Other blogs,websites – Page 7

Frankfurter spectacular, Blowin’ smoke (#2)

In the same snarky vein as Lilek’s Gallery of Regrettable Food comes candyboots Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974. Will make whatever you’ve got cookin’ or even an 8-piece box seem that much better by comparison.

If you want to be truly inspired, food-wise, rush on over to Lucullian Delights. Even if you don’t like Italian cooking, you’ll like the photography, which includes some garden and floral themes from time to time between the sumptuous food shots.

Posting is light this weekend. #1 son is up from Florida for some end-of-season skiing. After the first day of spring dawning at a cool 4 F, we’ve had mostly 50s and 60s and the snow has pretty much retreated, except for drifts in the veggie garden. I’ve got more spring ephemeral pictures that won’t get processed or posted for awhile.

My 5

Go on over to Hank’s place to get in on the 5 crazy things to which only a gardening addict would admit extravaganza. Here are my five:

To celebrate my birthday (April 29), every year I drive 70 miles to save $5 on hanging baskets — even though it’s usually a month before I can stop bringing them in a night.
When it’s 90 F (really hot for these parts), I mow the lawn anyway because I need the grass clippings for mulch.
Because my soil is too wet, I built a raised rock garden to grow dryland plants.
Because my soil is too dry, I dug out a water garden so that I could grow aquatic plants.
Whenever I see an objectÂ thatÂ Â will hold more soil than a saucer I think, “What can I grow in that?”

Blowin’ smoke (#1): The Whispering Crane Institute

AfterÂ theÂ kindÂ wordsÂ RickÂ wrote about Ellis Hollow overÂ atÂ Â The Whispering Crane Institute yesterday, I was moved to blow a little smoke up his shorts, as well.

I’llÂ admitÂ thatÂ I’veÂ onlyÂ beenÂ visitingÂ thereÂ forÂ aÂ fewÂ weeks. But Rick hooked me. Â That’s because he does some things well thatÂ IÂ think allÂ usÂ gardenÂ bloggersÂ shouldÂ strive to emulate:

Interesting original content not found anywhere else.
Content that extends far beyond one particular garden, including many posts of historical interest. Â (I wish more bloggers would help sieve through that stuff and glean the best for the rest of us.)
And most importantly: Consistently interesting graphic content. Â (For example, these colorful options for visiting Quito.)

NotÂ treatingÂ graphicÂ contentÂ as an afterthought is especially important for those of us who come to bloggingÂ primarily as writers. Gardening is largely a visual experience. Â Reading online is a chore. Looking at pictures is easy. And Rick’s pictures carry a lot of thought-provoking content. It’s no coincidence that he’s a landscape-design professional.

So when you can’t read any more, head over to the WCI and page through the old posts. (Check out his series, ‘An Appreciation of Stone.’) You’ll find images that make you want to start reading again.

GoÂ explore.