Mae's blog archive

After watching a couple YouTube videos on how to install stepping stones I decided that this might be something that I could conceivably achieve. Possibly. Now, you can do it a fancy and correct way but what I did was something that is not that... but close enough. I started my journey at Meijer where I got 4 patio stones for about 2.99 a pop. I would have gotten more but I broke my sandal while loading them into my cart and they were heavy and I was afraid I was going to crush my fingertips and have an emotional meltdown at my local grocery store. After I loaded the stones into my cart I perused the plant section for a bit and barely touched the corner of a "shelf" that a row of plants were sitting on and they all fell to the ground. My initial reaction was to look around and see if anyone saw me do it and then run away, which i almost do and then I grouchily decide that if they have security cameras and they recognize me they are going to be like " Oh there goes tha...

Yes this is my actual lawn. Today was a day I aimed to accomplish much and achieved a moderate amount of things. I'd give myself a C overall. My list was long, I suppose I was feeling ambitious. My primary objectives were to get my mower ready for operation and to paint the shed doors.  For me to accomplish these things I had to do a couple of things.  For the mower my plan was to remove the blade and bring it to Ace hardware to have it sharpened.  DISCLAIMER: Always remove the spark plug while doing anything under the mower.  I went to remove the blade and I wasn't able to remove it. Great. My next best option was to head to Lowe's and get, among other things I needed, a blade sharpener to try to do it myself. I ended up picking up a sharpener you can use with an electric drill. It was actually pretty user friendly and cost just as much as the one time charge at Ace Hardware to get your blade sharpened(Granted I didn't balance i...

A plant that I became acquainted with while in a sustainable landscaping class is the lovely and whimsical Mayapple. Common names: Mayapple, Indian apple, Wild mandrake, Pomme de mai, Podophylle pelt Podophyllum peltatum https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=pope Native to the entire eastern half of North America. An adorable little perennial plant that is perfect for shady areas They remind me of fairy umbrellas or Totoro Something else I also found magical and surprizing is that they bear fruit. If you have a wooded lot this would be great to add to your yard, the squirrels love the fruit too! -Maeghan

I don't think I need to explain this process to most however, to catch everyone up a butterfly life cycle is: egg > caterpillar > chrysalis > butterfly Milkweed. Native to the USA. This is not just the Monarch caterpillar's favorite food. It is the only food for them. They will only eat plants that are of the milkweed family. This is not a situation unique to the Monarch caterpillar. Certain bugs and critters will only eat certain plants that developed in the same area as them over millions of years of existence. Unfortunately, our tendency to want to control the land and tame the landscape  has resulted in humans unearthing plants native to the area  and putting down grass seed  and exotic plants to imitate English landscape gardens. Exotics (Any plant that is not native to the area you are planting it) are interesting to people and well... exotic.  They are not native to the area and therefore, stand out against the backdrop of the na...