The only solid photo I managed to get was of the cupcakes that my mom made for the kids:
With the ridiculous amount of off the charts food my wife provides us, I vow to become a capable gastronomical photographer. Especially with my need to write/photograph over the winter when there is very little gardening action. I’m serious y’all, prepare yourself for food posts over the next few months. I may not be able to cook a lick, but I know how to eat.
As is our tradition each year, we went and cut down our Christmas tree at the local tree farm:
One of these years I will purchase a tree I can some how manage to plant outdoors after Christmas. How, I am not sure. But I will give it a shot as I am a bit depressed looking at that limp tree I am holding above.
There were other day trips, work done in the house, meals eaten out and in, but I may lose you if I go on any further.
Alas, in keeping with the theme of this blog, I have some garden/landscape photos for you. To say they are mostly brown is an understatement, but remember, brown is a color too. I have come to appreciate the calm and quiet of the winter garden and the subtle pleasure it provides. However, I still haven’t found a way to fulfill that hard digging labor desire. I already miss the dirt under my fingernails.
Enjoy:
Guess who made an appearance today?
Old lady winter revealed herself overnight and with authority. While the snowfall was insignificant, it did make for a nice, albeit short, display:
But it wasn’t really about the snow at all. It was all about the frigid temps and the severe winds.
I raced to bring the rosemary and a small plug of mint into the garage so they could be saved from the harsh conditions, knowing they would ultimately end up indoors for the winter. By the time I was done with that task, I couldn’t feel my hands and had a sweet snot moustache. Good times.
Once what little snow we had melted, the winds took hold and have yet to stop. As bad as the winds are, I find myself entertained by the dancing ornamental grasses:
When we say grasses provide movement in the garden, this is the extreme.
In fact, check this out if you like watching grasses dance:
Think the grasses are scared? Hell to the “no”. They’ll bounce back.
One last thing. And let’s step back into fall for a minute.
We spent this past weekend in Connecticut with family (with hospitality like no other from J&N) and had a chance to visit my wife’s cousin at Quinnipiac University. There is absolutely nothing like a New England autumn and nothing like a New England college in autumn.
Here are a few pics I snapped along the way.
While I may have put the family in danger by taking this photo on a narrow side road near the school, with cars flying by in all directions, it was definitely worth it: 
The tree colors on campus were off the charts:
Consider me a new fan of all Quinnipiac sports based solely on their use of grasses:
The views from all over the campus are extraordinary:
And coming from someone who has so few mature trees on their property, I have severe leaf envy:
Oh the compostable possibilities.
We are expected to get back into the 60’s next week so I’m sure I’ll be all autumn-loving again real soon.
John
This past weekend was my 17th wedding anniversary, and before I get into this post, I had to show you the gift we received from my daughter:
Is that classic or what? That girl never ceases to amaze me.
A big part of this weekend was spent at my parents house in Northern New Jersey so my wife and I could go out on the town and celebrate our anniversary while we dumped left the kids in their capable hands. A phenomenal dinner with my bride at Savini and some post game drinks and we were a happy twosome.
But let me stop there, this wasn’t the purpose of my post today.
A little over three years ago, I helped my parents with a small landscape renovation along the front of their home. All of the shrubs had become overgrown and a little blah, in my humble opinion. I was totally game to help them out knowing that they would be looking to put their house on the market within two to three years from that point. We wanted immediate impact and focused on fast growing shrubs and perennials.
No problem.
My dad completely cleared out the area to be made over so we could dive right into the plantings:
I won’t bore you with all of the details, but here is how it looked directly in front of the house by the end of the day:
Not too bad.
But what I want you to focus on are the three Baptisia (‘Prairie Blues’ to be specific) planted smack dab in the middle of the bed :
I figured within a two to three year period they would be mature and the awesome blooms would be a focal point at the time potential buyers visited their house:
When all was said and done, we seemed to be on good terms:
Well, fast forward three + years and I’ve successfully created a nice dilemma for my poor parents.
The friggin Baptisia absolutely exploded the following spring and took over the area like nobody’s business. My father had to use a few sticks of TNT and a backhoe to dig out one of the plants so he could relocate it to the backyard. If I weren’t blood, he may have sued me for mental cruelty.
As of today, there are two remaining in their front bed:
As I type this, my OCD is kicking in big time knowing the Baptisia are not grouped in an odd number but I’ll have to fight through it knowing I’ve already put my parents through hell.
Actually, my mistake may have lead to a new design option my father invented as a means of survival. I like to call it “vase-like” or maybe “broccoli spear like” but whatever you want to call it, it is definitely creative:
Impressive, eh? The aesthetic is wonderful and you can feel the emotions all tied up (pun intended) in the design. Just remember where you saw it first.
As I reviewed and analyzed my work this weekend, I realized how much I’ve learned in only three short years and none more than trusting what you research on plant spacing. My parents soil is PERFECT and that means plants will love it, especially a tough as nails plant like Baptisia.
The charming Cape Cod I grew up in now looks out of balance with those behemoths in front:
Now I can only hope my inheritance isn’t affected in any way.
John
Some random garden tales for this evening:
I’ve tried for years to successfully grow tomatoes (yes, you read that right) as I’ve had to battle the deer, the rabbits and god awful, brutally draining soil. I eventually settled on growing them in containers on my deck (only once has a deer made the trip there) but even then, I have failed miserably. Keeping up with the watering has been the biggest challenge, especially with summer vacations “in the way”.
