I’m letting go of lots of control in my garden this year. For instance the milkweed – which I used to pull mostly, am giving lots of real estate to. But I just found an article online showing how much trouble these weeds can make for your garden. I want to provide a home for the monarchs but I don’t want to be run out of town by these guys either.

any advice?

Taken in 1972 by the Apollo 17 astronaut crew. According to Wikipedia, this is the only photograph of its kind to date. In all of it’s sunlit glory… yep, I’d say that it was beautiful.

Hey, I think I see you. Let’s do coffee!

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My daughter: “Mom, are you 100% sure the world isn’t going to end tonight?“
Me: “Yes, honey. I am.  Not tonight.

I admit to sharing a few end of the world laughs but, in all actuality, it’s very sad. It is sad that so many sincere people- believed that yesterday was THE day.

The weather was crazy and unstable this weekend. We were in and out of our crawl space, with the rise and fall of the sirens. Crackling skies and torrents of rain put an ominous twist on the evening and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one thinking about the end of the world.

I have no interest in trying to figure out the Mayan calendar or bible prophecy in this regard … if Jesus didn’t know, that’s good enough for me. I just need to be ready. And I’m not. I haven’t loved nearly enough.

But, I’m thankful for this reminder.

Rebekah at Honeysuckle Life posted this sea salt scrub recipe and because she said it was easy and budget-friendly, I took her up on it and made the scrub today. Turns out, she was right! It is easy. And, I’m sure if you looked around, you could get the pure almond oil cheaper than I did {just under $7 for 8oz}

I did cut the recipe in half.

• 1/2 cup of pure almond oil
• 1/4 cup of sea salt {I got the iodized version w/ small granules- hopefully that isn’t against any rules}
• Rosemary essential oil {about 15 drops} I really like rosemary.

This recipe was a huge hit with my family. We did a hand scrub and they loved the smell of the rosemary and said their hands felt great! I plan on finding sweet little air tight containers and making them up for hand treatment gifts.

Yay! Thanks Rebekah. You’re a sea salt scrub rock star.

What I’m about to tell you might make some of you blush, others filled with morbid curiosity and still others never visit this blog again. I take my chances.

Today is b-e-a-utiful in the Twin Cities today. The kind of beautiful that makes you want to find a chair, the book you’ve been neglecting and have at both of them. Well, that’s what I was doing–minding my own business, reading “The Mermaid Chair” when all of a sudden I was completely swept into a drama of another kind.

There was buzzing. Lots of buzzing. I looked around to make sure I wasn’t going to be involved in target practice of some kind – but nothing. I turned back to my book. Still. The rhythmic buzzing continued.

I got up to find 2 bees, mating like rabbits and right underneath my chair! Wow. I have never seen 2 bees mating like rabbits before so I let my curiosity keep me glued to the scene. Truth be told, I needed and wanted to get my cheater glasses so I could get a better view but I didn’t want to miss a thing. So I stared on. Whence all of a sudden, I realized that there were 3 bees. It was hard to see and honestly, bees mating like rabbits aren’t exactly of the missionary persuasion- they’re kinda wild.

So, I stared on. 3 bees huh. Nature, I’m surprised at you! Suspending judgment, I stared on. I’m glad I did because there really weren’t 3 bees catchin a buzz, there were 2 bees ganging up on a … a dragonfly?

Oh, poor dragonfly. The mother in me wanted to defend and protect and come to the rescue of this poor poor anthropod. Then, I argued with myself. Are dragonflies better than bees? Bees are insects too. And anyways, isn’t there a shortage of honey because there’s a shortage of bees? Will my rescuing this dragonfly affect the honey supply. I love honey. I can’t be part of that. So the Joan of Arc in me sat in quiet fear and trepidation. I stared on.

Hang on, the climax of my little story is coming to an end. As you may have guessed, I didn’t want to keep this natural wonder to myself and because I don’t think bees care about voyeurism, I hurried to get the camera. I clicked a couple of times and realized perhaps, that maybe bees do care about voyeurism. Because I disturbed them. Not long after capturing the titillating images, they pulled apart to reveal 2 of them.

one bee. one wasp.

What? I couldn’t believe it. Bees and wasps get together? Does this come as a shock to anyone else? I assumed they were mortal enemies. I mean, doesn’t everybody hate wasps? My world is now a little bigger but not in a better bigger but one where the veil of blissful ignorance has been ripped to shreds. I have no idea what to think about this. I’m left with a void of entomological proportions.

That’s it friends. Bees and wasps are more than friends.

There is another item of note however. The smaller bee, the one who was making all the heretofore buzzing racket suddenly took off. Ms. wasp was left by herself to adjust her mandibles, tidy her antennae and rearrange her legs. I felt a little sorry for her. I was of mixed emotions.

you can't make this stuff up!

Dear reader, if you are versed in the mating habits of wasps and bees, please enlighten me. I couldn’t be more curious.

I gotta look down more cause there is a lot goin on.

He is risen.

Look what I found proudly sitting in the sun …  COLORFUL CROCUSES! Oh, rabbits, are you messing with me, mocking me, lulling me into a false sense of security that I get to actually enjoy my tulips and crocuses without constant vigilance.

Whatever. I’ll be ready. But, thanks for the sweet reprieve right now!

What’s your best secret for keeping the rabbits at bay?

I usually use cayenne wax pepper spray ~but they’re on to me! They’re smart. And, they have great memories. I NEED HELP!!

My husband and I spent some time at the Como Park Conservatory this past “balmy” Saturday. It seems we Minnesotans can hardly stand living here by mid-February. And, at the first sign of 30 degree weather, men, women and children of all ages, are donning spring jackets and yes, even shorts. Although peculiar, it’s understandable.

The tropical indoors of the conservatory and gardens is such a nice respite from cold Minnesota days. You can visit the tropics without checking a single piece of luggage.

How did you spend your weekend?

Mondays aren’t usually terribly romantic around my house but nevertheless, it is Valentines Day! I hope it’s a *lovely* one for you!

Terrarium gardening has never been cooler. From cake stands to martini glasses … there is no end to the creative ideas for re-purposing containers to showcase nature in miniature form.

What are you most excited to create this spring?

sources:  herb jar pendants, light bulb, hanging bulb, bulb figure,

then we’ll go ice skating,

then we’ll eat a whole roll of Toll-house Cookie dough as fast as we can,

and then we’ll snuggle.

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