A community of bloggers

Who knew there were so many writers blogging away in our little corner of the world!

The Larchmont Patch throws a light on all of us with interests ranging from ranch houses to chocolate, design to language, and lots of other interests in-between. Kind of nice. Makes you want to curl up with your laptop and read on.
Enjoy!

The first robin

I'd only been awake for a few minutes and needed to rub my eyes a few times to believe what I was seeing. But there he was: A big fat robin, perched in my lilac bush, waiting with the sparrows for me to fill the bird feeder.

I grabbed my camera and got the best photo I could – not great, but proof that this harbinger of spring really was really paying a visit on Valentine's Day.

I couldn't recall ever seeing a robin with this much snow on the ground.

Surely the worms are still buried deep in the ground, far beyond the reaches of this brave fellow. So I did a Google search to see when robins normally reach the Larchmont area and found an interesting website that tracks sightings of birds. I posted my sighting and found that robins had been sighted on Long Island earlier this week.

I'm hoping this means the groundhogs were wrong.

Getting the Advil ready

Larchmont-Mamaroneck managed to escape the weekend's storm with nary a single snowflake. A welcome relief to us, who live on a corner and have an extra-long sidewalk to shovel, but a real disappointment to my California grandkids, visiting for the weekend, who really were looking forward to building a snowman — and a snowwoman and snowboy and snowgirl.

Too bad they're back in sunny California now. The storm that's coming promises to be a doozy, and it's doubtful we'll escape.

So I made sure we had a full stock of Advil and Aleve on hand before going to CVS this afternoon. I also brought in some firewood. My husband did his part as well —he picked up a case of wine.

We're all set for the long haul.

Winter's promise

In the deep cold of January, with winter's short days and long nights, along comes Tu B'Sh'vat to remind us that no matter how miserable we may feel, spring really is just around the corner.

Tu B'Sh'vat, the Jewish "New Year of the Trees," may make agricultural sense in the Middle East, but what is one to make of it in Larchmont?

A sunny winter day with the temperature climbing past 40 seemed like a good time to find out. Camera in hand, I set out for a walk around the garden.

Aching for long warm weather

A small backyard garden is beneficial not just for your health but also for your wallet, as today's New York Times notes in a story about an effort underway in San Jose, CA.

Started by Raul Lozano, the son of farm workers, La Mesa Verde is part of a national movement to make healthy food readily accessible in marginalized urban neighborhoods.

"You can get beer in the neighborhood, but not vegetables," Lozano said.

Living in Larchmont, we have easy access to vegetables and beer, but we don't have something the new gardeners in San Jose take for granted: 300 sunny and warm days a year.

Looking out my office window at the cold rain falling on this gray Sunday afternoon, I feel a bit of envy for Maria Alarcon, who picks broccoli for breakfast and wakes to the scent of onions and cilantro wafting her into her open window. I am already counting the days till spring -- and planning my garden.

How about you?