A Blessing of Toads: A Guide to Living with Nature

by Sharon Lovejoy

Overview

Through this collection of delightful essays and beautiful illustrations, long-time contributor to Country Living Gardner Sharon Lovejoy shares the boundless joys of a country garden. Lovejoy has chosen to focus on the natural world to be found just outside the door, including hummingbirds, caterpillars, and dragonflies, but her informative and witty prose also covers traditional plant care. The very titles of her sketches convey pleasure in the vibrant country landscape and the life that teems within it: “The Bumble Bee Rumba,” “Faeries in the Fuschias (sphinx moths),” “Holiday Feasts for the Birds and the Beasts,” and “Conversations with Sunflowers.” This compilation truly is—to borrow another of her titles—“Something to Crow About.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608933600
Publisher:	Down East Books
Publication date:	12/10/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

For more than twenty years, Sharon Lovejoy has been inspiring children and adults to enjoy the natural world. She has written a number of books, including Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots, Hollyhock Days, and Trowel & Error. A contributor to Country Living Gardener magazine since its inception, Sharon is a frequent guest on radio and television programs and maintains a busy speaking and consulting schedule. She divides her time between homes in Maine and California.

Table of Contents

Foreword 9

Acknowledgments 11

Introduction 13

A Feast for the Eyes 17

The Seediest Garden in the Neighborhood 20

Pond Parenthood 26

Windowsill Reveries 34

A Member of the Passalong Club 39

The Bumblebee Rumba 45

"Bee Prepared" 51

Flower Flies Forever 57

How to Enchant a Wasp 62

Beetles to the Rescue 74

Dessert and a Dragonfly 81

Calling All Caterpillars 88

Faeries in the Fuchsias 88

A Lap Full of Butterflies 94

Afternoon with a Spider 99

Night Life 104

Birds, Bugs, and Benefits 110

The Good, The Bar, & The Ugly 116

Hummingbirds in the Garden 122

My Morning Alarmers 127

A Thrush in My Picnic Basket 133

Getting the Blues 139

In the Company of Owls 150

A Charm of Finches 156

Something to Crow About 161

Jay Walking 167

Scarecrows Are for the Birds 173

Outwitted by Squirrels 181

On the Matter of Moles 187

In Praise of Garden Snakes 192

A Blessing of Toads 199

Skunk Scentsibilities 206

Confessions of a Worm Rescuer 213

Holiday Feasts for Birds & Beasts 219

Return of the Native 225

A Pocket Full of Acorns 230

Fragrant Memories 235

Conversations with Sunflowers 243

The Ladies on My Windowsill 249

Reveling in Rugosas 257

Travels with Vera 265

My Crab-Bag Garden 270

Green Memories 276

Hollyhocks for Fruitfulness 282

'Tis the Gift to Be Simple 288

Bibliography 295

Index 298