We’ve all heard how important it is to eat a diet high in roughage. Likewise, “roughaging” (spending time outdoors) is essential to our mental health. Even if it’s a settee on the porch, we need it, gotta have it. I aim to be the reason you pulled your bedding out the back door last night.
Winnie Nielsen says: Ohhh, what is this bird? I love his bandit eye cover look.
MaryJane says: Cedar waxwing. Very cool looking bird!
BB king says: Our cedar waxwings don’t look like that here in PA. Not all those colors. Very lovely bird though !
Sherry Godbey says: Gorgeous
Winnie Nielsen says: Goodness, this is stunning with the purples and black!
This barn is quite a bit like my husband’s grandfather’s barn. When it was built, grandpa had a hardwood floor put into the upper level. Many a Friday night was spent with neighbors and family ROLLER SKATING and enjoying each others company.
This farm was recently sold and many things were restored. The new owner plans to make the barn and surrounding land into an event. Everyone we spoke to were excited that the Farm was being restored to match many of our memories.
Winnie Nielsen says: Now that is what I call a perfect beauty: old, stately, and full of stories from generations. What a perfect photo to start my day as you know how I love me some old red barns and tractors!!
Tammi says: I remember my grandparents’ barn. As a younger child, some summers we would visit them. The South Dakota prairie was vast, and I loved hearing the stories of life on the farm. Especially the barn. Though I wasn’t there, the stories made me feel like I was. When I see a picture of a barn in the country, it makes me want to go there to find a story. It’s a very simple picture, thanks for sharing.
Mary Rauch says: Lovely
Parklet … said just like it sounds: park-let.
And, like other words with the diminutive “-let” suffix …
booklet, piglet …
it means the miniature version of its root word, park.
So, parklet = tiny park.
The cool thing about parklets, though, is that they’re not just small-space parks (that’s more the territory of the parklet’s cousin, the pocket park). A parklet is more of a pop-up type of park that may just, well, pop up in unexpected urban places. Often, it’s little more than a spiffy sidewalk extension that provides a bit of greenery and/or sitting spaces for passersby.
Photo by San Francisco Planning Department via Flickr
“Parklets are intended for people,” says Wikipedia. “They offer a place to stop, to sit, and to rest while taking in the activities of the street. A parklet may be thought of as permanent, but must be designed for quick and easy removal for emergencies or other reasons such as snow removal without damage to the curb or street. As initially conceived, a parklet is always open to the public.”
In 2010, San Francisco began the world’s first parklet project—five pilot projects in four neighborhoods around the city—conceived by London-based designer Suzi Bolognese. This is one of the originals:
Photo by Salty Boatr via Wikimedia Commons
Since then, parklets have started popping up in cities around the world, like this lovely 2016 installation in Lodz, Poland:
Photo by Zorro 2212 via Wikimedia Commons
If your city needs a parklet or two, you might be just the gal to get them going. For ideas and how-to tips, turn your local planning department. But first, you might take a peek at Seattle’s handy Parklet Handbook, which details the application process as well as requirements for designing, permitting, building, and maintaining your parklet. It includes expected timelines for each phase of the project and estimated costs. You’ll also find tips for assembling a team and funding your parklet. The handbook is specific to Seattle, but it’ll help point you in the right direction.
Karlyne says: Now that’s a city plan any country girl could get behind!
Winnie Nielsen says: These little city parks are a fantastic idea and make a huge difference in how our cities can look and function. Gainesville is undergoing a huge collaborative project to develop the land between the university and the downtown to make UF and Gainesville an eminent city. These little Parklets could make a perfect addition!
calle says: Totally incongruent with my image of a park.
Parks have grass, swings, slides, trails and picnic tables.
We have never seen a park with patio seating areas.
Guess I am so surprised by the name.
Urban areas have parks, so why did they steal the name of a wide open area and transfer it to a “space” to play checkers, chess, read a paper, have a phone conversation off the beaten city sidewalk.
Maybe I am a purist, but Yellow stone is a huge park, our small town park has trails, a creeks with a large bridge, Frisbee golf, swings, slides, a Girl Scout cabin and a wading area.
A tartlet,yes, a piglet, and outlet yes, but I hope we do not have patio seating all over big cities and make children think these are parks.
In fact we very seldom see children playing on their huge backyard play equipment.
We drive through about 25 small towns every month.
