Phriday Pheathers – Woody Woodpecker

On September 7, 2018September 8, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Phriday Pheathers20 Comments

I loved the cartoon Woody Woodpecker when I was a child. I haven’t seen Woody on television for years; he’s been replaced by cartoons full of gadgets and superheroes. I miss his ornery laugh and pecking. Here are a few woodpeckers and what I think might be a Northern Flicker. I have found a camera with a powerful zoom helps me get an up-close glimpse of the birds I see on bare branches.

These photographs are part of Skywatch Friday.
The post is also linked to: Dear Kitty, Some Blog – Great Spotted Woodpecker

Pleasures – A Passion for Stones/Nurturing Thursday

On September 6, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Pleasures20 Comments

I’m easy to please. I love stones…rocks…pebbles and consider them treasures. If I see one with promise I will pick it up. I once spent a week on Block Island beaches searching for hearts of stone. You can see the resultant video at the bottom of this post. I’ve shared it before, but as is the case with many posts, it is buried way back in the blog archives.

Have you ever attended a craft show and been entranced by a large bowl of polished stones? I love these stones and have bought them in the past always wishing I could polish stones too. Now, thanks to a rock polisher given to me by one of my sons on my 60th birthday, I polish my own. The stones in the photograph were collected from a creek near my home, Atlantic Ocean beaches, the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, and Cape May’s Diamond Beach.

It took me a few tumbles to figure out how to process the rocks, and every attempt was worth the finished products. They are not without flaws, the prettiest ones are hardest to get smooth as their stripes and mottled appearance means they have different levels of hardness within the stone. The flaws don’t bother me, I’m going to dab them with a bit of polish and consider them finished. Tumbling and polishing stones is one of the ways I nurture myself. My stones seem a perfect fit for the Nurturing Thursday Challenge hosted by Becca at ‘On Dragonfly Wings with Buttercup Tea.‘ It’s never too late to start a hobby you’ve always wanted to try to nurture yourself every now and then.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~ C.S. Lewis

Photo Challenges – Weather Vane Wednesday/Summer has Flown

On September 5, 2018September 4, 2018 By TimelessladyIn photo challenges14 Comments

Labor Day 2018 is now in the past, so is the summer season at the lake/pool we belonged to this year. What joy-filled times we have had there. We’ve celebrated a milestone birthday, swam with our grandchildren, reconnected to old friends, and best of all we’ve made some new friends and acquaintances. My husband and I are a bit sad that the hazy days of summer won’t return for nine months. It’s very fitting that this week’s Weather Vane Wednesday Challenge is located at the entrance to Lake Kandle in Washington Township, New Jersey. Even more fitting is the weathervane itself, a goose flying, which in my mind means birds flying south for the colder months.

Thanks to these bloggers for joining in the photo challenge a week ago:
Galloping Winds/Reading, Pennsylvania
This Made Me Smile Today/Regina, Saskatchewan

The Photo Challenge: Each Wednesday, I post a photograph of a Weather Vane with a short description of where it can be found and any history connected to it. The main focus of the challenge is the photo of the Weather Vane and the location. The challenge can be Wordless if that is what you choose. If you would like others to see your post leave a link to your blog in the comment box. You can also tag the post #weathervaneweds. If you place a link to my post in your post you will create a pingback that will appear in the comment section. The challenge is open all week for comments and posts. Thanks so much for taking part in my challenge.

Many thanks to Cee, of Cee’s Photography, for including this challenge in her listing of WordPress Challenges. If you love challenges take a look at this page and while you are there check out some of Cee’s terrific posts. Thanks Cee!

Phlowers – Sunlit Crimsons

On September 4, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Phlowers12 Comments

Crimson Blooms are still blossoming in my gardens.

The Lady Baltimore hibiscus is one of my most reliable perennials. She is always late to the party, her stalks being one of the last to emerge from the ground in the spring, but she always outdoes the other perennials in color, bloom count, and size. Each blossom is as large as a dinner plate. Lady Baltimore grows 4 – 5 feet tall each year.

My red tropical hibiscus is a favorite too. I carried this plant away from a neighbor’s trash heap several years ago. The hibiscus wasn’t in the best of shape, half dead and a bit buggy, but I’ve nurtured it over the years and it has rewarded me with double blooms all year long. This hibiscus must be brought indoors before the first frost arrives.

Angel-wing begonias come in pink and red. My hanging basket has done well in semi-shade all summer. I will try and save the entire plant in a sunny window to bloom again next year. I also rooted a cutting in water; it is now planted in a small pot and growing under my basement plant lights.

