Today I am busy, busy, busy cleaning mildew off the porch ceiling and washing down the warm weather furniture. Once it’s done the yard and gardens will call to me with more chores. I’m so glad I took time to walk and listen to the birdsong before I began all the spraying, scrubbing and rearranging. If I hadn’t I would have missed seeing this beautiful robin searching for worms.
The question is: Do we still have a chance to save ourselves from tyranny, or have we already been eaten by the crocodile?
A few weeks ago I published a post on Optical Illusions. The illusion in question was whether what appeared to be a nail in a soldier’s mouth was actually there, or an object far behind him, so perfectly aligned it appeared to be in his mouth.
I thought I had solved the mystery by the lack of the nail cigar/cigarette in the cast shadow and proclaimed in my post there was no nail. This morning my husband and I were once again driving through Mullica Hill, and luckily I had my camera. I asked him to stop so I could discover exactly what had lined up so perfectly in the photograph. I was surprised to find, that although I thought the shadow proved there was no nail, hmmm…sure looked like a nail to me.
Mystery solved, it was a nail after all. New mystery, why didn’t the nail cast a shadow. Any ideas???
Color Your World – 120 Days of Crayola – Fuchsia
Today we drove to Haddonfield, New Jersey and strolled around town doing a bit of window-shopping. We stopped in the Posh Pop Bakeshop and tried their coffee and rose macaroons. Delicious! Fuchsia letters labeled each jar: Tiffany, Vanilla, Rose, Neapolitan, Chocolate and Nutella. I sampled the rose and it was fabulous! One day I would love to make macaroons.
I am fairly certain this is the second time around in a blog post for this beautiful zinnia. I am gazing at it as I write these words, hoping, hoping, hoping I saved some of the seeds it produced. As I perused my flower photos this morning, searching for a zinnia that was an all-over “Canary” color for today’s Color Your World – 120 Days of Crayola challenge, I found this beauty instead. I noticed the central petals on the underside were a perfect canary yellow, and even better, resembled wings as they faced the sky. My choice was easy.
I grow zinnias in garden beds every year. They are a perfect cut flower to bring indoors for bouquets. Zinnias are a favorite of butterflies and hummingbirds. The large seeds make them one of the easiest flowers to grow. Zinnias are a perfect “first flower garden” choice for the smallest of children.
I start zinnias a few weeks early in plastic dixie cups and grow them indoors. I also direct sow them in the garden. Surprisingly, the direct sown zinnias always catch up to the ones grown in the house. The one advantage to starting them indoors is the larger plants are less likely to be nipped off by bunnies and other hungry critters.
Now is the time to start looking for zinnias on seed racks in your local shops and garden stores. They can be purchased for under $1.00 in dollar stores and large retailers.
I ran into another example of transition on my weekend getaway to Ocean City. The boardwalk is under construction, transitioning to a brand new set of boards for several blocks in front of Gillian’s Wonderland Pier. It was eye-opening to see the thick concrete grid that supports the steps of hundreds of walkers and the wheels of bicycles and surreys.
A.J. Gossip – (Arthur John Gossip) was Professor of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at the University of Glasgow from 1939 until 1945.
“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.”
― Abraham Lincoln
All over the world honor is due to those who serve to keep their country safe. In the US, on Veterans Day, November 11th, let’s green light a vet, a simple gesture to show we appreciate all they do.
I recently bought an apple gourd at a farm stand. In the Spring, I hope to make a new bird house out of it for smaller songbirds. The penny in the photograph will give you a sense of scale as to how large an apple gourd grows.
I found good information on How to Dry Large Gourds, but instead of drying for a week on newspapers, I am using a piece of bath scrunchy. (Bath scrunchies are made up of a tube of nylon netting.) I knotted the bottom of the tube, slipped the gourd inside, tied a knotted loop at the top, and hung the gourd on a porch hook. The weather is supposed to be warm next week, suspending the gourd will give the entire skin a chance to dry out.
When the first drying time is complete, I will bring the gourd indoors, wash in disinfectant, and hang it once again, this time in the dark basement. Hopefully, near Springtime, the gourd will be completely dry and ready to craft into a bird house. Large gourds of all types are widely available at this time of year in farmer’s markets and produce stands.
I love doing art projects with my grandchildren. This week, the kiddies were on their way over, and I had plenty of paper for a project, but no school glue on hand. I decided to try and make my own rather than run out to the store and waste time and money.
There are quite a few recipes on the Internet. The most popular paste/glue to use with small children involves only two ingredients: cornstarch and water. I read several of the recipes and decided on my own quantities: 1 part cornstarch to 4 parts water. I used tablespoons as my measurement, but this glue can be made in larger or smaller quantities as needed. For an even better sensory experience add a drop or two of spearmint oil.
