Perspective – September 11
Author: Timelesslady
Married with children and grandchildren. Reader, writer, painter - maybe a bit of an artist. Gardener... Led by the Spirit.
Perspective – Your Own Backyard
We often load our bikes into the back of my husband’s truck and search out new bike trails. Oh my, how behind the times we felt when we discovered there is a bike trail that begins/ends in our own back yard. The Monroe Twp. Bikeway runs between Williamstown and Glassboro, New Jersey, and has been available for walking, biking, in-line skating, etc., for near ten years. Sunday was the first time we rode the trail. What a joyous outing we had. While researching the trail I came upon an extensive list of other biking trails in our Tri-State area. Bike Trails in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. I can’t wait to try out a few more.
Moral of this tale: Check out your own town for interesting things to do. You might be as surprised as we were at what you might find.
Share this:
Photo Challenge – Stoned
Mirror
“This week’s challenge is all about reflections.” ~ WordPress Photo Challenge
When I read the title for this week’s photo challenge this strange photograph I took on Block Island, RI came to mind. Block Island beaches are a beautiful mix of sand and gorgeous rocks. During one vacation my husband and I were on a hunt for heart-shaped rocks. Little did I know, as I gazed at this beautiful green rock and photographed it, that the wet surface would reveal my image when I downloaded the photo. If I tried to mimic this again, I doubt I would have the same result as I did in this lucky shot.
Share this:
Place – The Lure of the Shortcut
On the way home from fishing this past weekend, we had plenty of time left in the afternoon, and nowhere we had to be, so we turned down a road that looked interesting and had the possibility of being a shortcut. We quickly realized a shortcut was not going to happen, but we came upon some really interesting sights as we headed back to main roads.
Coastal New Jersey is home to many sand pits. This is an abandoned section of one of those. Picturesque in one way, eerie in another…a good setting for a Stephen King novel.
Share this:
Quick Tip – Did You Know? Free Audiobooks
Did you now that many classic works of fiction are available in a read-aloud fashion on Youtube? I recently listened to ‘1984’ by George Orwell, and for a happier change of pace am now listening to ‘Enchanted April’ by Elizabeth Von Arnim. The quality of the reading is very good, comparable to a library or purchased audiobook. The one change I made in listening was to purchase an inexpensive pair of portable speakers for my computer to bump up the sound just a notch.
Since most books are several hours long, make note of where you stop. At times the book will begin again where I stopped it, but don’t count on this feature. I’m near the end of ‘Enchanted April,’ and will soon be searching for a new book to begin.
Share this:
Pheathers – Osprey
Osprey are an amazing sight as they dive and capture fish.
Spotting them in their nests and favorite perching places as we drive into Fortescue is a thrill.
Even better is to zoom in with a good photo lens and get a close-up look at one of the birds.
Hello gorgeous!
Share this:
Psalm – Psalm 107:29
Share this:
Perspective – The Coming Storm
Tropical Storm Hermine is on her way. She is forecasted to hit the New Jersey coast tonight. It’s hard not to think of the damage left behind by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. There are still many areas in the state that have not been repaired.
We spent Saturday morning fishing on the beach in Fortescue, catching quite a few small stripers, and watching in awe as the fisherman beside us brought in several good-sized fish, and then wrestled in this large ray.
The hook he used was not large, but the ray sure was a big one. The fisherman landed him on the beach, removed the hook, and sent the ray back on his way.
Later, while lunching at The Landing in Newport, NJ, we watched the Sundog Marina crew pull boats from the water. Many owners are ready to take their boats out of the water at this time of year, and the expected storm surge prompted many to get the job done today.
We’re hoping the next time we visit this charming area we will find no storm damage caused by Tropical Storm Hermine.
Share this:
Quick Tip & Posies – September Bouquet
My summertime flowers are still going strong. Though a few have bloomed their last, in many instances they have left behind beautiful pods and seed heads. I used several of these in two summertime bouquets for my table.