All of these plants grow reliably outdoors. Lady Baltimore dies back to the ground every winter but sends up new stalks in the spring. The tropical hibiscus and Angel-wing begonia do double-duty as houseplants.

Planting – Pineapple, Avocado and Ginger

On September 3, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Planting8 Comments

The plant in the photograph had its beginnings in the sparse leaves atop a pineapple. I have planted the tops of pineapple in two ways. The first, soaking the severed pineapple top in water didn’t work out well. The pineapple softened and rotted in the water and the plant never thrived. The second is a better method, cut away the top leaving about a half inch portion of the pineapple, dry for a few days and then plant in soil. The result is the large plant you see above. It has been growing about two years give or take a few months. Supposedly, pineapples grown like this will produce fruit atop a stalk and then die back. Pineapples are bromeliads.

Avocado pits grow well using two methods. One, suspend the pits in water using toothpicks. Leave the top half inch above the water line, the pointed end will be submerged in the water until you see roots and/or top growth. You can also plant the pit directly in the soil. Leave a small portion of the top above the soil. The key to growing avocados is having a schedule for pinching out the lanky sprout. There are many good articles on the internet about when to prune your avocado plant. Good directions can be found here: Pinching out an avocado.

I guess it won’t come as a surprise that when my ginger suddenly sprouted I planted it in soil. Updates will follow in a few months.
Give growing ginger tubers a try: Growing Grocery Store Ginger

It’s the season of many fruits. What pits, seeds or sprouts do you have in your fruit bin? Children love these projects. Happy planting.

A good article on planting fruit seeds: Mother Earth News/Plant Your Fruit Seeds

Quote – A New Heart

On September 2, 2018September 1, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Quote5 Comments

Perspective and Photo Challenge – The Devil is in the Details

On September 1, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Perspective, photo challenges11 Comments

This summer, our family joined together to celebrate a major birthday milestone my mother-in-law reached. All the details were carefully planned for an outdoor picnic at the Lake/Pool. The best plans can’t control the weather though. It rained off and on for most of the day…that is the bad news. The good news is that we had fun anyway and there were no summer crowds to contend with due to the grey skies.

The Devil certainly can be in the details, but sometimes when those details are sent askew heavenly things happen. Do you know what all the great-grandsons will remember about the birthday party? Of course, they will remember forever the amazing mudpit the rain created near the pavilion we picnicked in. All the finely planned details of decoration and food will be long forgotten but the feel of the mud squishing between toes will be a delight forever. The laughter of mud-spattered cousins will always peal in their memories as a reminder of childhood fun. It makes me realize that planning is great, but when things go awry there might be something even better on the horizon.

This post is part of A Photo A Week Challenge/The Devil is in the Details

Photographs & Perspective – Autumn Bound

On August 31, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Perspective, Photographs20 Comments

My family often gathers together for Thursday evening dinner. The conversation last night turned toward summer’s end, and the finish of fun activities, picnics, and warm weather. The swimming season at lake and pool is over, school is starting next week, and coatless weather will soon be replaced with jackets and hats. Since my sons have been working in high heat and humidity outdoors, they aren’t sorry to see temperatures in the 90’s disappear, but we all wish the freedom and fun of summer would never vanish. The calendar might proclaim summer not ending for twenty-two days, but Labor Day weekend in the U.S. always seems to announce Autumn.

Although they bloom all summer, sunflowers are commonly associated with Autumn. I recently found these beauties growing in the front of a neighbor’s home. The day was overcast, the sun still rising, and the grey of the sky created an unearthly backdrop for these beauties. I think they will be perfect to use as the September header image for the blog. Good-bye August…Hello September.

This post is part of Skywatch Friday and Fandango One Word Challenge (FOWC) – Bound

Phlower – Hibiscus/Unlikely Sources

On August 30, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Phlowers9 Comments

Several of my favorite plants have been found in the unlikeliest places. I discovered this beautiful hibiscus for sale in a local deli. It wasn’t blooming when I bought it; I assumed it would have the appearance of a typical garden shop hibiscus. What a surprise awaited me when the multi-hued double petals opened for the first time. In the Autumn, I will bring the plant indoors and try to keep it alive and blooming for years. At some point I know I will have to capture this flower in watercolor.

This beautiful bloom is part of Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Photo Challenge – Weather Vane Wednesday/Choo Choo!

On August 29, 2018August 28, 2018 By TimelessladyIn photo challenges9 Comments

CHOO-CHOO! Someone in this house loves trains. I would wager a guess that there might some model railroads set up inside the house.