Add cornstarch and water to a small saucepan.
Stir together with a spoon. (A whisk would also work at this point, but is not recommended for the heating stage. The glue/paste will glob on the wire and be hard to remove.)
My two and three year old grandchildren helped me up to this point. They enjoyed the idea of making their own glue/paste.
Heat mixture over low heat. Stir constantly. The glue will quickly thicken.
Within moments the glue takes on the sheen of Vaseline. Remove from heat.
Immediately remove glue from pan and allow to cool. It will ready to use within a few minutes.
A toothpick or popsicle stick is the perfect applicator. My grandchildren used their fingers.
Cornstarch glue is perfect for paper projects.
The glue will keep for quite a while placed in an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator.
A final note: After a half hour of drying time, the glued paper held fast. I tried to remove the layers and the result was encouraging, the paper held firm enough to tear. I was also pleased to see that the layers dried without bubbling. Small children will create “lumpier” projects that might bubble a bit, but they will hold together after they are dry. Drying time for a small child’s thicker application of glue will be a few hours.
I’ve been very pleased with my Sunset Runner Bean Vine this summer. The vine sprouts easily, grows quickly, and is soon exhibiting lovely snapdragon-like clusters of flowers. The spent flowers develop into pods, and the pods develop beautiful black seeds with purple blotches. I purchased these seeds from one of my favorite seed sources: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
The seeds are beautiful.
After the pods dry to a tan color, the seeds are ready to harvest. I like to display mine in a jar throughout the winter.
They are a good reminder of the promise of a new spring, and flowers to come.
This is a re-post from a few years ago, but well worth repeating once again. If you have small outdoor plants you want to save from winter weather, they are the perfect candidate for placing in a terrarium.
1. Select Container/Add a layer of pebbles.
2. Add a layer of charcoal.
3. Add a layer of humus/soil.
4. Add plants and mosses.
5. Add lichens, rocks, and small statues. (Mine are elephants from Red Rose Teabag boxes) Water sparingly, rinse excess dirt off of sides. Cover with lid of some type. Enjoy your beautiful terrarium.
Care of terrariums: Mosses like gentle sun, morning light exposure is best for a terrarium. Try to lift lid each day to give terrarium fresh air. Your terrarium will self-water, if it develops a look of dryness water sparingly once again.
While walking in the woods last week, I found a few beautiful white feathers. I researched them a bit, and believe they might be the feathers of a snowy owl. Snowy Owls in New Jersey are rare but at times the birds venture beyond their normal breeding and feeding grounds. Another possibility is the feathers belonged to a hawk. At one time seeing hawks was also rare in our area, but they have adapted, and now thrive in civilization.
Every Spring/Summer the garden beds are full of the previous year’s fallen tomatoes. These forgotten tomatoes self-seed and send up new sprouts by the dozens. Why then are tomato seeds so notoriously hard to save?
Tomato seeds are surrounded by a gelatinous sac that allows them to adhere to the garden soil for sprouting. This same gelatin works against growing the same seeds in pots. The gelatinous moisture is a perfect environment for disease to thrive in.
This year I decided to mimic nature and save the seeds without spending time, or dealing with the mess of fermentation.
The steps I followed are explained in this short video.
For more information on different ways to save tomato seeds visit this link:
Saving Tomato Seeds
“When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?”
~ Psalm 8:3-4
The Moon was beautiful last night. “The full moon of August 29, 2015 is the first of this year’s three full Supermoons. It’s a full moon near perigee, or near its closest point to Earth for the month.” ~Earth Sky.Org
My Moonflower Vine, earthbound, unfurled one of it’s large buds and mirrored the beauty of the moon under the nighttime sky.
I love the way technology can bring us old songs in a new way. This duet by the classic Patsy Cline, a favorite of mine, and the timeless Willie Nelson is a perfect example.
Summer vegetables are plentiful at this time. Instead of ordinary tossed salads, try a veggie plate instead for your next dinner or gathering. At our last family get-together I served vegetables with a delicious dip I concocted with ingredients I had on hand in my fridge and pantry. Everyone loved it, and even though it was savory, it worked with the cantaloupe too.
CREAM CHEESE RANCH DIP
4 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt (I used sea salt)
1/8 tsp sugar
I added a few sprigs of fresh dill and thyme. You can use a few pinches of any herb you prefer.
Put everything in a food processor and blend. Chill and serve.
I refrigerated the leftovers overnight and they did not separate at all.
I am going to try and change it up to a sweet dip for fruits by omitting the herbs, adding honey or brown sugar instead, and perhaps some cinnamon. Experiment, and see what deliciousness you can think up.
