as black as night...

As the clouds broke along the mountain, we could see the dreary forests, the tremendous precipices, the white patches of snow, the gulfs and chasms as black as night, all revealed for an instant, and then disappearing from the view.

What's in your garage?

A box of antique picture frames sits on top of the pile, along with shelf brackets, safety gates and a toboggan. Five folding cots hang on the wall. Underneath it all I know there is a brand new table saw and a reliable old jig saw, both of which I would love to use. That’s part of our January garage inventory. Do we need all this stuff? I haven’t made a formal resolution, but I plan to do something about it in 2003. What’s in YOUR garage?

Leather Accessories

You dreamt about it, Leather Pillows– now they are a reality!!! Real Leather, soft, so cool and sexy and with that great Leather smell. We have sourced hides from Northern Italy, where they know a thing or two about quality. We have designed the leather pillows using four large hides. The cow hides are tanned and then aniline dyed, so the color is all through the leather. The quality of these unique products is superb and are without doubt the finest available - worldwide.

Watching for Desert Wildlife

Concentrate on those areas where you are most likely to encounter wildlife. Some desert species still need to drink so the gardens, orchards and natural springs in the mountains can be especially worthwhile. The hiking trails will take you to many of these areas.

Brick Wall

Rick lives on the margins of a very wooded area, across a lively stream and up some impromptu steps up the side of a mountain. The house, a rough brick shack, would have been just one room were it not for a rough brick wall which had recently been erected around the bed (the only bed as far as I could see), and of which Rick is touchingly proud.

Iron Fence

How do you obtain ironwork that both reflects your taste and complements your home? The designer should meet with you at your job site and personally discuss the project with you. Most reputable iron shops today use computer-aided design systems to quickly produce drawings to precise dimensions, showing exactly what a gate, railing, or fence panel will look like before it is fabricated. Whether your order is for a simple iron fence or an ornate railing, the craftsman doing the work should also make a job site visit before work begins.

Rose of Sharon

Although its large blossoms resemble a rose, the Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) isn't really a rose at all. The blossoms attract hummingbirds and tiny insects that hummers also eat. The flowers on this woody shrub come in several colors, including white, pink, purple, and red. Its leaves come out in late spring, causing neophyte gardeners to think the plant is perhaps dead.