In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Beneath Your Feet.” This week, look down and capture the ground beneath your feet.
There are angels on the beach at Fortescue:
And then there are the devils:
Photo – Devils & Angels Beneath Your Feet
Quick Tip – Using the Heat at Hand – Part II
I’ve posted in the past about drying herbs quickly on a tray or towel in the trunk of my car. I’ve also pressed flowers in this way…the technique works. Recently, I’ve gone an even quicker route. I place clean herbs in brown paper lunch bags, clip the top shut with a clothespin, and leave them inside the hot cab of the car for a day or two. I then shake the bag a little, and place it in the top of a dark closet. Within a week, the herbs are ready to package up and use. Give this a try. Your car might smell a little like an Italian restaurant, but that’s not a bad thing at all.
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Plants – Straw Bale Gardening Update
The Straw Bale Garden experiment has been a bountiful success. These are just the latest harvest of tomatoes. I’m on my way out after I post to take a few of these beauties to my father. He is a fan of tomato sandwiches for lunch! I love having an overabundance of harvest to share. O Happy Day! What a blessing.
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Photograph & Place – Block Island, Rhode Island/North Lighthouse
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Projects – Dill Part 2/Over the Top Crafting
I’ll admit sometimes I delve into the near ridiculous in my quest to use what is at hand, but this time, the ethereal aspects of what I created delighted me.
After I pulled away the dill seeds from the flower-head, I noticed how strong and intact the skeleton had remained. I don’t know what possessed me, but white spray paint and beads flared up as an idea in my addled head. I couldn’t resist…I sprayed the dill, let it dry, and then inserted beads into each umbrel with a pair of tweezers. It was easier than I had assumed, and within a few minutes, I had a very unusual pair of everlasting flowers to place in my living room.
* Crazy Crafter’s Tip – Hold the beads between two fingertips, grab with the tweezer, dip the bead in a dab of glue, and place into project.
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Plants – Dill/Part I
Dill, a type of herb, has thrived in my garden this year. The slender leaves can be harvested at any time and used fresh, or dried for later. Swallowtail butterflies use dill as a host plant for their eggs. I often find caterpillars dining on my dill. I never pick them off as I plant more than enough dill for both the caterpillars and myself. A little dill goes a long way; the herb is very pungent.
After flowering, the dill will form seed. Allow the seeds to dry, but keep a close watch, and when they easily pull away from their slender stems it is time to cut and harvest. I prefer to do this indoors over a plate to gather every seed.
Allow the seed to sit in the open air for a few days to completely dry out. Save a little to plant next year, and store the rest in a jar for culinary uses.
As with so many herbs, dill is a powerhouse food for your health. According to George Mateljan Foundation: Dill is one of nature’s healthiest foods.
Dill florets are a stunning addition to pressed flower arrangements. Press between books and in a week or so they will be ready to use for crafting. The flowers are delicate and add an ethereal air to pressed flower compositions
Cucumbers and dill are perfect together. I’ve included a very basic salad I make throughout the summer. Enjoy!
DILLED CUKES (can be halved)
4 medium cucumbers
3/4 C. white vinegar (I’ve used apple cider vinegar in a pinch, works fine)
1/4 C. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Dill leaves (less if using dried)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (I sometimes leave this out)
1 1/2 C. water
Cut cucumbers in chunks, or slice in medallions, or cut lengthwise and slice in half moon shapes. In a bowl combine cucumbers with all the ingredients and stir gently. Cover the bowl, refrigerate for 4-6 hours. If possible, give the salad a gentle stir a few times. Drain before serving.
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People & Praise – 3b4jHoy
One of my favorite groups…the harmonies are exquisite…Enjoy!
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Quotes – Jeremiah, Luke & Psalms
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“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” ~ Luke 1:41
“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.”
~ Psalms 139:13-16
The Pro-Choice option of terminating a pregnancy has snuffed out close to 60 million lives. A baby has a soul and spirit—and is just that, a baby, not a mass of tissue. A baby developing in it’s mother’s womb is a human being created by God.