We seldom see anyone, and we drive at all different times of the day and night.
Gas stations and fast food places have life. We have now driven this same route for almost 14 yrs.
Stopped at a small town thrift store two weeks ago.
Not a soul on the street.
In the metro areas you see people waiting for the bus, or walking on occasion.
Glad this article was posted as I had just discussed the “missing people” from towns and city streets just last week with one of our children.
Now for the strange part, if I see a lone child walking or riding a bike, I almost fear for that child.
We also drove 1600 miles in three days on back highways and saw few people walking.
Wish I was a researcher as I would love to study this area.
Guess my five garden rooms are “parklets” will share this with my spouse as it makes it sound more important. Ha ha ha
Krista says: I like this idea! I think it helps bring beauty to the city life and helps draw people in. If I was given the choice between one of these parklets and a typical bench I would choose the parklet. It’s nice to find a little piece of nature even in our busy day to day life. It would even be nice to have one of these set up in my own backyard!
Karlyne says: What part of the country are you driving through, calle?
darlene ricotta says: Very nice, especially for an older Senior who enjoys parks but can’t get to a big one or walk as well.
Thanks
Darlene
BB king says: I adore Poppies ! but the antique ones I got from my late 87 year old gardening mentor did not survive the move to my farmette, alas.
Read the classic, Celia Thaxter’s ” An Island Garden” with paintings by the famous impressionist painter. It is nearly an ode to Poppies
Michele Bilka says: Love Oriental Poppies. I have 2 colors & I think that is the color of the 1 I planted this spring, it should bloom next year & 3 bright coral. Need more colors!
BB king says: love those honey bees-sad to say I have seen very few this season here in Amishland PA
Winnie Nielsen says: Beautiful classical American Honey Bee busybat necessary work. I love them!
Deborah J Chickering says: Beautiful. Can almost smell them.
Faye brown says: Beautiful! They look just like the antique roses my grandmother grew.
Ellise Poulsen says: Falling in love with the flowers all over again this summer!
Dana Downes says: I love, love, love this magazine.
So many beautiful pictures, you can almost smell their fragrance.
The many articles have given me lots of ideas that’s so helpful.
Thank you
Carol j hale says: Love the flowers
Wonderful magazine wish I’d had it years ago when I was raising my famiky, had a milk cow, goats & a huge garden!
BB king says: barn swallow? swift? martin? they all look similar
MaryJane says: Barn swallow. I think:)
BB king says: thanks
Lorraine Hess says: When I lived in the country, I had a bluebird box in the front yard. Every year the swallows and bluebirds took turns nesting in it. So much fun to watch!
Faye brown says: What ever kind of bird it is, it is lovely and thank you for the lovely picture. I can’t ever seem to get close enough to a bird to take its picture without it flying away. Good for you Mary Jane!
Judy morris says: Chocolate is a heavenly break from the hurriedness of the day!
BB king says: NO CONTINUE READING LINK ON THE SOLSTICE ARTICLE, SO CANT RESPOND!
MaryJane says: It’s fixed now. Hard for me to remember to do that because it’s a new problem. It used to function properly.
Winnie Nielsen says: Love these young adult Canadian Geese gathering together. I assume they are all brothers and sisters and is this photo around your pond?
MaryJane says: No this wasn’t taken at our pond. Karina and Cydnie drove around taking photos one day and came back with this one.
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
Ooh, I do so love your hummingbird photos ! Always so lovely
What a perfect photo!! I have been enjoying two different types of Hummingbirds at my feeder lately. They even sort of do a little chirp as they land to feed.
Love hummingbirds and we have a “show” every morning around our feeder which is at the edge of our deck on the east side of the house. We usually sit out there with breakfast and/or coffee, with our cat out with a halter and on her long leash, so we sometimes leave the back door standing open.
The other morning two hummers flew in the house, one flew back out but I had to go see about getting the other one out. It flew around into all the rooms and flew into the big south window behind our couch. It was stunned and fell down to the sill. I was able to catch it and carry it outside. It was chirping but I wasn’t sure if it was okay.
I laid it on the edge of the deck, stroked it a bit and after a couple minutes it “woke up” and flew off in a hurry. I was grateful to see it was okay!
We’re trying to remember to shut the door so they don’t do that again. We have at least three “regulars” who hang around a lot. Just in the last couple days a rufous showed up . . . very bossy and agressive little bird!