Here’s a close-up view of several of the pods in my bouquets. Flowers used in the bouquets: white hydrangeas, sunflowers, zinnias, rose, rudbeckia, bee balm, and blue perennial lobelia.
Share this:
Photograph – Throwback Thursday/Look Through My Window
The Daily Post Photo Challenge Frame:
“This week, I’d love for you to look at things a bit differently. Whether it’s through an actual picture frame, a few stalks of grass, or even the spokes of a bicycle tire, find an alternative frame to the world around you and share what you see.”
I love watching the birds from my back window. Look through my window with me and get a close-up view of a male goldfinch eating sunflower seeds. A good way to attract goldfinches is to grow plants they use as a food source. Some of these are: sunflowers, echinacea, zinnias, black-eyed susan, rudbeckia, and thistles. I thought this photo was perfect for this week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge. It inspired me to look up an old song from the 1960’s, “Look Through My Window,” by the The Mamas and the Papas. I think it’s a perfect way to celebrate the first Throwback Thursday of September.
Share this:
Project – Update/Sea Glass Mobile +
For anyone interested in the power of “GOOP” glue, I’m including an update on other items I’ve used in my creations using Goop as the glue. Once again, I created a mobile, this one with my grandsons, and used Goop exclusively for the bonding. As in the directions for the Sea Glass Mobile, see Part I and Part II, I used fishing line and hemp twine for hanging and stringing.
The collage shows glass, stone, wood, nut and shells bonded together with goop. This is a great project to make with children using collections they’ve gathered from nature. A little bit of goop will even hold items with a bit of weight. (See top photo of small whelk shell)
- Goop should only be used outdoors due to toxic fumes. Use sticks or brushes for applying the glue, and avoid contact with skin.
Share this:
Quote – I Peter 4:8
Share this:
Quick Tip – Stabilizing Pots
I had a late start growing my coleus from seed this year. To give them a better chance to grow larger, I planted them in pre-fertilized potting soil in pots. My ivy beds beneath the pines were the perfect spot for the pots to sit. The vines were the perfect height and strength to hold the pots in place. Now some of the coleus are nearing twelve to eighteen inches in height. The wind has continually knocked them over in the last few weeks. To stabilize the pots and keep them from overturning I aligned short stakes with the drainage holes and hammered them into the ground. This has worked perfectly, a quick solution to a constant problem. I also thought a dollar store pack of pencils would have done the trick for holding the pots in place. Sharpened, and pounded in through the drainage areas, they would also keep the pots stable.
Share this:
Photo Challenge – Rare
“Could it be mid-August already? For those of us who live in less-warm climes, summer’s long, sunny days are a prized commodity, something to look forward to all year long. But even during this all-too-short season, some things are more prized than others.” – Daily Post Photo Challenge
While photographing butterflies this week something rare flew into my lens view…a hummingbird moth. The moth flew so quickly most of my photos turned out very blurry, but this one of the moth sipping a drink of nectar from a pink zinnia delighted me. The hummingbird moth is my entry for the WordPress Photo Challenge subject of something “rare.”
Here is a quick fifteen second video of his/her flight.
Share this:
Quotes – I Corinthians
Share this:
Peculiarities – He’s Back!
Last summer I published a post on “Featherless Cardinals.” This Spring found all our cardinals sporting a full head of feathers once more. As soon as the weather grew hot enough to enable feather mites to thrive…oh my…our cardinal from last year seemed afflicted once again. Several of his lady friends are also displaying, or should I say are minus, a few head-feathers too. The condition doesn’t seem to bother them though, and they are a unique sight in the backyard trees.
Share this:
Plants and Problem-Solving – Sunflowers in Bloom
Every year I attempt to grow sunflowers. Quite often, the animals that live in my yard will dig up the seeds before they even sprout. I’ve stopped this natural tendency of the critters by sprinkling chili powder on top of the soil that covers the seeds. Even so, if they sprout, the tender green shoots are a delicacy to chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits, and when I’ve checked the progress of the sunflowers I find them nipped away and ruined.