I don’t know what the answer to the abortion crisis is, but I do know I must speak out, and continue to do so, and this week I intend on contacting my state representatives about the atrocities being committed by Planned Parenthood. (Profiteering off of human baby body part sales.) Don’t just take the easy way out, and say, “That’s horrible,” and then blithely go about your normal day-to-day life. Pick up a pen, write a letter or email, and let your voice be heard.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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Phavorites – Sun Gazing/Female Portraits in Western Art
I enjoyed this quick video of some great artworks. I hope you will too.
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Peculiarities – Featherless Cardinals
Last year, I was surprised to see a male cardinal with a patch of feathers missing atop his head. The exposed skin resembled a “flattop” haircut. This year the same bird seems to have returned, or another with the same condition, showing a head completely bare of any trace of feathers. My sister thought she saw the same bird in her yard, but it had a jaunty feather still attached like an ornery cowlick. I researched the condition and found an article on the phenomenon of cardinals losing their head feathers.
“Seasonally, a few birds are attacked by feather mites, tiny arthropods whose feeding destroys feather shafts. Normally, the birds would divest themselves of these mites by preening, but birds cannot effectively preen their own heads. Once the mites have destroyed their food source on the birds’ heads, they must either move on to a new victim or place themselves in jeopardy on another area of their host’s body.”
~Buffalo News
There is so much to see and discover in the amazing world God has created. Take a walk, sit and swing, look out a window today and enjoy the wonder of nature all around you. You might even spot a cardinal with a flattop haircut. 😀
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Project – Memento Frame
The collage displays several of the tiny memento frames I have in my home. I’ve posted about them in the past, but today I am showing the steps I took to create one of my own.
Why are the items in this photograph important to me? The watercolor snippet is awash with a few colors I frequently use when I paint. The colors perfectly matched the Cayman Island dollar bill my husband and I found beachcombing.
While on the same beach my husband picked up perfectly matched mussel shells, held them over his heart, and smiled that twinkly smile that captured my heart many years ago. I had to save the shells and find a way to keep them as a remembrance. After almost thirty-eight years, I still see the same boy I married.
The only tricky part in creating my project was gluing the shells to the collage. To do this I brushed a little glue in the interior of the shell, knowing that when I placed it right sight up on the canvas, the glue would slide down and “hopefully” adhere the shell to the collage without seeping out the sides. I used rubber cement since it is sticky rather than runny. It worked, most likely because the shells are very light and didn’t require a heavy duty adhesive.
I’m thrilled to have followed through with my idea. So often my beachcombing finds will lay in the bottom of a storage box for years. Do you have a memento of a special day? Create a small memento frame that will remind you of the happy occasion.
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Photograph – Cicada Wasp
A few days ago I posted a close-up photograph of a newly emerged cicada. Birds prey on cicadas, but they also have another predator to worry about in the insect realm…cicada wasps, or as they are also known, cicada hawks. These scary looking wasps don’t usually sting people, but they are deadly to cicadas. I find their appearance fascinating.
Solitary wasps (such as the eastern cicada killer) are very different in their behavior from the social wasps such as hornets, yellowjackets, and paper wasps. Cicada killer females use their sting to paralyze their prey (cicadas) rather than to defend their nests; unlike most social wasps and bees, they do not attempt to sting unless handled roughly. Adults feed on flower nectar and other plant sap exudates. After digging a nest chamber in the burrow, female cicada killers capture cicadas, paralyzing them with a sting. After paralyzing a cicada, the female wasp holds it upside down beneath her and takes off toward her burrow; this return flight to the burrow is difficult for the wasp because the cicada is often more than twice her weight. After putting one or more cicadas in her nest cell, the female deposits an egg on a cicada and closes the cell with dirt.”
~ Wikipedia
Cicada Wasps are Gentle Giants
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Plants – Dry Your Herbs the Super-Easy Way
I love Lemon Basil. Not only does this wonderful herb have the kick of basil, it also has a lemony taste and smell. Lemon Basil thrived in my garden this summer and the time for a first harvest soon arrived.
I dried a good portion of the lemon basil in my turkey roaster, on low heat, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts. Experimenting with an interesting technique for drying herbs was my choice for the remainder of the basil. In an online article from Mother Earth Living, I recently read of drying herbs uncovered in the fridge. I decided to give it a try. Mother Earth Living – Dry Your Herbs in the Fridge.
I placed the basil in a dish…
…And wedged it in the back corner of the fridge. Within a few days the basil was completely dried out.
