From my friend Matt in Florida. His allergies are kicking in, but isn't it worth it for this sort of beauty? Hurry up, spring!

Photo: Kate O' on Flickr

Mr. Ivy has been watching a whole lot of shows like Man Vs. Wild and Survivorman lately. I don't know if he's planning a trip to Outer Mongolia or what, but he sure is digging those shows. Me, I'm interested a bit, mainly when they show you things you can eat that normally nobody sane would consider food.

Between the two, I prefer Man Vs. Wild, since he sets up fake scenarios that one could really find themselves in. Well, that and I think the Survivorman guy is kinda irritating. What fascinates me about both shows is how many insects are good protein. I often think about survival situations and whether I could eat a bug or not, and after watching these shows, I think I'd rather eat a bug than gut a boa constrictor or something. I mean, really, just ewww.

What do you think of these survival shows? Interesting or disturbing?

For propane safety tips, go here. For fire! Fire! Fire! watch the video.

Photo: Matt.mmwine on Flickr

My husband often talks about growing an herb garden specifically for his culinary pursuits. I think it's a fab idea, but not being any great shakes of a cook, and he not being any great shakes of a gardener, we don't exactly know where to start. This is why I found this article so fascinating and helpful. It's good stuff, check it out.

If only my garden fountain could do this.