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An outdoor garden shower- it could be yours on Oct 25!
Yesterday, our garden coaching business, Butterfly Properties competed in my favorite Missoula event- Home ReSource's Spontaneous Construction (aka SponCon). In this event, contestants have 7 hours to...
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Garden project progress- Home ReSource fencing
Although it is getting late in the gardening year, I am making some progress now on some garden projects- primarily fencing related. This fencing project started about 11 years ago. When we first...
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2013 Cat of the Year; voting is now open
Pictured (from the left) Natalie, Marilyn, Miles, David, Alex So, here are the contestants. We will start with the defending champion, Natalie.Age: 18Weight: 10 lbsBreed: Domestic long...
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new heat for my old shop
I've been spending a lot of time in my shop lately on a variety of projects for our home and garden. Including a bunch of re-purposed garden tool chairs and benches (and things for my Etsy store) but...
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The garden as a bird feeder
In general, our garden is our bird feeder- we planted native plants and created habitat to suit birds' primary food- insects. And it has worked well, though it is not your traditional "birder's...
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A lot going on in the garden...
Spring is such an exciting and ever changing time in the garden. This year is no exception. New birds are arriving daily, others are nesting, including red breasted nuthatches, northern flickers and...
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Progress on the Project List: chicken coop update
I have made a lot of progress on the garden project list,but the one item I have been spending the most time with recently is the chicken coop and run, and it is nearly done. With the exception of some...
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Chickens
The coop is complete, and full of chickens.We were the highest bidders at the 4H/ FFA livestock auction on the GRAND CHAMPION layer pen! It was an exciting day. Not only did we get some beautiful...
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Bird list
Although I’ve been spending a lot of time posting on this blog about birds, and spending time in the garden watching birds, it has been our new chickens. However, after a social at our garden, I was...
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SponCon's Coming...
This Saturday (September 20) is our favorite event of the year- Spontaneous Construction! This is Home ReSource's annual festival of creative reinvention. It is a celebration of reuse and a building...
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SponCon 2014 Recap
When I get asked why I like Spontaneous Construction (SponCon), I inevitably say because it is such a unique event. It is challenging; it is a difficult test of your skills, creativity, and...
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Trailer Mover
Beyond plants in the garden we have a lot of structure- trellises, outbuildings (greenhouse, tool closet, chicken coop, grill shed) and even our camper. The camper makes a delightful addition as a...
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2014 Cat of the Year, Voting is Open!
It is that time of the year again, to step away from the garden, from birding, and from re-purposing projects to focus on our family. More importantly, to recognize the contributions of some...
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A flower a day
Biscuitroot (Lomatium ambiguum)Follow me on Instagram (montanawildlifegardener) where I am trying to post a picture each day of a species that is flowering in our garden. I say "try" because we have...
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Make a Bee House Class Follow-Up
I had a lot of fun talking about native plants, native insects that use them, and our native pollinators at the Make a Bee House Class I taught last week through the Missoula County Public Schools...
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Butterfly Properties Garden Tour!
Marilyn and I have been garden coaches in Missoula since about 2009 (Butterfly Properties). Garden coaching is just what it sounds like: helping people identify garden goals and then helping them...
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Little Free Library #12129
Little Free Library #12129 is in action! This has been on my project list for over a year, and I am glad to get it crossed off. I love the idea of the Little Free Library, and I wanted to participate...
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Spontaneous Construction '15 is almost here!
SponCon's coming! This year celebrates over ten years of Spontaneous Construction, Home ReSource's annual festival of creative reinvention. It is my favorite event of the year- a day devoted to...
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Native Plant and Wildlife Gardening Classes in September!
This September, my wife and I will each teach a class through the Missoula County Public Schools Lifelong Learning Center. We each taught classes last year; Marilyn taught a class on composting, and...
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2015 Cat of the Year, Vote now!
It is that time of the year again; time to recognize the contributions of some exceptional individuals. Yes, it’s time to vote for your Cat of the Year.Preparation of this year’s Cat of the Year voting...
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For Immediate release: Winston named 2015 Cat of the Year
For Immediate release: Winston named 2015 Cat of the Year MISSOULA, Mont. January 28, 2016---- In a stunning landslide victory, Winston has been named the 2015 Cat of the Year. This result was...
View ArticleA new use for this old blog; a reference
So I haven’t really been keeping up with this blog and frankly I am not sure of its fate. Since I haven’t been updating it regularly like I once did, this blog has turned into more of a static website,...
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Catio
If you like your cats and you like wildlife, do them both a favor and keep your cats inside. Cats live longer, healthier lives as indoor cats, and wildlife and your neighbor’s vegetable beds benefit...
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Game of Cat Thrones: Cast your ballot for the 2017 Cat of the Year
It’s time for the Game of Cat Thrones, where you win or you’re not Cat of the Year. Loyal readers may have noticed that the 2016 Elections didn’t happen. We had to cancel it because we couldn't...
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