This year I vowed to make it work and so far so friggin awesome! I have a few containers loaded with cherry tomatoes and some others varieties, but the favorite by far has been the ‘Isis Candy’ cherry tomato:
Now here’s the funny part.
I do not eat tomatoes. Never have and most likely, never will.
Don’t know why, but I am simply not a fan. But there is a huge tomato fan in my house and that is the driving force behind my wanting to pull off this seemingly easy task. My wife could live off of them and the fact that I have forced her to purchase them from local farmer’s markets is a joke.
But have no fear, that will be no longer be necessary …
This weekend, we harvested a bunch of the Isis Candy tomatoes and my wife’s reaction after the first bite was something like “these kick some serious ass”. Holla!
But there’s more … yes, more tomatoes. I’m like a real gardener or something.
Next we grabbed a Carolina Gold tomato off the vine:
And ba-bam, we have lunch for my lady:
Now I just need to learn how to make my own cheese and we can become completely self-sufficient. Ha, even I found that funny.
One of the coolest things a gardener can discover is a plant that pops up in a completely unexpected place. That happened weeks ago when I discovered this Phlox ‘David’ growing under an ornamental grass and now she has bloomed beautifully:
Clethra ‘Ruby Spice’ is in full bloom, smells fantastic and is a wonderland for the bees:
It has taken a few years to get to this point, but this deciduous shrub is finally taking a nice shape and good thing, as it sits right below where I grill on the deck:
My newly planted Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) has drawn in the butterflies, bees and the fast moving Hummingmoth so I spend most of my day hanging out there:
And finally, there are certain plants that go unnoticed as the season changes from spring to summer and my Cornus (Red Twig Dogwood) ‘Arctic Fire’ is a perfect example. This shrub shines in the fall/winter with its eye catching red stems, but I am digging how it looks now:
Anything green and healthy works for me but I guess if I am being honest, I am most pumped for the fact that it has reached its full size after three years. I am expecting some serious winter interest this year, even better than it looked last year while much smaller in stature:
And there you have it.
Back to the grind and the work week, but at least I have tomatoes.
John
I’d like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to my Dad. I will always remember you being at absolutely every practice, game or concert and looking forward to breaking it all down afterwards. I always loved all of the spur of the moment quizzes and education along the way. I model myself as a parent after you and can say I am the man I am today because of you.
I love you and thank you.
John
First stop, the Frenchtown American Legion’s Memorial Day Parade:
Some additional pics of the beautiful Frenchtown, NJ:
Off to the family picnic:
Through it all, I am most proud of the kids grasping the true meaning of the day.
To all who have served, we thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
John
A few quick items for today:
- My ten year old son and his friend started a sports and autograph blog (like father like son) and I will be forever indebted to you all if you could give it a quick visit (they follow their traffic very closely), become a follower or even leave a comment. You can access it here.
- On Friday, I was fortunate enough to be on Fine Gardening’s “Photo of the Day” blog as their featured garden of the day. If you want to take a look, you can check it out here. Fortunately, I’m still fooling everyone into believing my garden look great. The beauty of photography.
- Every morning, when I leave for work and walk out of my garage, I stare directly into my Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’. It puts a smile on my face throughout the seasons. Here is what I saw recently as the fog was slowly starting to lift in the early morning behind the Miscanthus:
Good times.
Enjoy the weekend.
John
True story …
On my way home from work on Friday night, I stopped to pick up two pies (pizza in NJ speak) and a six-pack of Stone IPA, also known as the beer of the awesome beer drinking gods. Seriously, it is the greatest beer on earth. Go try some and get back to me with your thoughts.
I pulled in our driveway, already salivating from the smell of the pizza and the beverage that would soon follow when I saw my daughter run from the side of the house. She was all sorts of excited and ready to share something with me.
Now this isn’t necessarily news, as there is no child on the planet who has more energy and a more positive outlook on life than my daughter:
For the most part, me, my wife and my son are very laid back and on the quiet, mellow side, but Jamie gets in the mix, stirs things up and isn’t afraid to make her presence known. And I love her for that.
But back to Friday night. I get out of the car and I’m holding two pies, my beer and my laptop bag from work. They are all about to fall to the ground any minute but I took my chances because a trip back to the car ain’t happening. I got food to crush and I ain’t waiting.
As I waddle into the house, my daughter screams “There’s an orange butterfly and I think she’s Granny cause she keeps following us around”. “Granny” is my wife’s grandmother who passed away over a year ago and has sent signs that she is watching over us ever since she died. I am not kidding. Take a look at this video:
I find it comforting and you cannot deny that this was more than a coincidence.
Again, off topic, but I couldn’t resist.
As I walked up the front steps and around the side of the house, I saw my son with my camera around his neck taking photos of the butterfly.
Holy crap, I didn’t see that coming.
He even knew that he was photographing a butterfly bush and catmint. There is hope!
But even more impressive were the actual photos he snapped. Take a look:
Dude is damn good.
On yet another side note, my son also started a “sports and autograph” blog this week with his friend. Like father, like son eh? It needs some work and I’ll have to teach him about keywords and SEO, but it’s a start. Once they have it to a point where it is truly presentable (under my watchful eye), I’ll be sure to share it with you all.
One final bit of randomness for you.
For those of you who are NFL football fans, my son told me on Friday that the Arizona Cardinals would beat the New England Patriots today. I laughed at him as it was an impossibility. New England was favored by 13 points and at home. Guess what? He was dead on and he even discussed it on his blog for the world to see ahead of time.
I need to keep an eye on this kid and maybe take him to Vegas soon.
The kids rocked it this weekend.
John