Get Growing with Mickey Rathbun: Bluebirds and beavers
Eastern Bluebird. FOR THE GAZETTE/CHUCK STERN
The Eastern bluebird population has increased significantly in recent decades. FOR THE GAZETTE/CHUCK STERN
Beaver lodges in the marsh off the rail trail in Amherst by Station Rd. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Beaver lodges in the marsh off the rail trail in Amherst by Station Road. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Beaver lodges in the marsh off the rail trail in Amherst by Station Rd. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Bluebirds at Mikey Ratherbun s home in Amherst. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Eastern bluebirds at Mickey Rathbun’s home in Amherst. The birds can also be found nesting in holes in fence posts and dead trees. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Snowdrops help me put winter in perspective Getty Images/iStockphoto
Published: 10/5/2018 10:07:59 AM
As I write this, there are still plenty of flowers in the garden and green leaves on the trees. But fall is definitely in the air, a bittersweet time for those of us who dread the winter that’s not far behind. Thinking ahead to next spring’s flowering bulbs helps me put winter in perspective. A season to let things sleep underground. A season to marvel, and shiver, at meteorological extremes. A season that might seem endless but will, in fact, draw to a close as snowdrops (Galanthus) emerge.
Get Growing: Putting the new garden to bed
A new shade garden that Mickey Rathbun created with her son Nicholas over the summer. At top,slabs of Goshen stone make a curving path bisecting the garden. mickey rathbun photos
Published: 12/19/2020 11:03:41 AM
Many gardeners I know put in new garden beds this summer vegetables, perennials, even moss spurred by COVID restlessness and the desire to get their hands in the dirt. The impetus for me to add a new bed was the availability of manpower, specifically, the brawn of my 27-year-old son Nicholas, who fled the craziness of Brooklyn last May and stayed with my husband and me in Amherst for several weeks.