With so many changes in 2007 having been so successful, we are hoping to plan even more for 2008. Starting off with a landscape effort which will reduce our water by one third.

Two more trees, wildlife-attracting bushes, broad xeriscaped areas, and planting beds are all in the plan. Hope to share some of these sketches here soon.

Labels: back yard, garden, lawn, pergola

Gracie puts the 'guard' in 'guard'en.

It's been a while since our last update. Traveling to Ireland gave us a breather and inspiration.

Upon our return we found the 5K Garden needing some attention. The neighbors were thrilled to harvest while we were gone. Tomatoes were top notch. Peppers aging nicely. Soon we discovered our caterpillar friends munching on everything. By this time we felt it was fair to provide them with 'the caterpillar's share'.

These photos are by the Mrs.

Labels: caterpillar, parsley

Totally didn't expect to take this project on this weekend, however, Lowe's had a sale on all patio pavers. The path has always looked ratty and wind-torn. All summer I've been thinking about how i was going to go about fixing it up.

Labels: retaining wall, walk way, weekend project, yard

I planted these a few years ago after picking them up from my sister's green house. Succulents have really done well out here (duh!).

Labels: succulent, yard

The pines in back seep out these incredible forms. I first noticed 'crumbs' that looked like someone had strewn popcorn all over the ground. I'm not all to certain if this is healthy or not. I'll be having it checked out when the arborist comes this fall.

Labels: pine, sap, Tree

The pergola was completed, and the builders left us the scrap wood per my request. Some of the pieces made perfect for complimentary benches/foot rests/coffee mug-put'er-on'ers.

Just a few bucks at the hardware store and a few extra minutes is all it took.

Labels: furniture, pergola

We had a Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata Kirby) visit the 5kGarden over the past few weeks. It seemed fine with me scurrying to find the camera, slamming doors and coming within a foot to take this photo.

As a matter of fact, most of the insects appear to be content with the food we've provided. I've brushed up against bees, wasps, and hornets, all of which are more drawn to the flowers than me, personally. I wish the mosquitoes felt the same way.

Labels: butterfly, flower, garden

We put up a hummingbird feeder this weekend. Within 10 minutes, we had visitors. Suz found a handy recipe online. I think we have both the Rufous and Broad-tailed hummingbirds. The aggressive nature of the female Rufous has been quite intense, guarding the feeder and dive-bombing anything that comes close.


1. Mix 4 parts water to 1 part table sugar in a pan. Do not use honey, Jell-O or brown sugar. Especially do not use artificial sweeteners. Putting hummingbirds on a diet will kill them. They burn prodigious amounts of energy for their size and need real sugar. Do not use red food coloring. It is unnecessary and can harm the little hummers even in low concentrations because they eat so much nectar. If your feeder isn't red, tie a red ribbon on it as described in the Feeders section, above. Just sugar and water, that's all.

2. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat. Stir it while it is heating until all of the sugar is dissolved. Don't boil it for long because that will change the ratio as water is boiled off. The reason for boiling is not to make syrup, but to drive out the chlorine in the water and to kill mold and yeast spores that might be in the sugar. This will help make the nectar last longer both in the feeder and in your refrigerator.

3. Cover and allow to cool before using or pouring into the storage bottle. We recommend making a large batch of nectar and storing it in the refrigerator in a 2 liter soda bottle (washed thoroughly first.) This makes refilling the feeder so easy that you won't mind doing it every few days.

Labels: Colorado, Erie, hummingbird