Author Archives: dirtynailz

It’s quiet in the Rhode Island woods now. All you hear is the wind, the occasional creaking branch, and if you’re lucky, the tapping of a woodpecker. With the leaves down, you can see through the forest to the stone … Continue reading →

It’s been an interesting year, with plenty of ups and downs. This is the time I usually reflect on what I should be grateful for. This post is a tribute to the good things. I am grateful I had nearly … Continue reading →

Montreal in November is very gray. Without snow on the ground, it is positively soul-crushing. Little wonder the natives begin to get restless, even with months of winter looming. With Christmas coming, there’s something to look forward to, but it’s … Continue reading →

I was wondering when I would see my first praying mantis of the season. I kept checking my buddleias, where they normally hang out, to no avail. Then I found this youngster, upside down on the side mirror of my … Continue reading →

I don’t know what happened, but somewhere along the way, I started buying, not making, cranberry sauce. I found this delicious sauce that was made on Cape Cod, but alas, it isn’t available anymore. My husband doesn’t eat cranberry sauce … Continue reading →

This is what I was left with after I pulled out my tomato, eggplant and pepper plants last weekend. Mountains of produce! I sent my husband to work with a large bag of veggies, and I made and froze two … Continue reading →

I stopped in at my favorite nursery to see what creative things they were showing for fall. I wasn’t disappointed. How about these mums? There was an entire wagon load off them, making for a mass of eye-popping color. There … Continue reading →

Recently I posted about the lack of Monarch butterflies this fall. That still holds true, and it still scares and depresses me. But look what I found in my fall carrot crop: a crop of another kind, Monarch caterpillars! Editor’s … Continue reading →

A Swamp Yankee is a Rhode Islander who lives in a traditional Rhode Island way – fishing, farming, cutting wood, you get the idea. I have lived in Rhode Island for 15 years, but I had never checked out an … Continue reading →

Hiking on a long wooded trail the other day, we came upon a site that immediately brought to mind the Egyptian pyramids. But we weren’t in Egypt. We were in Rhode Island. These mounds are created by Formica exsectoides, commonly known … Continue reading →