Thanks to The 59 Club for taking part in last week’s Weather Vane Wednesday challenge:
The 59 Club – Mermazing Forecast. Take a look at this terrific mermaid weather vane.

Quick Tip – Driftwood Plant Stakes

On August 28, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Quick Tip7 Comments

I’ve been repotting orchids using driftwood twigs in place of ordinary plant stakes. I prefer the natural appearance of the driftwood vs. manufactured plastic or dowels. One problem with any type of garden stake is the possibility of catching it in the eye while watering or grooming the plant. I have many plants and believe me, there have been many close calls in garden and house with plant stakes. Also, as someone who received sixteen stitches in my leg as a child due to a stake hidden in tall grass I am always aware of the danger of stakes.

Thankfully, the fix is easy for my houseplants. To go with the seashore theme of the driftwood I placed a few small moonshells over the end of the plant stakes. Anything will do as a protective piece, a bead, string wound around the tip, a drilled acorn or nut, clay fashioned into small birds, the possibilities are almost endless.

Photo Challenge – Delicate

On August 28, 2018 By TimelessladyIn photo challenges10 Comments

A dragonfly never becomes a common sight to me. On my morning walk to a local lake, I found this beauty sunning on a delicate spray of grass tassels. This photo is part of Nancy Merrill’s Photo-A-Week Challenge/Delicate

Praise – Psalm 148:3

On August 26, 2018September 24, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Praise5 Comments

IMG_0146 (2)

Skywatch

August 2018/Full Moon

Painting – Sophie’s Auntie

On August 24, 2018August 24, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Painting19 Comments

Sophie’s Auntie – Copyright 2018 K A Drissel

Last year, while enjoying Seven Mile Beach in Negril, Jamaica, we bought fruit from a beautiful island woman. This lady wore her basket of fruit like a crown and was dressed as if she was going to church. In a word, she was regal. We didn’t ask her name, but when the next vendor came by, selling necklaces made out of bead and shell, she told us the fruit vendor was her ‘Auntie.’ This time I remembered to ask a name, the necklace vendor said, “My name is Sophie.” So, the title of the painting was ordained before I even put brush to paper, “Sophie’s Auntie.”

At 24 x 24 inches, the painting is larger than I usually attempt in my watercolor painting. It is painted on Arches 300 lb Cold Press paper with Winsor & Newton watercolors. My palette had a mother color, this is a shade that I mix in varying degrees into all the other colors. The mother color in this palette was Burnt Umber. Additional colors were Winsor Blue Red Shade, Winsor Blue Green Shade, Quinacridone Magenta, Winsor Yellow, Olive Green, Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna. I also used my Derwent Inktense Pencils to create the flecks of color in the sand. The tip can be found here: Creating Texture with Colored Pencils. I hope you like “Sophie’s Auntie.” I relived the beautiful sunny day while I painted her and felt like I was on vacation again.

Plant – Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana sylvestris)

On August 23, 2018August 23, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Plant Tips12 Comments

Last year, when my flowering tobacco set seeds, I picked the pods and shook hundreds of seeds into the back border of my front garden.

Although the seeds were just tiny specks, they wintered over great and hundreds came up in my garden. I didn’t thin the sprouts, I let them battle it out and only the fittest survived.

Because they were not started early indoors they are just beginning to flower now, which suits me fine, other annuals have bloomed and died and it’s nice to have the flowering tobacco coming into bloom in late summer.

These plants don’t need any special care. In New Jersey they grow up to 48 inches tall. The large leaves stay low to the earth, while the flower spike climbs and is eventually covered in a spray of fragrant tubular white flowers. Another plus is my plants don’t seem to be bothered by many insects pests.

The flower perfume is strongest in the evening. The flower stalk is strong and rarely needs staking. The plant grows best in full sun, but mine do well in part shade. I recommend these for a nighttime garden or the back of a border. The white flowers reflect the moonlight and fill the air with amazing scent.

Photo Challenge – Weather Vane Wednesday/FORE!

On August 22, 2018October 16, 2018 By TimelessladyIn photo challenges9 Comments

Oh, the joy of an unexpected photo opportunity, and having your camera with you when you stumble upon it. The road was busy, speed limit 45 mph, and somehow a weather vane caught my eye as I drove by a home. It perched on the top of a backyard shed, depicting a golfer in mid-swing. Amazing! I drove a bit further down the road, turned off as soon as I had a chance, and back-tracked. I had my camera ready for a quick shot out the window. I was lucky again and no cars were behind me. I was able to stop, focus in, and take a decent photo for this week’s Weather Vane Wednesday. The location is somewhere betwixt and between Blackwood and Washington Township, New Jersey.

