View The Bumblebee Garden, Summer of 2009 Album

Bumblebee Garden, Summer of 2009

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View The Bumblebee Garden & Birds 2008 Album

Bumblebee Garden & Birds 2008

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View The Charleston, SC - June 2008 Album

Charleston, SC - June 2008

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View The Lake Toxaway and Environs, North Carolina - August 2007  Album

Lake Toxaway and Environs, North Carolina - August 2007

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View The Sophie, Sarah and Miss P Album

Sophie, Sarah and Miss P

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View The Lucinda Hutson's Garden, Austin, TX - April 2008 Album

Lucinda Hutson's Garden, Austin, TX - April 2008

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View The Bumblebee Garden & Birds 2007 Album

Bumblebee Garden & Birds 2007

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View The Denver Botanic Gardens - August 2007 Album

Denver Botanic Gardens - August 2007

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View The Geneva, Switzerland - April 2008 Album

Geneva, Switzerland - April 2008

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View The Mount Vernon, Virginia - July 2007 Album

Mount Vernon, Virginia - July 2007

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View The Philadelphia Flower Show - March 2008 Album

Philadelphia Flower Show - March 2008

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View The Chicago Botanic Garden - July 2007 Album

Chicago Botanic Garden - July 2007

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View The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis - May 2007 Album

Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis - May 2007

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View The Graceland - May 2007 Album

Graceland - May 2007

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View The Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix - May 2007 Album

Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix - May 2007

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View The Washington, D.C. Album

Washington, D.C.

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View The Bumblebee Garden, Summer of 2005 Album

Bumblebee Garden, Summer of 2005

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View The Family Album

Family

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View The Butterflies - Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Album

Butterflies - Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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View The The Chickens at Bumblebee Album

The Chickens at Bumblebee

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View The Miscellaneous Album

Miscellaneous

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Right Now at Bumblebee

March 7th, 2010

It’s official. Dawn over at Owl Hollow News won the Grocery Gardening drawing.  Congratulations, Dawn. I hope you enjoy the book.

What’s on your plate today? The weather here is sunny and at least not frigid. I’ll continue my early spring garden cleanup and also clean and repair bird houses. The bluebirds have made their return and are already checking out the real estate. What a joy to watch over my Sunday morning coffee.

Robin

March 6th, 2010

I find this one of the most anxiety-producing times of the year in the garden.

As I head outside and begin the winter cleanup, the whole summer garden thing just seems incredibly overwhelming. There’s so much to do. And I’m just one person out there. Honestly, I felt like sitting down to have a good cry about mid-afternoon. But I managed to put one foot in front of the other and actually got a good amount of tidy-up work done. Tomorrow will be more of the same.

Thank you everyone who left a comment explaining how you approach reading and leaving comments on blog posts. The cumulative input has been extremely helpful. The overall consensus is that you’ll read comments if it’s an interesting discussion. You don’t usually subscribe to comments because it clogs up your email box. And you’ll only check back to see if the author has responded if you’ve left a question. That about sums it up.

On another note, I have selected by random number generator the winner of Grocery Gardening. She’s been notified. When she responds back, I’ll announce who she is.

Thank you everyone!

Robin Ripley

February 22nd, 2010

My lawn is a wreck.

I went outside to re-fill the bird feeders—AGAIN. The parts of my lawn that don’t look like the frozen tundra resemble a swamp. With every step I take my foot sinks down at least an inch. Walking to the feeders I can see my path in the mud.

I also see that we lost one small ornamental tree by the driveway as well as one of my rose trellises, which succumbed to the weight of the snow.

Spring better hurry up and get here. I have a lot of work to do.

Robin

February 17th, 2010

Are you sick of everyone talking about the weather? I am too, but here goes…

There is so much snow on the ground, I don’t know when it’ll all melt. On top of that, much of it has iced to the extent that moving it from one place to another requires a pick ax. Walking in the back yard to fill the bird feeders is like walking on a bumpy ice rink. There are trees and bushes that need a bit of first aid to remove partially broken branches, but I don’t dare risk skating across the ice with my pruners. Not yet anyway.

Still, there is hope. Although we’re expecting snow flurries today, the weather should warm up into the forties in the next few days, providing some melting relief.

But really, all this unrelieved WHITE is getting to me!

Robin

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