Swampy Saturday along the bike trail that spans Glassboro and Williamstown, New Jersey.
This post is part of Garden Ruminations Six on Saturday.
All I can say about this dessert/breakfast is, oh my.
Oh my, it is so easy!
Oh my, it is so scrumptious!
Oh my, it is gone in under five minutes!
You can easily make it too. I’ve included step-by-step photographs and a few quick words.
Ingredients: 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal, 2 Apples, 1 pat of butter
Peel (or if you love eating apple peel, try leaving it on) two apples. If they are on the small side, I sometimes use three. I chose Granny Smith apples. Green apples are firm, slightly sour, and bake up perfectly. Place evenly in a large, greased pie pan. A square pan would work too, but you might need more apples.
Mash one large pat of butter into the instant oatmeal until combined, don’t overmix.
It should look like the photo after mixing.
Sprinkle evenly on peeled apples. Cover with foil. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven.
Oh, the joy of this apple crisp. The caramelized bits around the edges are the best, don’t leave them in the pan, sprinkle these bits on top. Enjoy!
A note: My sister suggested using organic instant oatmeal to make the dessert even healthier. Quaker Oatmeal comes in four flavor variety packs. I’ve tried all four flavors, and all are delicious in the apple crisp.
Elisabeth Elliot (December 21, 1926 – June 15, 2015) was a Christian missionary, author, and speaker.
We went to Longwood this week. The walk alongside the Meadow was golden and glorious. Spectacular wildflowers called Common Cup-Flowers lined the path. Goldfinches, butterflies, bumble and honeybees, gathered nectar and seeds.
Common cup-plant is a native wildflower in the Asteraceae (daisy) family. It may self-seed. It typically grows to around 6′, however, can grow to reach 9′ tall. ~North Carolina Extension Gardener.
The Common Cup-plant is my choice for Cee’s Flower of the Day.
The yellow daisy-like flowers were spectacular against the bluest of skies.
The child in me wanted to wade through the tall grasses and flowers and climb this perfect branching tree.
Even a photograph that went askew seemed pretty as it gave me a good glimpse of the underside of the flowers.
If you visit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, take a trip to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square.
These photographs are part of Garden Ruminations/Six on Saturday.
In spring, my garden is a blank slate as the daffodils push above the soil’s surface, where they have slept away in the summer, winter, and autumn. It’s never unexpected, but always still amazing when August displays a thick jungle of flowers in the place where blooming began sparsely in March.
I haven’t taken part in the Lens-Artist Challenge for quite a while. I was drawn in by the title of the challenge. I am a bit late, but still happy to take part in Challenge #311.
Today as I was photographing the flowers I was surrounded by Black Swallowtails sipping from the Butterfly Bush and other flowers in the yard. I decided, since they use my fennel as host plants, and I help them out by raising them in butterfly houses on the porch, they too are growing in my garden.
This beautiful moth is my choice for the “Whatsoever is Lovely” challenge hosted by Xingfu Mama. I got several good captures of it feeding on the flowers of the Butterfly Bush. The plant lives up to its name, although it resembles a tree instead of a bush. We cut it back, and it grows even taller.
The multiple blossoms of the flower sprays make it a perfect setting for photographing butterflies and bees. They are usually so intent on moving from flower to flower they ignore the trespass of my camera into their space. I love the way the photograph captures the face of the moth and the blurry whirr of its quickly fluttering wings.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
Emily Dickinson
There is hope! The Monarch butterflies have finally made some appearances, although not in large numbers. This one flew in for a landing and cooperated with my camera’s intrusion, allowing me to capture several photos.
So very true…
I can travel far, maybe wide, but sometimes the best inspiration is in my neighborhood. This beautiful hawk seemed to pose for a photograph.
Millicent Fenwick was a member for four terms in the US House of Representatives. (New Jersey)
Find the Eden within you…
where you can walk,
talk, and dwell with God.
Today, I had strange companions along for the ride as I drove to Red Bank Battlefield. Ten caterpillars, mid-sized in their cycle, rode along to become residents of the Butterfly House. The fennel plants collapsed a bit in the heat, but the caterpillars did well.
The house has many butterflies, chrysalis, and caterpillars. The interior is filled with dozens of nectar and host plants.
The volunteers (Butterfly Whisperers) were pleased to welcome and make room for the new residents. The jar holding the fennel sprigs they were feasting on was placed beside a beautiful fennel plant growing in the house.
It gives me great joy to think of all the visitors receiving a bit of pleasure as they watch the butterflies throughout their life cycle.
The Revolutionary War Battlefield, now a historic park, is located on the banks of the Delaware River. Philadelphia’s skyline is in view to the right of the park.
I’m not good at sitting still. These flowers were created with shell and coral on the beach of the Cornwall Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge for this week is a Single Flower. I chose this beautiful white Echinacea that grows in full sun near my patio. The identity of the seed source is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Since I planted the seeds indoors sometime in Spring of 2022, it took two years for the plant to flower outside. As soon as I finish writing this post, I will follow the link to Baker Creek and purchase another packet. I plan to start the echinacea seeds now, in late summer, and grow them to blooming size by Spring.
I had many unusual colors grow from this variety: peach, deep coral, the typical pink, and this white flower. If you love the sturdy stems and reliable bloom of Echinacea plants, try growing this unique mixture.
