Linda Ly's Blog, page 17
March 2, 2017
Climbing the Ladder Canyon Trail in Mecca Hills
When I think of slot canyons, I think of the dramatic water-carved walls of Southern Utah and the tall narrow gorges of Northern Arizona. I think of iconic slots with telling names like the Subway, the Zion Narrows, and Secret Canyon. What I don’t picture, however, is a slot canyon just outside of Palm Springs, California, a land more known for palm trees and art deco hotels than its geologic wonders.
In fact, you wouldn’t know this treasure of a hike was only a few miles off the road. It’s...
February 27, 2017
How to Dress Adventure Babies for Cold Winter Weather
In her first year of life, Gemma camped in the snow, hiked the Cascades, explored the Colorado Plateau, and visited a variety of terrain from sea level to 12,000 feet above. Through it all, she remained a happy, healthy baby and simply adores being outside, rain or shine.
What’s your secret to bringing a baby outdoors? other parents want to know. And while they think my answer will be one of the many pieces of gear we’ve acquired since becoming parents ourselves (we definitely don’t travel l...
February 24, 2017
Five Things Friday
The five little things that made my week…
1. Spring starts much earlier in Southern California than most parts of the country, but a sure sign of the change of seasons for me is when the apple blossoms on our tree begin to appear!
2. Any day now… the thousands of pink jasmine buds outside our bedroom window will bloom and burst with the most heavenly fragrance.
3. When it comes to vegetables, I’m a fan of anything purple. (You may remember the purple peppers, beans, artichokes, carrots, a...
February 21, 2017
Leggy Seedlings: What Causes Them and How to Correct Them
If you like to give your seeds a head start on the season by sprouting them on a sunny windowsill, you may be wondering right about now: why are they so spindly and stretching toward the sun? This isn’t a catwalk, ladies!
Leggy seedlings commonly occur with seeds started indoors. They have the telltale long, skinny stems and sparse sets of leaves and, if left uncorrected, the condition can weaken their stems, stunt their growth, or make them more susceptible to pests and diseases. They’re a...
February 17, 2017
Planting Milkweed for the Monarchs
It’s one of the greatest migrations of the animal kingdom: Every spring, hundreds of thousands of monarch butterflies sweep across the continent from Mexico to Canada and then back again in fall, a journey spanning nearly 3,000 miles and multiple generations. In fact, recent studies show that it takes up to four generations for monarchs to make it north out of Mexico and into Southern Canada!
Along the way, the butterflies feed on a variety of nectar-rich flowers but breed on only type of pl...
February 10, 2017
Five Things Friday
The five little things that made my week…
1. Confession: This little ball of cuteness rivals the other cuteness toddling in the house right now.
2. If and when I ever move out of California, I’ll miss the abundance of winter citrus growing in my backyard the most.
3. Next to harvesting, seed starting is my favorite thing about gardening. The satisfaction from watching a tiny seed the size of a pinhead grow into something much, much greater thrills me every time.
4. Ever since I learned a...
February 5, 2017
Keep Calm and Hygge On
Do you find pleasure in nestling deep in your blanket on cold days, or warming up the house with a slow-cooking stew? Do you feel content with sharing a simple meal with family and friends, or gathering around a campfire under a moonlit sky?
The Danes have a word for all these things: hygge. But hygge is not any one “thing,” per se. It’s a Scandinavian lifestyle concept that encompasses all things cozy (in its most simplistic definition) and the intimate connection one feels with others. Whi...
February 3, 2017
Introducing My 10-Month-Old Baby to Snowboarding
Pre-parenthood, I always heard stories of babies that could swim before they crawled or run before they walked. It seemed that babies were built with instinctive reflexes that went beyond sucking or smiling — reflexes combined with a lack of fear and low center of gravity, two great advantages in the world of snowsports.
I’ve seen tiny skiers bop their way down the bunny hill as young as two years old, and marveled as kids seemed to get younger and younger with every YouTube video I watched....
January 27, 2017
Five Things Friday
The five little things that made my week…
1. Weeding is so much more enjoyable after a rain. Not only are they easier to pull out, but digging your hands in the dirt is a great way to dose yourself with nature’s happy pill.
2. I spy… the first tomatoes of winter coming along!
3. The garden is her playground. And those dried dead leaves are her favorite toys at the moment.
4. Spring garden chores are lining up these next few weeks and we are starting to get the beds prepped for planting....
January 25, 2017
Decoding Your Garden Seed Catalogs
Seed catalogs are starting to fill my mailbox with the imminent arrival of spring, and they’re one of my favorite ways to pass a rainy day. Parked on the couch, marker in hand, I can spend an entire afternoon circling seed choices and dogearing pages with the giddiness of a kid in a candy store. One of my Facebook followers put it best: it’s one of those times when the eyes are bigger than the stomach (or in my case, bigger than the garden).
I’ve been buying and starting seeds every year sin...
