The Long Long, Grey Grey, Cold Cold Winter of 2021-22

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Rainshadow contributor Ann Candioto relishes in the end of winter and the start of gardening season. Lately I’ve been thinking about a T-shirt, grey of...

The Philosophical Gardener: Seasonality

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We have had a rather dark and stormy autumn here in the rainshadow; a good deal of the autumn color has been torn from...

The Philosophical Gardener: Boolbs?

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Beverley Nichols, born 1898, was a reporter and author, in a variety of genres, in post WWII, mid-century Britain.  He was something of a...

The Philosophical Gardener: Peas

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“The enemies of peas are few in number, but great in power. Chopped gorse sown with                the seed will prevent the ravages of mice,...

Spider Sticks

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                                                 A spider stick is any handy light branch or stem which you have stripped of its leaves and twigs, cut to three feet or...

Philosophical Gardener: Poseurs

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                                                                           Yes, one sees them now in supermarkets, bright red, big-bosomed fruits piled high in plastic boxes luring us to a summer fantasy...

Winterspring

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When television first came to our neighborhood in the early 50’s there was a puppet on the Howdy Doody Show whose name was Princess...

Staying ahead of myself

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it is now mid-spring and I am in a familiar dilemma: staying ahead of myself. Gardening is a reciprocal relationship, I do...

The Philosophical Gardener: Salad Days

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  References to one’s “salad days,” it seems, began with Shakespeare when he wrote it in a line for Cleopatra who...

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Insectivore Birds Part 1

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I love the diversity of Pacific Northwest birds and insects. This is a two-part photo essay about both— Insectivore Birds. (Of course, the lovely...

A Fairyland of Mosses

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In winter when the leaves have fallen and the world is misty and gray, it’s time to embrace the beauty of moss! If you’ve...

Birds on the Beach

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Gulls are not the only feathered friends found on our local beaches. Some birds spend most of their time foraging along the beaches, including...

Who the Heck was Juan de Fuca?

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The recorded history of the Pacific Northwest begins four-and-a-quarter centuries ago, when two grizzled, gray-haired sailors met up in Renaissance Venice and struck up...

Recipes From the 1950s: Passive-Aggressive Casseroles

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The Deranged Gourmet, Part 2 Food prices are nuts, amirite? They're are so high that when you buy a popsicle you have to pay extra...