I am an avid gardener, beekeeper and nature lover. I also love "living" in the kitchen -- cooking and baking for my family. Whether inside or outside I am contented when around my home and property. I have a forest and pond on my property and many animals live and wander through the yard -- I like to photograph their goings-on. I find pleasure in writing and have been published in "Northern Gardener" magazine.
Our house is a two-story walkout. From the front, it looks like a one story house. From the back it looks like a two-story home. We build it that way to take advantage of the terrain of the property we bought. The photos in this posting deal with the main level interior of the addition. … More The Addition — Part 2
where we have to find glimmers of color. We’ve been in a pattern of cold, clouds, and wind. There is no point to go outside to try to do yard work, it will all just blow away, and the wind and clouds make a decent temperature seem colder. So I stay inside and look out … More Another gloomy day…
(click on photo) Afternoon siestas, to a calm dusk, to silhouettes in the fading light, What a serene view. #nature #woodducks #mallards #deer #natuerinmn #mnducks
It was important to check on the “new” colonies that I installed 10-days ago. It is important to make sure that the queen is laying and the hive is working properly. A week to 10 days after hiving will give the queen time to start laying eggs, and the eggs to start turning into larvae, … More Bee check
We added a 12-foot addition on the left side of the house. It included both the upper and lower levels. The image that you see on the home page is the back and side of the addition. It was our goal to make sure that everything we did to the house ended up looking as … More The addition – part 1
The fixes in these two rooms were fairly small…comparatively. As I had mentioned in an earlier post, in order to make the house proportions correct in relation to the construction of the vestibule, the front facing walls of these two rooms had to be butt-out by 20 inches, and roof lines adjusted. In both rooms … More The Dining room and Powder room
We have a sidewalk that begins from a portion of the driveway and leads to two steps that takes one to the front door. There was a covered porch before you entered the house. Living in Minnesota there are two certainties I picked up on quite early — when you enter someone’s house, offer to … More The front entrance vestibule
We had a side patio off our sun porch. It was a wonderful placement. Near the garages and off the back of the driveway, a direct view of the backyard and front, we were able to sit and relax while still being in the mix of things. When the boys were young it was so … More The side patio transformation
I call the scones that I make little jewel boxes. They are full of bite-sized fruits plumped up with orange-zested water. Their colors peek out the sides of the pastry and when cut into, dot the cooked dough with precious gem-like colors. These scones are delicious. It is a recipe by Martha Stewart from a … More Scones
After my long winded explanation (which could have gone on forever) about our home renovation and expansion, here are some photos of the destruction. If you don’t mind, all remaining photos will be directly under the “Home Renovation Tab.” #homerenovation #homeremodel #homeexpansion #homedecor #redecorate #pandemic #coronavirus Pandemic: I wish everyone would wear a mask. A … More Pictures of Home Reno
A Gardener's Diary 