A Glimpse of Italian Freshness

Although most may assume this is a typical scene on every street corner in Italy, outdoor markets with fresh veggies and fruits aren’t as commonplace as one would think. At least in Umbria, in the green heart of Italy, there are more ‘socks and underwear bazaars’ than the outdoor farmers markets we know and treasure in our neck of the woods. Why bother dragging carts into the streets when the local supermercato has all the regions’ best produce? I do suspect this trend may change…we’ll see. In the meantime, the American designer, Roberta Williams sums up this novel idea. “Freshness is important. If a game is fresh, new, intriguing, challenging, and enchanting, it will sell, and sell well.” A good philosophy for everything you do! Remember to support your local farmers when preparing that 'just around the corner' Thanksgiving dinner.

  

Image of outdoor market in Italy by Greg Bilowz

If you like this blog, remember to post and become a friend on our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Questions, comments or thoughts, contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie

A Holiday Worth Remembering

Today’s post is a simple picture of a very special place; Assisi, the City of Peace in the Green Heart of Italy to accompany this special day Americans are given to show respect to our veterans. John Doolittle’s quote sums up this special holiday, reminding us why it is a holiday worth remembering. “America's Veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world.” May all of our veterans find peace within themselves for their service to our country and may my ears never hear what I heard a person tell me yesterday - that this is a ‘nothing holiday.’ Veterans Day is a holiday worth remembering. To our troops and their families, we say ‘Thank You.’ Peace.

Image of Assisi, The City of Peace by Greg Bilowz

If you like this blog, remember to post and become a friend on our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Questions, comments or thoughts, contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie

No Such Thing as Bad Weather

I’m officially working my way back into my daily blog routine. And while I may have missed the unforgettable Halloween snowstorm, I cannot avoid its damage to the landscape. There are plenty of broken limbs and branches in the aftermath of this bizarre weather pattern to prove its fury.

In a quick drive-by observation, the tree with significant storm damage in nearby locales appears to be the mighty oak. There could be a lot of variables for this scenario including a minor detail that some Oak trees hold onto its leaves longer than other deciduous species. There’s always room for lively discussion so feel free to jump in and share your thoughts, observations and storm photos as I’m still brushing myself off my jet lag, missing luggage and getting use to this morning routine. So of course I’m making this one a bit easier on myself by pulling a post from my trusty archives. And the topic is…you guessed it - the Quirky Oak! Hope you take a minute to read it. http://blog.bilowzassociates.com/2010/11/quirky-oak.html

To round off today’s message, I’ll share the British Novelist, George Gissing’s profound quote about bad weather. “For the man sound of body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every day has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously.”  That Farmers Almanac prediction may have some substance to it this year. We could be in for that wet, wild winter! So heed the warning and don’t forget to get your yards and gardens prepped for the wet, wild winter ahead. http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/2011/08/29/2012-us-winter-forecast/ 

Image from the Farmers Almanac link.

If you like this blog, remember to post and become a friend on our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Questions, comments or thoughts, contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie