Why I Oughta...

Planted in the Summer of 2020, this Harry Lauder Walking Stick Tree sits in the back part of the garden in a tucked-away spot, but when you see it when it is bare and dormant, it provides A LOT of winter interest.   It is described as 'contorted' and that's certainly the case with this small tree that I spotted on my way back to the compost pile this weekend.  When I snapped this photo (below), I muttered to myself:  "this tree has hardly grown.  How long has it been here?" [Sidenote:  I wrote about Contorted Trees at Disneyland Paris here that's worth checking out .  That was the inspiration for buying and planting this tree in our garden.] The answer to the second part is:  This year will mark its seventh (7th) growing season ('20, '21, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26).  That's far longer than I thought.   As for the second part;  has it grown?  Let's look.  Here, below, is what it looks like currently: Looking back at th...

Our Chicago Bears might be out of it, but with Illini great - and current All-Pro Devon Witherspoon holding down one of the corners for the Seattle Seahawks, we have something (and someone) to cheer for in our house on Sunday:  Our guy, @lilspoon .  Never thought we'd have a Seahawks jersey in our house.  But, here we are: Go peek at his Instagram handle .  What's the first thing you notice?  I'll tell what I see: A proud University of Illinois Alumni.  Hard NOT TO LOVE THIS GUY.

This week was significant for the Macho Monument Movement here in Downers Grove.  A group of concerned residents showed up the Village Council meeting to discuss the proposed " Public Art Program " and the placement of public art in the first three of what the Village is calling their 'Flexible Amenity Spaces' that are being created in Downtown Downers Grove as part of their recently ratified Guiding DG Streetscapes Comprehensive plan .   Up for discussion this past Tuesday was the idea of proceeding with the Public Art Program under a two-phase approach.  The first phase was tentatively suggested to include the purchase of what the Village Staff called  (page 3) "existing artworks for flexible amenity areas that will be constructed in 2026".   After discussion between the Commissioners, the Mayor, Village Staff and residents - including my high school friend, neighbor and founder of the Macho Monument Movement Kevin Larke - the Village Commissioners ...

While the (dang) rabbits were able to get to *some* of my Japanese Forest Grasses (when they were green), on-balance most of them are showing off a little bit of their 'winter interest'.  Are these the largest masses of grasses?  No.  But, they're SOMETHING - in terms of sizes.  I transplanted these over in 2024, so they have had two growing seasons on this border .  Here's a post showing them re-emerging for year two in April 2025 .   Here's the grasses right now, under a light blanket of snow: Here's hoping that they'll FILL OUT and get 'fat and sassy' in 2026.  

Watch out Maude Flanders .  The Illini have a giant t-shirt cannon they roll out onto the court during some timeouts to launch t-shirts up into the seats at the Assembly Hall State Farm Center down in Champaign.  To be honest...I was disappointed by the distance they were getting.  They might want to amp-up the gas pressure and get those shirts way up into the 200 section.  

This Christmas, my brother-in-law gifted me a new snow shovel:  The Snow Plow 24" pusher shovel.  I'm not sure where he got it from, but guessing either Amazon or Ace Hardware.  And, I'll tell you:  it is a great shovel.  And, it is American made .  A big consideration for me (when it comes to snow shovels) is the size.  I don't want something so big and heavy that I can't deal with it when it is loaded down with heavy, wet snow.  There's an idea that you should upgrade your everyday items when you replace them.  And then, when you find something that works well for you, you stick with it.  This snow shovel feels like an upgrade. With just a few snowfalls in, I'm already in love with this pusher shovel.  It does a great job, has a clean edge and is easy-to-handle.  It is also lightweight.  The website talks about how the blade is made from UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene ) - which sounds like a remarkab...

One of my ' early early' potential projects was to add a garden arch to the backyard.  That's because I was gifted a garden arch for Christmas.  It is still in the box, so I'm not totally sure what it looks like, but believe it to be a square one (non-arch) and it is made of wood.  Where could it go?  The first spot is obviously the fire pit entrance.  To help frame/create that as the 'entrance' to the fire pit .  Like this: But, I could also put it closer to the house.  Either off the boardwalk.  Or, as part of a 'hide-and-reveal' entrance off the patio?  If I did that....what would we do back by the firepit?   The answer is, of course easy:  Revisit the idea of building a moongate back there .   I suppose the installation of the arch certainly isn't permanent.  So, if I end up starting with it back there, it doesn't mean we can't build the moongate, right?