easy upside down jar terrariums

Last month we made these very simple terrariums.......READ MORE.

land art

Have you heard of Land Art? Have you heard of Richard Shilling? Richard Shilling is an Englishman that is a sculptor, photographer, and film maker that creates his art from nature. This type of art is called Land Art and is defined as......... READ MORE.

make leaf rubbing plates

Here's another good reason to get a laminator! You can make your own leaf rubbing plates....READ MORE.

milkweed mice

Three blind mice?



Hardly! Can you tell what they were made from? Here’s a hint- fluffy and soft, little ones (and big ones) like to make wishes on them……READ MORE.

leaf mask

A fun Autumn tradition for us is making masks of pressed leaves.....READ MORE.

Bog and Pollywog

I was up very late last night finishing Bog and Pollywog here. I made Bog out of a green cotton sweater sleeve. Pollywog was made from a piece of scrap wool sweater. This pair is for Araina for....READ MORE.

scarlet maple

Our scarlet maple is at its peak of color this week! READ MORE........

autumn splendor

After a wet and cloudy week the sun decided to show her face this morning. We are having a knockout Autumn full of color thanks to our beautiful Ohio deciduous trees. I found myself being beckoned outside to photograph the sun’s rays hitting these beautiful trees. Our “baby” ginkgo is putting......READ MORE.

Photo Editing

What you see is what you get when it comes to my photos. I am a realist and I have never edited a single photo that I have shared on this site….until today. I like the challenge of using the natural light to enhance my photos, not a computer generated program. I had no idea how much fun it is to play with your photos until.....READ MORE.

Plantain Insect Sting and Bite Remedy

Romeo: Your plantain leaf is excellent for that.
Benvolio: For what, I pray thee?
Romeo: For your broken (cut) shin.
-William Shakespeare

Plantain (Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata) is easy to find and easy to use (there are over 200 species). It is FANTASTIC for bug bites and stings because it’s an astringent that creates a soothing and cooling effect. Plantain.......READ MORE.

Polka Dot Scavenger Hunt!

The hunt for polka dots!

Berry Picking Bucket

Berry picking time! A beautiful blogger friend, Jumbleberry Jam, made the cutest berry picking buckets out of felt, ribbon and yogurt cups. She inspired me to make some berry picking buckets too, but we needed them to be a little bit bigger because we have a lot of berries to pick.



I have A LOT of containers that I have been saving (just can't throw them out) for just the right activity and this is it! These containers (from Trader Joe's) are great because you can easily peel off the labels and there is a blank cardboard canvas to work with. I poked holes in the sides, ripped the cloth straps from one of Araina's old dresses and knotted them on. I then let the girls decorate the buckets however they pleased.



Now for the berry picking! We have a ton of berries to pick; it's just hard to get to a lot of them because they are surrounded by poison ivy. Good thing we have a lot of jewelweed around to make the "rashy plant" home remedy.

Visit Jumbleberry Jam to see how she made her berry buckets for her little guy. Visit this post at 5 Orange Potatoes at Wordpress. I will be making the final move this weekend. I will be using my own domain and found a way to upload the Friend Connect. ;)

Jewelweed Poison Ivy Remedy

It’s that time of year for picking wild blackberries and elderberries. And wherever the berries grow, the poison ivy grows. Here is the remedy I use to prevent or treat that horrible itch (and other plant related rashes)!

You need: jewelweed, calendula blossoms (optional), apple cider vinegar, glass jar




This is poison ivy, avoid it at all costs. I find the new growth just darling and beautiful but don’t let that tempt you to touch it! Remember the rule “Leaves of three, let it be!”

This is jewelweed (Impatiens capensis). It likes the same habitat as poison ivy and stinging nettle; so if you see those, do a little hunt for jewelweed. Harvest 1 part jewelweed to 2 parts apple cider vinegar; please only harvest what you will use. Bruise the jewelweed up a bit, place it in a clean jar and cover with apple cider vinegar. Let it steep for a week or two, strain out the plant material and there you have the “magic elixir.” You can place the liquid in an ice cube tray and freeze for up to a year. When needed take the cube and rub onto the infected area. My sister Katrina keeps the plant and all in the vinegar and uses a cotton ball to apply; she keeps this on her bathroom counter, this is good too, but it won’t keep as long. Should you be out in the field and be exposed to poison ivy, split open the stem of the jewelweed and apply directly to infected area.

I like to add a couple of calendula blossoms to help heal the skin and moisturize. I also use this remedy for other plant related rashes and allergies. Like whenever the Little Ladies convince me to go into our field without long pants on, I always come out in pain with a grass rash!

Visit 5 Orange Potatoes at Wordpress for better quality photos!

How to Raise Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillars

Every spring we plant a lot of parsley, dill and fennel in hopes of luring the Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) to lay her eggs in our garden. Last year we released over 25 EBS butterflies, which we raised from larva to adult. This year we haven’t found nearly as many, but we do have some. Just today I found this beauty on a a Queen Anne’s Lace (another host plant of the EBS and another reason to let a patch of QAL grow wild in your yard).

Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars look different at different stages; those stages are called instars, and the caterpillars shed their skin between each. I was so surprised when I first learned this and then saw it with my own eyes.

We like to give our caterpillars lots of room to move and lots of the fresh food to eat. Our EBS habitat is an aquarium with parsley planted directly in garden soil. Parsley grows really well this way, fennel and dill usually get too big so if an EBS prefers fennel, dill or Queen Anne’s Lace then I have to replace it daily. I just place the fennel and dill in the tank mingled in with the parsley in hopes that the caterpillar will go for the parsley (usually they do if they are young enough when placed in the tank). I am not a fan of the plant in a vase of water method because I have seen caterpillars fall into the water and drown. My sister Katrina (a butterfly expert at a local arboretum), recommends putting the stems of freshly picked larval host plants in green oasis that has been soaked with water, this keeps the plants fresh longer and doesn’t endanger the caterpillars. We put sticks in the habitat for the caterpillars to form their chrysalises on when they are ready. We have a screen top made to fit on this aquarium to keep the caterpillars in and the predators out. Sometimes the caterpillars like to make their chrysalises on the top, which is fine, but we have to be careful when we move the lid to put fresh food in, water or release butterflies.

The Eastern Black Swallowtail will overwinter in a chrysalis if it hatches from an egg in the fall. If it is kept in a safe place outdoors for the winter, a beautiful welcome of spring is in store come May. With good care and a little patience the beautiful caterpillars will become beautiful butterflies!



*Jump over to 5 Orange Potatoes at Wodpress for a better look of the photos.

Make a Pretty Paperweight and How to Press Queen Anne's Lace

For today's post visit 5 Orange Potatoes at Wordpress. I'm anxious to know opinions........

Being Kissed by a Toad and a Thank You

Now, my toad kiss to you and a Thank You!

Thank you everybody who commented on my "moving" post. I can't tell you how much help you have been. I am still toying with the many options out there; really loving the photo flexibilty on Wordpress. My Blogger site might be different in the next week, just toying with it to see what can be done on Blogger before actually making a move.

The Milkweed Community

That wonderful intoxicating smell of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) blossoms lures all kinds of little critters to it. The majority of insects that feed on a milkweed are in some form of red/orange and black due to a chemical in the sap. Fascinating stuff! Here are some of the critters we found in our backyard milkweed community.

Yellow-Collared Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicollis) on the left, skipper down below.

Ermine Moth (Atteva punctella)

Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus): I am so in love with this adorable insect. The milkweed beetle has 4 eyes instead of 2, the antennae are between the eyes. These little creatures will fall from the milkweed when threatened as a form of defense. They will play dead for a bit then scurry back up the milkweed when danger has passed. They didn't seem to be too frightened of the camera though, this little fellow came up to the tip of the leaf for a closer look.

Fuzzy spider stalking my little milkweed beetles. Shoo you!

The Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) of course. Seeing the monarch butterfly on the milkweed causes Fauna to jump up and down yelling, "Do you see her abdomen touching the leaves??!!" She is determined to see a female laying eggs on the milkweed this year.

The monarch caterpillar resting after a morning of munching leaves. A full grown monarch caterpillar can eat an entire milkweed leaf in 4 minutes. Reminds me of some little growing girls I know!

Some fun milkweed facts from EEK!:

*Its Latin name, Asclepias syriaca, is named in honor of the Greek god of healing Aesculapius.

*Sap from milkweed was used by pioneers as a cure for warts.

*The airborne fluffy parachute of the seed was used by Native Americans to insulate moccasins.

*The dried empty seed pods were used as Christmas tree decorations by early pioneers.

*The boys and girls from Wisconsin schools collected 283,000 bags of milkweed fluff for use in military life jackets during World War II.

*It is used as an indicator of ground-level ozone air pollution.

Fauna's Melting Flowers Wishing Game

Now I'm sure you've seen frozen flora before used as ice cubes or winter ornaments, but Fauna came up with this fun wishing game using them. It is the PERFECT game for a HOT summer day!

You need: Flowers, Muffin tin, Yarn, Water, and a Tree to hang wishes

Plan Ahead Set-Up:

Place flowers in the muffin tin, add yarn and freeze.When frozen and ready for use, place the tray in warm water to loosen the flowers from the muffin tin.

Wishing Rules:
1. Make your wish as you hang the flower in the tree. The object of this game is to catch the flower before it hits the ground.

2. You are not allowed to rub the ice with your hands in order to make it melt faster, however, you may use your breath. And catching icy drops with your tongue is a MUST!

3. Watch over your wishes, you'll want to keep a good eye on that piece of yarn! Making predictions by looking closely at the yarn can be a big help in determining which wish might fall next.

The Little Ladies got very serious at this point, they placed their hands under the wishes they predicted were to fall next (and they moved them to the same branch)!

4. If you catch the flower before it hits the ground, your wish will come true. (Fauna caught 4 and Araina caught 5).

Simple rules, but oh so serious stuff! Good luck! Enjoy!