Block Island, Rhode Island
Photo Challenge – Simply Red Squares/SWAK
SWAK
How many remember what SWAK means? Sealed with a Kiss! This signage was photographed this week on the Wildwood, NJ boardwalk. It’s been a HOT summer so far in Jersey. Stay cool my blogging friends.
Thanks to Becky of Life of B blog for hosting this Simply Red Square challenge.
Share this:
Photo Challenge & Phavorite – Mr. Lincoln Rose
You could lose yourself in the fragrance and softness of the petals. I’ve grown them for years. They grow high enough to stand and bury your nose in the beautiful bloom. They are definitely one of the joys of summertime.
Thank you to Becky for hosting the Simply Red Challenge.
Share this:
Photo Challenge – Simply Red/Garden Bench
My grandson, about fifteen years ago, sitting in a red striped shirt beside a red angel wing begonia. Thank you to Becky, of the Life of B blog, for hosting the Simply Red square challenge.
Share this:
Phloral Challenge – Simply Red/Coast Guard
This photo was taken at the docks at the Bayshore Center in Bivalve. The Coast Guard is an important part of our country’s defense that many people forget about. I also love the unexpected swallow photo-bombing my capture.
Thanks to Becky, at Life of B, for hosting the Simply Red Square Challenge for July.
Share this:
Photo Challenge & Phloral Arrangement – Christmas in July
I have a happy combo post combining two blogs that offer a challenge. It is day seven for participating in Becky’s Life of B square challenge of Simply Red. I’m using the Christmas in July Santa Mug floral arrangement as part of Cathy’s IAVOM challenge on the Rambling in the Garden blog. A thank you to both of these ladies for the energy and time it takes to host challenges. I enjoy them very much!
Inside my Santa Mug are Simply Red flowers from my garden and a bit of foliage. A Mr. Lincoln rose, red geranium, and Lady in Red salvia. I like the curve of the mug that extends through the drape of the flowers. Happy Monday to all.
Share this:
Photo Challenge – Simply Red/Pizza
Simply Red, thank you to Becky from Life of B for the challenge. Manco and Manco Pizza lives up to its claim, it is the Best of the Best at the Jersey Shore. Ocean City, New Jersey.
Share this:
Photo Challenge – Simply Red/The American Flag
I love the American Flag. I’m delighted to use a photo of the flag as my July 4th response to Life of B’s photo challenge, Simply Red. To gaze at a flag snapping and fluttering in the wind against a blue sky fills me with joy, not only for the flag itself but for the nation it stands for…God bless the USA.
Share this:
Photo Challenge – Simply Red/Crab Shack
Becky, writing from the Life of B WordPress blog, has named July 2025’s Square Photo Challenge “Simply Red.”
I am lucky to live near both the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay. Each has their advantage over the other. The bay is easier to fish and crab, and the ocean can’t be bettered for jumping and riding waves and walking the boardwalk.
The square photograph today is a shack along the Delaware Bay. At first glance, it might appear that it is a place for selling crabs, but it seems to be more of a refueling destination for those who are crabbing in the waters of the bay. The bay has many trails for riding bikes, and this photo was taken while riding bicycles.
Share this:
Photo Challenges – Simply Red/July 2/Millville Field of Dreams
Becky, writing from the Life of B WordPress blog, has named July 2025’s Square Photo Challenge “Simply Red.”
Millville is a small town in southern New Jersey. The city has branched out in so many directions; there is something in the area for everyone to participate in. Two of my grandsons ride their dirt bikes in Millville at the Field of Dreams. We enjoy taking an afternoon now and then to watch them race or even practice the jumps and curves.
The squared photo is an old snapshot, taken before the digital age, but happily reproduced on these pages through a picture of an old photo. It shows my son on his red dirt bike. When he rode, the places to take part in the activity were few, and I wish a place like Field of Dreams had been available to him. No worries, though; after twenty years, he bought a dirt bike for himself to ride alongside two of his sons while they chase their dream of racing.
Share this:
Photo Challenge – Simply Red Squares in July
Becky, writing from the Life of B WordPress blog, has named July 2025’s Square Photo Challenge “Simply Red.” I plan to participate every day throughout the month and will post a square photo, as per the challenge’s requirements, along with a brief paragraph on any memories or thoughts the photo may evoke in me.
Today’s photo seems a perfect way to start July. I often left my bicycle lying on the ground as a child. The bike would be abandoned as I played with friends or explored something interesting.
