Phlashback Projects and Ideas – While looking through old photographs and posts, I came across a unique way to make bird feeders from flowers and plants that aren’t in the best condition. These will draw goldfinches to your garden. I also stop deadheading in Autumn so the goldfinches and the juncos, when they return, will find a few natural seed offerings.
As I write these words, it’s November 2nd, and I have seen the first junco of the season. They disappear when the weather warms, and the first sighting of this small bird in mid to late Autumn is a sure sign of colder weather on its way. The juncos sometimes visit the backyard feeders, but instead of sitting on the perches, they prefer to forage for seeds scattered on flat surfaces. The photograph shows the top of a suet feeder, where I spotted the first junco. Maybe you can spot the two small juncos I managed to photograph in the collage. They are skittish and fast, and I can never get close enough with my camera in hand to capture them without some blurriness.
One of the joys of Autumn television was the series Seeking Persephone. It reminds me so much of a Jane Austen story. Written by Sarah Eden, I immediately downloaded the novel to my Fire Tablet’s Kindle App after watching this delightful, sweet romance. Imagine the joy I felt when I realized this is a series based on the Lancaster family, and perhaps, oh please let it be so, there are more print-to-screen stories in this series to come. Everyone I have spoken to who’s watched this series has LOVED it. I will be watching it again!
I am still reading through This Is How we Create, mindfully reading each Chapter without rushing through. One of my joys has been commenting on blogs that many of the authors create. You can see many of their comments back to me on last month’s, Phlash of News post.
Bright colors against grey are both restful and exciting for the eyes. In art, as in life, neutral colors and activity can make brightness and fun really pop. Even though we have had a lot of rain in my area, the coolness and dampness have been healthy for the trees. The leaf colors radiate sunshine. Above is one of my favorite October signposts, and also a proverb full of wisdom.
As I write these words, I am listening to Susan Boyle’s Christmas CD, The Gift. I enjoy listening to Christmas music early. It is a tradition started in childhood. I can remember sitting in my parents’ big, red Queen Anne armchair, with Mitch Miller’s Christmas Album playing on the stereo, eating a tangerine and feeling a bit of heaven on earth. This CD has two songs that aren’t necessarily Christmas. My favorite is Perfect Day, one of the prettiest songs I’ve ever heard. Here is a sample for you.
At the bottom of my ‘retirement from blogging’ post, I recently added this P.S.: “Over the summer, I thought of a few things I would like to share. Just as my husband retired from a full-time retail job and then stepped back into a part-time job driving a hayride tractor in the Autumn, I will try to step back into blogging at least once each season with interesting news, finds, and projects. Stay tuned!”
The very large and gorgeous Black-Eyed Susan grew from a packet of wildflowers I sprinkled into the planter box shown behind me. In late Spring and early Summer, I was discouraged by the squirrels treating the garden boxes as their personal playground. Half of the gladiolus bulbs I planted in the back were dug up and destroyed. I distributed the seeds heavily enough, though, that after the squirrels lost interest, many of them did sprout.
PRODUCT: Here’s a thumbs-up for these planter boxes, they were easy to put together, take up little room, and grow many plants because of the looseness of the soil. Next year I might add some nylon guard netting underneath the top layer of dirt to protect the seeds. I would definitely buy them again. They are on sale now at Amazon for a great price. I purchased two more for next year. Gadi Raised Bed Planter Box.
PAGES: I was honored when Yvette Prior of Priorhouse Blog approached me earlier this year to submit a chapter for her new anthology,This is How We Create. The book was published this month, and I ordered and received a copy through Amazon. I have been enjoying reading a chapter a day instead of rushing through it to finish. I’ve enjoyed every writer’s perspective so far.
In the back of the book is a section about each author, often with a link or the name of a blog or website connected to them. Going through each chapter and visiting blogs and websites has made reading the book even better. Of course, me being me, I first flipped through to the end and read Chapter 24, written by Yvette. Her kind words about my submission, along with the insights she included about each author and their work, were heartfelt and positive. Being a part of this book has been a wonderful experience. Chapter 8 is my contribution and is titled ‘Crafty Scavenging.’
PHLUTTERS: I raised butterflies again this year, but not quite as many as last year. The large butterflies arrived later than usual. I had a few batches of Black Swallowtail and Monarch caterpillars thrive and eclose on my back porch. Right now, about a dozen Black Swallowtail butterflies are in their chrysalis’ in the greenhouse, and they will not emerge until Spring. Four Monarchs emerged in the last two weeks, and they were large, brilliant, and flew away with vigor.
PHILM & PAGES: Project Hail Mary. I loved the Amazon Prime movie so much that I’ve watched it twice, and it is two hours and thirty-six minutes long. I am also reading the book of the same name, written by Andy Weir. This story is apocalyptic, but also sweet, scary in the control nations have over citizens if things go wrong, and beautiful in a unique friendship. My grandchildren loved this. Good for all ages except very young children. Even if you don’t like Science Fiction, this space fairytale will still capture your heart. If you do like movies like Passengers, The Martian, ET, and Interstellar, you will love it. It even includes a brief, witty shout-out to the music of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
PRESSED FLOWERS & PLANTS: I enjoyed pressing flowers again this summer. I found a new small variety for tiny hearts and other small imaginings. Buckwheat is not a pretty plant, but it blooms in sprays of bright pink flowers. Although, they are a bit thick, they press well in a pourous paged book with a weight on top and here is the secret, pressed in a hot car. I have never found a better and quicker way to press flowers than in a book, in a car, in summer, with the windows up. Almost perfect every time, with little fading.
Buckwheat seeds are available through Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. The photo in the catalog shows magenta; mine were more of a light pink.
PERSPECTIVE: Summer was lovely, with many trips to the beach, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Strathmere, and Ocean City, New Jersey. We ride bikes every day without rain; although I have finally begun to wear a helmet even in the neighborhood, it only takes one fall without injury to make a person say to themself, ‘What if I had hit my head on the curb?’ It’s best to be safe as you near seventy.
Because I am not blogging as much, I had a bit more free time to watercolor, rejoin the Art League, paint seashells, and be introduced to Zentangles at an Art League class. The garden always takes about an hour each day, but it is a joy.
We lost one of my family’s closest friends. One afternoon, as I thought about this lovely, too-young-to-go, beautiful lady, I looked out my window. I saw three birds in the distance sitting on the bare branches of a tall tree. They suddenly flew out of the windowpane frame of my vision, and immediately my spirit was uplifted as I realized that, just like those birds, this dear lady has only flown out of our view. Just because we can’t see her doesn’t mean she is gone. I believe with all of my heart that our spirits are eternal. I believe that, because she believed in salvation and witnessed to others the love of God in so many ways, she is in Paradise with Jesus right now. Do you know this Jesus? If not, here is an Invitation.
