Find Your Old Nutcracker to Open Screw Top Lids on Milk Cartons

I mentioned buying a nutcracker at a thrift shop recently and posted this photo on Instagram a day or two ago. The response has been overwhelming. So many people didn't realize the plastic tops have been reduced in height and there is no longer enough surface to get a good grip and unscrew them. When I saw this nutcracker I knew immediately it would work and it does. I could have used pliers but I only have one set and it's downstairs in my toolbox. Most of you will have a nutcracker in your junk drawer and won't have to buy one. I love giving new life to old things and this nutcracker now has an honored place in my kitchen silverware drawer. See my Instagram post HERE Now I know I'm not the only one with this problem. Trader Joe's private label milks have gone back to the old carton design with no plastic at all. You just rip open one of the sides and pour. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtwSeyhOnIG/

Just a random photo from one of my walks. Allium seed heads look like exploding fireworks, don't they? xo

My New Ladder & A Robin's Nest

I can't remember when I was more thrilled with a gift. Missy's owner gave it to me yesterday when he picked her up. He was concerned when he saw the photos of my Air Conditioning Duct Covers project. He said my step stool was unsafe because there was no grab bar if I lost my balance. This one has 4 big steps and a tool tray. I couldn't wait to use it so decided to check out a robin's nest under my balcony. Mother Robin has already raised one family this year and they loved flying lessons from the long ledge. She comes back to the same spot every year and I am honored to have her. She knows she's safe up there.

There is so much interest in this ladder. Order one HERE.

Robins are messy builders and they scatter the straw everywhere.

Three beautiful blue eggs.  Will keep you posted and try to get photos when they hatch. I got some quality mowing in today in advance of tomorrow's rain and made a pot of soup when I finished. Now I don't have to cook for a couple of days. xo

Wonderful Figural Antique Food Choppers

Aren't these wonderful? 

Wouldn't they make food chopping more fun? 

Folk Art at its finest!

photo source

February flew by, didn't it?

Happy last day!

xo

Rowena Cade: Reading Chair

I blogged about this photo in 2012. It's much more meaningful since I learned all about this remarkable woman in an episode of Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages on PBS. Read more here. I love her hair and her outfit from head to toe. I am rather certain this was not staged but a chance photo by someone catching her unaware. She was such a hard worker and a real artist in cement and stone at the open-air amphitheater she created in Cornwall. Numerous links here.

Vintage Chambers Range + Red Maple Sapling

I toured a smaller country colonial home yesterday that was a few streets over from me and loved the vintage Chambers range in the kitchen. It featured a well used griddle and two ovens. The last one I saw in a local home was ripped out when the house was demolished and probably ended up in the landfill. Boo hoo, but I have to confess it was not nearly as pristine as this one.

There was a nice size Japanese red maple seedling growing in the front pachysandra bed at this house and the listing realtor said I could have it. I couldn't pull it up but went back later with my gardening tools and dug it up. It is already thriving in my back yard near one of my bird baths. I am such a scavenger and I am always looking for something to transplant. The pachysandra roots had a stronghold on this little tree and it was much too close to the house to be allowed to grow in place. Lucky me. Now a little red tree has found true love and a new home.

I had a request to post a photo of the sapling so its growth can be recorded over the years. I have to be careful where I plant things with deep roots because my septic system is in my backyard. I need to scrub the birdbath and remove the algae buildup so the birds will be happy. We had rain overnight but I think it will stop around noon and just be an overcast day. 

Isn't this little tree a beauty? My grandmother, the master gardener, always said to put a fifty cent plant in a ten dollar hole and I followed her advice when planting this free tree. I can tell it's happy the way it sways in a gentle breeze.

My Favorite Gardening Tools

I probably own every gardening tool that was ever invented but I use these two the most. All of my tools are second hand purchases from garage sales or in the case of these two, side of the road finds.

graphics fairy

Cachepot with Gardening Tools

This pot sparked joy when I saw it and couldn't resist buying it at a thrift shop. I trimmed my overgrown thyme and put it in some soup I made recently. It is planted in a clay pot that is sitting inside this cachepot decorated all around with gardening tools. I will plant the herb outside soon. xo

Garden Shed to Love

I love the simplicity of this little garden structure. It must be in some sort of Historic Village like Old Sturbridge or Williamsburg. I have never seen a wheel barrow with a basket but I love it. I prefer old tools to new ones any day. Happy gardening. xo via

Flower Girl

I simply adore this garden woman.

“The Gardener” 2002 Poster Art Print by Lizzie Riches

Garden Shed / Art Studio

Tiny but powerful and it ticks all the boxes: dutch door, garden tool storage, greenhouse, art studio, cupola, weather vane, roses, and more. Very sweet. via

Rolling Garden Bench in Pea Green

One of my most popular posts ever was on a rolling garden bench I have in one of my out of print English gardening books. See the post here. This one above with the slats is nice too and I like the paint color from England. 

But this rolling bench remains as 'The Garden Bench of My Dreams'.

Old Gardening Tools are The Best

I always reach for a vintage gardening tool first. I have quite a few and they are tried and true. via

Old Tools are The Best Tools

I buy all my tools at garage sales and estate sales. They are almost always American made and reasonably priced. Used but not abused! 

via google images

Purchases at The Firehouse Sale

A new Kate Spade coffee mug.

A wonderful book on Tools.

Endpapers of a book on Historic Hudson Valley houses.

I put the three photos above on Instagram today. See my page here.

New Toolbox for My Gardening Tools

I pulled this cool aluminum box from a friend's dumpster. The men cleaning out her barns figured nobody would want it. Wrong! I made them put it in the back of my SUV.  It had some rust on the side handles and the steel piano hinge. No problem since I am the queen of cleaning and polishing.

I had this wooden base on casters in my attic. It was from my previous house and a previous life. Perfect fit too.

Here's an interior shot of the beginning stages of garden tool storage. Now I have all the things I need for my front garden right inside the front door. So handy. So happy.

Antique Gardening Tools

Early gardening tools scanned from one or more of my antiquarian prints. Early 19th century, English.

I know all the gardeners out there are itching to begin using all the things in the garden shed. I'll be glad to trade them for my collection of snow shovels currently being overused. What about you?

I thing it's going to be a nice day. I can feel that Spring is in the air.




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Anatomy Of A Watering Can

I got a wonderful book for Christmas entitled The Tool Book for the well-tended garden by William Bryant Logan, published by Smith & Hawken. It is quite wonderful and I'm enjoying it very much. I am amazed that I already have so many of the tools pictured in this big fat 302-page volume. Most were procured at various garage sales over the past 30+ years for pennies compared to retail prices. The scan above shows all the fine points of a good watering can. I learned the hard way not to leave them out all winter because they will fill with water, freeze, and blow up. Plastic ones aren't allowed here at the cottage. Good used metal ones are all but impossible to find these days so take care of the ones you have. Rosemary




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