This year I’ve had a bit more success. The sunflower in the photograph is growing outside my kitchen window. My husband measured it and the stalk was well over eleven feet. The plant is still growing and now has two blooms and many buds. So far, no adventurous squirrel has climbed to the top to bite away the buds and flowers.
I owe my success in growing sunflowers this year to empty water bottles. After the sprouts broke through the soil I placed a bottomless water bottle, with the top cut away, around the shoot. In a few gardens, as the sunflower grew, I added another bottle for more protection. (Bunnies are very good at standing up on their hind legs to reach the top of a tender plant.) If you live in an area that stays warm through November, there is still time to plant a crop of sunflowers.
Share this:
Projects – Sea Glass Part II
My sea glass mobile is complete. It took a bit of patience and four types of glue to successfully put it together.
After I chose a piece of driftwood to use as a base, I added some cup hooks to the top, and a length of hemp tied onto these as a hanger. To string the glass to the driftwood my best choice seemed to be staples from a heavy-duty staple gun.
I tried rubber cement first. I taped my eight pieces of fishing line onto a board with masking tape. The next step was gluing the glass to the line.
- Largest piece of sea glass daubed with glue and placed beneath the line
- Middle piece of glass glued on top of line and pressed firmly to bottom piece of glass.
- Top piece of glass glued onto the middle. Let dry for 24 hours.
When the strings were dry I tied them onto the mobile and trimmed away the excess line. The mobile looked great, but oh my, in the near hundred degree heat of July, the pieces of glass slid down the lines and shattered on the cement floor of my back porch.
I tried gorilla glue next. Big Mistake! The glue was not clear and bubbled up and out of the confines of the glass edges, completely spoiling the glass I used.
Believe it or not, I had a bit of success with glue dots, but the heat of the porch allowed a few of the pieces to slide down the fishing line. By the time I used the glue dots I had gotten a bit smarter and only glued a few pieces together as an experiment.
Finally, I had success with a glue called Goop. Goop lived up to the promises on its package and within twenty-four hours my mobile was hanging on my porch, in high heat, intact, and glowing in the sun. I’m so glad I persevered.
Share this:
Pleasures – Sea Glass/Beach Glass Part I
“Glass from inland waterways such as the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes is known as beach glass. It is similar to sea Glass , but in the absence of wave rigor and oceanic saline, content is typically less weathered.” Wikipedia Sea Glass/Beach Glass
After years of collecting sea glass/beach glass from the Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, I’ve decided to create a project and make use of a few pieces of my collection. Most of my glass would be considered Beach Glass. I have had some spectacular finds on the beaches of the Atlantic, but the bulk of what I have has been collected on bay beaches.
I came upon the idea while fishing this past weekend in Fortescue. Inside the café at Higbee’s Bait and Tackle, where by the way you can get the best coffee ever for just a dollar, I spied a piece of driftwood hanging in the window with strings of sea glass attached. I’ve always wanted to string my sea glass, but was daunted by the thought of prepping it first with wrapped wire. Oh my! The easy way the creator of this mobile/wind chime attached the glass is a priceless idea, but that is part II of my post and hopefully, will be published one day this week.
Share this:
Pain – Sigh…and try, try again.
I had no idea when I said I’d update that I’d be posting so soon on the state of my avocado tree. I’m back to first steps again. A dastardly chipmunk decided to bite off the sprouts and unearth the pit. Again, I was inclined to toss out the whole project, but I am going to try again. Perhaps I will have three or four sprouts this time. I’m hoping the avocado pit still has a little life in it.
I added more soil, and while I was at it, I also potted up the top of a pineapple and some ginger bulbs. My grandsons helped me with this part of the project and enjoyed talking about the prospect of the fruit and bulb re-growing.
