Letters From Eden ~ book review

Every once in a while I read a book that is just so enjoyable from start to finish that I can't put it down. This is one of those! Delightful, enjoyable, relaxing and peaceful are just a few of the words I would use to describe it. Her writing style is so readable. It just flows from one page to the next. You are hardly aware that you are reading and not just listening to her tell it. It's like you've sat at her kitchen table and listened while she tells you about the happenings in her life.

Julie Zickefoose is a naturalist, writer and painter of nature. Her paintings throughout the book just captured my attention. So realistic and yet still have that wonderful blend and flow that only watercolor can do. At least that's the way I feel about watercolor paintings. One day, I was watching our two grandchildren while Tim, Jeff and Tash (our son and daughter in law) were loading up the moving truck. We sat on a mattress, in the empty living room and looked at all the lovely pictures in this book. They loved them! Especially Everitt, our 17 month old grandson.  He would laugh, point and say "birdie" at the bird pictures. I think it would make a great read aloud for most any age of readers.

It is full of information about nature, wildflowers, bird-eating bullfrogs, turtles, deer and a lot about birds. Even some about wildlife gardening and the use of native plants which has become a new interest of mine. I have had enough of mowing my acre plus of lawn and have goals of turning part of it back into a meadow. I gleaned a few tips about that from this book.  She is an avid birdwatcher and master naturalist, something that I wouldn't mind achieving myself....

So if you love good writing, beautiful painting, birds, nature, stories about family and country living, you will also love this book! My new favorite. I found her blog before the book. I ordered the book through Inter library loan. I told Tim, "the next gift giving holiday this is what I want!" You can purchase a signed copy here. I have also added it to our amazon store.

She  has a new book coming out soon which you can pre-order here. It looks just as wonderful. You can see her style of painting by the covers. Beautiful Watercolors!

Butterflies of our summer~2011

I was looking through my pictures of this summer and discovered I took a lot of butterfly pictures. I thought I'd share them with you. I just recently took a serious interest in them so I may identify them correctly and then again I may not. Feel free to comment and let me know of any mistakes I make. The above photo is of  Fritillary Butterflies on common milkweed. They are either  Regal or  Great Spangled.  I couldn't tell the difference.

The Next two are of The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on my butterfly bush out back. I think I may try painting this one. He's posing so pretty for me.

Isn't he beautiful?! I really don't know if it's a male or female.

I don't know who this fella is. I wonder if it's a skipper.(maybe Silver Spotted Skipper) I found him interesting because the center of his eye is white. You can click on any of our pictures and they will enlarge.

Fritillary on my Blanket Flower. This is what has brought them around this year.... all the new flowers Jayme and I planted last year. If you want to attract Birds and Butterflies. Plant flowers. Here is a link that lists the kind they particularly like. Gardening to attract birds and butterflies

These are of Hummingbird Moths. We have never had these around and were blessed with an abundance of them. Such interesting creatures!

And last but certainly not least.....a Male Monarch. He came through and hung out for a few days. I enjoyed him immensely and wished he had brought a friend or two. I don't know as time will permit but, if it does I  want to try raising some Monarch's next year. It isn't hard to do. And it doesn't need to cost much at all. You just need a steady supply of Milkweed. Here is a blog on how to do that. Raising Monarchs
Another one I follow has several blog posts with pictures of how she did it. Plus some great links at the bottom of this post. Rambling Woods

Spicebush Swallowtail on Purple Coneflower





Jayme took this one a couple of years ago, and it's just kind of special to me. I painted it on a bird house gourd even. Here is my attempt.....

I hope you have enjoyed my butterflies as much as I did this summer. I don't see as many any more, since fall is steadily creeping in. No worries, I love fall. My favorite time of year! Happy Autumn!

Green Bug review

I'm a natural, chemical free type person. So, when the chance to win a DEET free bug repellent from OBN, came around I signed up! I've never trusted regular bug sprays, but ticks and mosquitoes aren't really good for you either. Bites from either can cause illness. Lyme Disease , Malaria, and West Nile Virus are the most well known. These are terribly debilitating and even life threatening. That being said, it is important to protect yourself as much as possible from the nasty little pests who spread them.


 This is the product I received. It smells just like the Big Cedars I remember from Montana. This scent also reminds me of my dad. Not sure why, except maybe he was a carpenter and any fresh wood smell  makes me think of him. Green Bug does have a  strong cedar odor. But then, we love the outdoors and personally, I don't have a problem smelling like it!

Cedar used as a natural pest control is not something new. Cedar chests are specifically used to keep its contents safe from moths. Native Americans rubbed their skin with the needles from Cedar to protect against mosquitoes. I've been told that the reason some of the older houses around this part of the country used cedar lumber in the attic, was to repel insects. They stored a lot of their food up there and needed it to be kept safe.

  I went hiking on the trails behind our house and came home with not a single tick. Mind you, these trails seem to be especially bad when it comes to ticks. I'm looking forward to next tick season when I avoid this area for exactly that reason! Now I'll be armed! In fact, that last time we went there my husband found three ticks and I found one. He knows I am always researching natural products and asked if I knew of anything. I said I'd look into it and a few weeks later I noticed the giveaway and thought we should give it a try.

I do wish it were more at the height of bug season around here to give it more of a test....not really, who needs bugs?! One of the nice things about fall, is that there are less of them. But, I am looking forward to next year and giving this a really good work out.

A twist on green smoothies

I think I'll be giving this a try. I've known for a good deal of time the benefits of consuming fermented foods or  beverages. Think, yogurt, sauerkraut, raw cheese or even unpasteurized (unheated)  beer or wine. Yep, they're good for you. You can read more about the benefits of lacto fermentation here on Robyn's blog. Since I'm not using dairy right now while I'm on my determined course to lose weight (I think they call it a "diet"), I'll give this a try in my smoothies. Looks really easy! I don't have much time right now and this appears to be even simple enough for me.

 Here is the home page for the green smoothie girl website. Check it out if you are interested in good health, losing weight and just eating right. By the way, I'm not sure of Robyn's age but I believe I read somewhere it's over 40.....she looks pretty healthy! It could be she's doing something right!