Mouse the cat

Have you seen or heard from Gardenerd?

Well technically *I am* a gardening nerd and you’re hearing from me now, but this is different. Gardenerd is the brain child and mascot of Christy Wilhelmi, in Los Angeles, California. Here’s a snippet from Gardenerd: The Ultimate Resource for Garden Nerds.

Are you obsessed with organic gardening, have a thirst for knowledge and a healthy sense of humor? Whether you’re a novice or garden nerd veteran, there’s a place for you here.

At least a year ago my PR assistant, Mel, gave me a carrot plush toy. It’s the cutest thing ever. It also spawned an idea we couldn’t pass up. What if we sent this plush toy around the world so people could photograph it in their gardens? What if gardenerds all over the planet could then post their photos to Twitter or Instagram for all of us to share?

I’m like a child in a candy shop with this sort of thing. After meeting the traveling carrot via Sarah’s video, I quickly added my name to the list of garden hosts.

Gardenerd arrived in San Jose, California last week. He traveled thousands of miles from Waiuku, New Zealand via Sarah The Gardener. Sarah enclosed a few Kiwi treasures with her package as well. What fun!

Thank you, Sarah!!!

Gardenerd arrived with the first of several storms, bringing much-needed rain to our drought-parched state. What a weekend!

My first order of business was to take a quick pic in the garden with our guest. Mouse the Cat insisted on meeting him as well. As you can see, Mouse doesn’t have a shy bone in his body.

By Saturday the rain was really coming down, so some quick rain gear was in order.

Gardenerd checks out the California native plants #wheresgardenerd

A produce bag, a newspaper cover and some scotch tape did the trick and he was ready to spend some time in the garden.

Gardenerd in his rain gear. He’s resting on my new planting Trug.

It’s been a busy time in the garden with the first day of spring less than two weeks away. I’ve been rotating compost bins, preparing gardening beds and assembling an elevated gardening bed called a Trug. More about that later. With the recent rain, the weeds are having a second go at garden domination. Sadly, they’re in for a disappointment. I’ve been plucking weeds and renegade lawn on a daily basis, keeping the garden in good shape.

Stay tuned for updates as I show my visitor around my garden and the nearby community.

If you’re interested in hosting Gardenerd, you can grab the details here.

You can follow Gardenerd’s adventures on Instagram or Twitter by using the hashtag #wheresgardenerd (with one ‘n’)

Growing up in the late sixties and early seventies, we all looked forward to the once-a-year Christmas specials. Long before Netflix and DVRs, if you wanted to see a Christmas special you had to be in front of a TV at 7:30 pm sharp. We didn’t always have a TV so we would often watch at a friend’s.

My favorite Christmas specials included How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the iconic A Charlie Brown Christmas. I related to Charlie Brown’s underdog status. I went to school with unkind girls like Lucy. But the real joy came from the wonderful scenes with the ever-confident Snoopy and Woodstock. Snoopy’s scenes, animated to Guaraldi’s extraordinary music, are what made it special.

So when I decided to reprise my snow globe this year, Snoopy and Woodstock made it to center stage.

Snoopy and Woodstock ornament

Several years ago, my friend Marcia gave the boys an acrylic globe. We’ve used it as a terrarium for a while till the plants outgrew it. Another year we filled it with round, silk ornaments. It’s also beautiful unadorned.

Two years ago I made my first snow globe with Snow-in-a-can, a gift from my friend Kelly.

This year I filled the bottom of the globe with a scrap of poly fiberfill. I added a piece of cardboard cut to size. For some added sparkle, I covered the cardboard with a piece of iridescent cellophane I saved from last year. It once wrapped a plate of brownies from a friend. It reminds me of ice under a sunny sky.