Paradiso Echinacea loaded down with blooms in late July.
(Later) I did purchase the seeds and they are already shipped. At this slower time of the growing season Baker Creek Seed company is very fast with order fulfillment. Baker Creek is definitely in the upper echelon of best heirloom seed companies.
The Farmer’s Almanac has an excellent article on how to grow echinacea.
Over the past decade, I’ve dabbled in a variety of WordPress photo challenges, each offering a unique perspective. In this post, I’m excited to share my experiences from three such challenges.
You may notice a red spot on the seagull in the photograph I chose for the birdwatching challenge hosted by Don’t Hold Your Breath. The Audubon Society explains this in a great article. In short, the red spot is a visual clue to help baby chicks peck the parent bird’s bill to be fed.
One of my longtime favorite challenges is Friday Skywatch. Although I am a day late, they accept entries throughout the week. My photos show the wide beach at the point of Strathmere, NJ. We love Strathmere beach and appreciate the fact that it is one of the few southern New Jersey beach towns that don’t require beach tags. (Wildwood, North Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest are also free beaches.)
The last photograph I include is Six on Saturday hosted by Garden Ruminations. My theme is a few of the Sea Birds from the Jersey Shore. These photos were taken during weekend visits to Strathmere and Wildwood, New Jersey.
We grew this lively mix in the front beds of our old farmhouse porch and discovered it is one impressive zinnia, forming mounds of continuous color that were adored by the butterflies. ~Pinetree Garden Seeds
I am in love with this low-growing zinnia. Perfect for the front of my backyard patio border, the color is luscious, a brilliant coral pink.
The plants have been blooming for several weeks. They were available through Pinetree Garden Seeds, a reliable seed company. Next year, I will do the same and plant two side by side. This creates a mesmerizing display of color.
There is a plethora of flowers, and they last quite a long time. The color is beautiful even as they near the end of their bloom time. These zinnias fade to a lovely creamy yellow before they need to be cut away.
My one complaint is the small number of seeds in the packet. Although, the description does include the seed count so there was ample warning.
The zinnias are part of Cee’s Flower of the Day.
In this photograph, my grandson is five or six years old. He is my first grandchild. Becoming a grandmother is a dream that did not disappoint. It was, is, and I hope will always be, even more precious than I had hoped the relationship would be when I first heard the news of his impending birth.
He just turned eighteen and graduated from high school in the same month. The colors for his school match the color of the shirt he wore all those years ago as he marveled over the pea-sized tomatoes I grew in my garden.
A mystery: rain recently washed up a small sand toy he and his brothers played with in the backyard sandbox. Once, I might have packed it up or even thrown it away, but now it is a treasure. Cleaned up, it will be placed in my keepsake drawer, a reminder of how fast time goes and a delightful prompter of lovely memories. God bless you all on these pathways we walk as we travel through life.
I might be slightly stretching the challenge subject of passages/paths to consider walking alongside the ocean and bay a pathway, yet my way has a water border and dry sand on the other side. I walk on the wet, hardened area swept over by the waves. On further reflection, I think of walking along the ocean, a definite path.
The first photograph is one of my favorite places, Fortescue, New Jersey, along the creek that flows into the Delaware Bay. This area is a popular spot to fish. Again, I found the photograph quickly because it is set aside as a scene I would like to paint.
Another favorite area is Strathmere, New Jersey. We walk to the point across from Corson’s Inlet State Park. The beach has large cordoned-off areas for the shore birds that raise their young in the sandy stretches beyond the reach of the waves.
Whatever beach I visit, I collect an assortment of ocean treasures. I keep them in baskets and jars, paint them, craft with them, and have them in my living room as decor. Today, I created a decorative basket with a few. I especially like the piece of seaglass on the front. I found the glass with the small oyster shell firmly attached. I imagine that oyster had quite a whirlwind life while it was alive, tossed around in the waves with its piece of glass host. The small shell included on this piece is a cat’s paw collected on Sanibel Island.
On the subject of Sanibel, I’m including a clip of one of my favorite YouTube Channels: SWF Beach Life. This clip includes Sanibel Island. I love her channel; it is so relaxing and fun to live through her as she gathers beachy treasures. On a scale of 1 – 10, I give this YouTube channel a definite 10. If you feel stressed, or are just interested in seashells, check out this channel.
Glen Lake Park: This park has benches all along the lake and is maintained by the students of Kindle School. The lake recently has been fitted with fountains and lights. Glen Lake is stocked for fishing. It also is rather shallow and often freezes over, providing a nice place for winter outdoor ice skating. ~Our Town
Glen Lake, a small pond near our home, is a favorite destination for a quick walk. Early morning is my favorite time to circle the paths along its perimeter. A clue to its size is how easy it would be to throw a pebble across its breadth.
Although morning is my favorite time to visit, sunset can be beautiful, too. I love this photograph of my husband walking a pathway of sunlight shining through the trees surrounding Glen Lake. Way back in time, we took photographs of our wedding party beside this lake when we got married.
So often, we want to find beauty in our travels, but for most of us, there are colors and incredible scenes of sunlit splendor right outside our back door. It could be a body of water, such as this small pond near my house, or something as starkly beautiful as a dandelion growing in a crack in the sidewalk.
Wherever your pathways and passages take you today, I wish for you to find beauty that will touch your soul.