The two techniques, after drying, side by side.
When mixed together, there are no obvious differences in either basil. Both are nicely dried and ready to be stored for using at a later date. Both techniques have their pluses: drying in the turkey roaster is quick, although you run the risk of over-drying and destroying the flavor. Drying in the fridge takes a few days, but there is no danger of burning your herb. Experiment and let me know if the fridge-drying technique works for you.
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Quotes & Photograph – Yellow Swallowtail
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
~ 2 Corinthians 5:17
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”
~ Richard Bach
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Photo Challenge – Cicada
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Close Up.”
The Cicadas-are-a-thrumming! One of the unmistakable sounds of summertime. I found this newly hatched cicada on my holly tree.
The skins they shed are so interesting.
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Quirkiness – Tree Decor & Strange “Selfies”
I have mixed feelings about “selfies.”
Definition. Selfie. “A picture taken of yourself that is planned to be uploaded to Facebook, Myspace or any other sort of social networking website.”
~ Urban Dictionary
At times “selfies” make me laugh, in other instances they seem the definition of self-absorption. Whatever the case may be they are a good way to convey your location and mood. This strange “selfie” of me was so true to who I am, I decided to post it. It is also a good way to show one of my favorite spots in my backyard. The small brass mirror, with its magical moon, is a constant draw, an inanimate pied piper if you will, for my grandchildren. I hope when they are grown they will remember gazing in this mirror and relive their surprise and fascinated joy as their own image looked back at them. Perhaps the experience could be called a “selfie” of their earliest memories.
Brass mirrors and other chachkis: (True spelling: tchotchke – trinkets or baubles of little value) are easy to work in amongst the ivy or can be hung on any tree with a small nail or tack. These little knickknacks are easy to find at flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales. Give it a try and make someone smile at their unexpected reflection.
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Quick Tip – Feed the Birds
If you have leftover ice cream cones, thread them with a pipe cleaner or string, fill with bird seed, and place outdoors on a branch or hook. I added a bit of hot glue to the hole I punched in the side so that the hanger would not pull through. An egg carton makes a perfect tray to carry them home. This is a super-easy project to craft with toddlers or Pre-K children.
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Quirkiness – Wacky Wednesday/Creating Cairns on Block Island
I recently composed a mantelscape using “beachy” items in honor of summer and the many seashore areas we have visited. I created a cairn (stacked rocks) with a few pebbles I brought home from Block Island, Rhode Island. I have created many a cairn on the Block Island beaches and admired hundreds more of these impromptu works of art built by the talented stone stackers who roam the bluffs, rocks and sand of this beautiful place.
“A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn (plural càirn).” ~ Wikipedia
Here are a few of the cairns I have photographed over the years on Block Island. As you can see cairns can be stacked quite tall…
Or very small…
Some have a picturesque backdrop…
While others adorn the muddy clay at the base of the bluffs…
Some stand alone…
While others stand en masse in a madrigal choir of stone.
There are even a few who have gotten married! (See note about this photograph at end of post)
Block Island cairns are created with the beautiful rocks and pebbles found on Block Island Beaches.
I composed and photographed the bride and groom photograph on Block Island a few years ago. I have used it many times as a wedding or shower greeting card. Please feel free to copy and use the photograph for non-commercial uses. It looks terrific mounted on a piece of black cardstock and then double-mounted on a white 5 x 7 greeting card. The photo is a standard size and should be easy to have reproduced anywhere they print out digital photos. Better yet, try your hand at creating your own bride and groom photograph from natural items…so much fun!
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Photograph – What’s the Rest of the Story?
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Half and Half.”This week, let’s split our photos in two.
I enjoyed taking part in this photo challenge. Here’s a bit of a game, guess what the other half of my photographs might be, and then scroll down and see how close you were to the correct answer.
What is missing in the photo of a frog?
Why his frog buddy of course!
What will you find if you follow this railroad trestle bridge across a Southern New Jersey salt marsh?
A terrific waterway for crabbing.
What are these two ladies creating that requires so much concentration?
They are creating a floral masterpiece in the Longwood Gardens Conservatory.
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Phavorites – Poldark on PBS
I’ve been enjoying Poldark on PBS. You can catch up through On Demand or view many clips and scenes on YouTube.