Today’s bicycle was photographed in a park called Betty Park in Pitman, New Jersey. When I was seven, I played on the playground there for the first time. Many pieces of playground equipment have since been removed over the six decades since I first played at the park, deemed too dangerous for today’s children. The Witch’s Hat was both scary and thrilling, and children did at times get banged up arms and legs on the metal bars. I would love to find one, though, and have just one more spinning ride.
Share this:
People – Happy Father’s Day
I can’t speak to my father any longer, but now, my shelter is the memory of him. God bless all the fathers on Father’s Day.
Share this:
Place – Sanibel Island, Florida
We recently spent five days on Sanibel Island, Florida. It was our fourth time down, and the devastation from Hurricane Ian is still visible. Yet, the islanders and businesses are booming back. There were still shuttered areas, but many businesses have reopened. We were saddened to see that the hotel we always stayed in, The West Wind, has been torn down, but we are hoping they will rebuild it. The place we chose to stay in, Periwinkle Cottages, was terrific and a perfect substitute for The West Wind.
Sanibel is known for seashells, and the beach did not disappoint us. Fighting conchs, enormous cockleshells, and pristinely pink scallops, the photograph does not show the beauty of the shells. We also found a few olive shells, whelks, and many small shells with holes for stringing into projects or jewelry. I also found an intact angel wing seashell and managed to get it home in the same condition. If you have a chance to visit Sanibel Island, I can promise you will find shells.
I have to limit myself on how many I bring home before I even step on the airplane. I packed a large plastic container inside my suitcase to be filled with seashells. Doing so keeps me from bringing home too many. There were mountains of shells on the beach while we were there. I highly recommend wearing water shoes if you plan to go. Seashells are beautiful, but walking on them can feel like sharp gravel under your feet.
Share this:
Phun – A Unique Shower
“The lizard in the image is a Common House Gecko (also known as Asian House Gecko, Pacific House Gecko, or Moon Lizard), scientifically known as Hemidactylus frenatus.” ~Google
A common gecko was small enough to wander into the shower through a small drainage slit in the window frame. He was so adorable. I didn’t want him to die in the cottage we stayed in by becoming shut up in a closet or cabinet. With just a small prod to his tail, he jumped on my thumb; he was half the size of it, and I deposited him in the front garden. I hope he enjoyed the shower we shared.
The photo was taken in Sanibel, Florida.
Share this:
Project – Weekend Project/Flower Pounding
A way to preserve flowers is to pound their essence and color into a sheet of paper. I had some handmade paper, measuring 6×4, with deckled edges. I found it the perfect background for pounding some of my garden flowers.
I started my flower pounding with violets. Years ago, I transferred some from the woods into my garden beds. I have hundreds of violets in my grass and flower beds in early spring. I don’t mind them at all. I pull them out if they overwhelm my perennials or annuals. Because they sow seed, there will be many more to take their place next year. They are also a great ground cover for areas I don’t want to weed weekly. The leaves are a host for the fritillary butterfly.
The beautiful violet color is easy to transfer. I place the flowers and leaves on the handmade paper, then, using a piece of tracing paper to see what I’m doing, I place this over the flowers and pound them flat with a small hammer. It is easy to work in a corrugated box based on the floor rather than on the floor itself. Some flowers stick to the handmade paper. I let these sit for a few minutes, and then gently remove them. Voilà, there is an impressionistic-type print of the flowers.
After drying the paper out for about two weeks, I used a 005 permanent marker to create a few lines, using the photos I took before I pounded the flowers as a reference.
I love the way the finished product turned out. I will continue pounding flowers all summer, labeling each pounded flower print with where it was taken from in my garden or other places. At the end of the summer, I intend to make a handmade book containing all the prints.
Share this:
Phloral Arrangement – IAVOM/Damask Rose
The roses in this arrangement are a type of damask Rose. The blossoms are usually one of the earliest to open in my garden beds. They are a lilac-blue color, and the soft petals are abundant and fragrant. The small arrangement is within a crystal votive, easy to fit in a nook of the house that needs a bit of brightening.
Thanks to Rambling in the Garden for hosting this challenge.
Share this:
Phloral Arrangement – IAVOM/Easter Monday
I hope everyone has a blessed Easter Monday. My IAVOM (In a Vase on Monday) is a day old since it was Easter Sunday’s table arrangement. Three rooting bottles hold a sprig of Aucuba evergreen, deep purple Iris with a slightly grapelike fragrance and variegated tulips. All flowers and foliage were gathered from my garden beds. A piece of glittery tulle ribbon dressed up the bottles a bit, and the arrangements were slim and not cumbersome as they decorated the tables.
Thanks to Rambling in the Garden of hosting the IAVOM challenge.
Share this:
Praise – Gratitude
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.