Many thanks to those who took part in the August 14th challenge. Take a look at their weather vane posts from last week:
Middleton Road/Weather Vane Wednesday
The 59 Club/Savannah Winds

Quote – Whosoever Will

On August 19, 2018August 19, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Quote4 Comments

I am happy today, and the sun shines bright,
The clouds have been rolled away;
For the Savior said, whosoever will
May come with Him to stay.
Refrain:
“Whosoever” surely meaneth me,
Surely meaneth me, oh, surely meaneth me;
“Whosoever” surely meaneth me,
“Whosoever” meaneth me.
~ James E. McConnell

Here’s an old-fashioned hymn in barbershop quartet style with plenty of good harmonies. I sang this song many times as a child, a favorite of the Sunday evening program called ‘Young People’s Service.’ Everyone in our church attended, regardless if they were young or old. The program was relaxed and a bit rambunctious with games, quizzes, and plenty of singing.

‘Whosoever’ does mean you, my friend. All you have to do is say, “I will.” God’s promises are true, whosoever will may come. Amen and God bless you on this Sabbath Day.

Pages – A Piece of the World

On August 18, 2018August 18, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Pages2 Comments

I recently finished reading Christina Baker Kline’s fictionalized account of Christina Olson in the book ‘A Piece of the World.’ If you love a good story that has many actual events woven throughout, this book is a perfect choice.

Most of us have seen the famous painting of a girl in a pink dress looking towards the house depicted on the novel’s book jacket. Christina Olson is that girl/woman. Christina’s World, a painting done in egg tempera, is one of Andrew Wyeth’s most well-known works of art.

I enjoyed every page of this book. I felt like I was living alongside Christina Olson throughout the story, and very much enjoyed the insights into the painting style and life of Andrew Wyeth. Terrific read!

Plant Tips – Love Lies Bleeding/Growing, Harvesting & Crafting

On August 16, 2018August 15, 2018 By TimelessladyIn Plant Tips14 Comments

Amaranthus caudatus, Love-Lies-Bleeding, is an old-fashioned flower garden plant once again being offered as seed through catalogs and garden stores. I grow it for its oddball characteristics, long, droopy flower stalks covered with blossoms that range in color from pink to deep crimson. I think the amaranthus is a perfect choice for this week’s Cee’s Oddball Challenge.

My Love-Lies-Bleeding plants have grown to near four foot tall. During the last torrential rainstorm, the largest fell over and kissed the ground; precautionary staking would have been a good idea. I have mixed feelings about staking ornamental garden plants, an ugly support is an awkward eyesore and inevitably robs the plant of its natural flow of growth. I tend to stake a plant after-the-fact of leaning or falling over.

My husband remarked that the flower stalks reminded him of hair. I agreed and told him I would cut a few and use them to make an Autumn display. I am planning ahead even now on how I can create a pumpkin/gourd person or scarecrow and use these flowers as the hair. What fun!

I cut the blossoms from the plant that fell and hung them in a dark closet to dry. I laid the stem against the clothes rack in the same way the plant curved outdoors. This will give me dried locks of hair with a more natural spread, rather than if I hung them straight and upside-down.

One drawback I’ve found is the leaves are attractive to insects as food. What a surprise to learn as I wrote this post that most varieties of Amaranthus are edible for humans too. I’m afraid the insects haven’t left me many unscathed leaves to sample in recipes.

No worries…I pressed the lacy leaves between book pages. In artwork, they make terrific stencils for a random pattern, something I find hard to accomplish…I tend to be rather orderly and that’s a no-no in creative art.

Growing amaranthus is easy, they can be started early indoors, or sown directly in the soil after the danger of frost. My current crop was direct-sown and seems hardier than those I’ve sown indoors. At the end of summer, I will collect the seeds (there will be hundreds) and set some aside to dry and package up for next year. I will also give them a season of chilling in the refrigerator. In late October, early November, I will sprinkle some of the seeds directly into the garden beds and hope for volunteers next year. I’m really pleased with this flower in my garden. If you have a chance and the room give it a try.

Love Lies Bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus)
Height 3 – 4 feet (in my NJ garden)
My plants get about 6-8 hours of full sun every day. No special care needed. I don’t use non-organic pesticides so I put up with the lacework of insects on my leaves.
Here’s a terrific article on growing amaranthus: The Spruce-Growing an Edible Armaranth Harvest.