Everything in Jamaica has more color. The fenceposts are brilliant, half coral/half red. The pigeons have rosy feet, and one seems to have red eyes. My photograph of a fence at Rick’s Cafe in Negril, Jamaica, is part of The Life of B’s Simply Red Challenge.
Are you like me and remember when these rides cost a dime? I wonder if you now need a credit/debit card to take a ride on this Fire Truck with Snoopy and Charlie Brown as companions. The fire truck is part of The Life of B’s blog Simply Red challenge. Thank you to Becky for hosting.
The Elk Neck State Park has a beach area for visitors on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. My family has had many camping trips to Elk Neck State Park. I love this photo of the grandgirls looking for rocks and treasure and my family relaxing. My son is wearing the shirt that is my pop of Simply Red for The Life of B blog’s photo challenge.
The beautiful red roof of the East Point Lighthouse is just one of the charms of this beautiful building. Built in 1849 on the Delaware Bay in Heislerville, New Jersey, the lighthouse is still an active lighthouse.
The pop of red of the lighthouse roof is my choice today for the Life of B blog, Simply Red photo challenge and Skywatch Friday.
I love dandelion puffs. Backlit by the morning sun, the photo becomes naturally monochromatic. There are some interesting sparkles shining in the fluffy parachutes. The correct name for the fluff is pappus. You can find more dandelion information on Quora.
Today, I came upon a great blog called Good One God Challenge. My entry for the challenge is this beautiful dandelion. The dandelion against the sky is part of Skywatch. The square shape and the bright sunshine makes it perfect for today’s Life of B – April Squares Bright challenge entry. While not bright in color, the photo conveys a sense of brightness in the contrast.
I found the beautiful puff of dandelion on this week’s wildflower walk. These bright and beautiful wildflowers are blooming now in my Mid-Atlantic state of New Jersey. (Do squares in a square count as a bright square? I’ll have to ask Becky.)
Top to bottom, left to right, the wildflower names are:
1. Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) – An invasive groundcover in the mint family.
2. Speedwell Persian (Veronica-persicaiolet) – Very small flowers, but they capture the color of the sky. It’s everywhere at this time of year in NJ, but soon disappears when hot weather arrives.
3. Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) – This plant is invasive, but it also has the beautiful yellow petals of buttercups, and is in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae.
4 Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) – Nutritious, the plant has many benefits.
5. Purple Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) – Although it can be invasive, it is an important wildflower for early pollinators. In this photograph you can see a Cabbage White Butterfly feeding on the small flowers.
6 White Violets (Viola blanda) – These are lovely, but like many wildflowers, can become invasive and take over your garden beds and lawn.
7. Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) – I learned this wildflower is a wild edible, but also can be invasive.
8. Periwinkle (Myrtle vinca) – Not just a wildflower, this plant is sometimes sold in garden nurseries as an evergreen groundcover.
9. Indian Strawberry (Duchesnea indica) – The small strawberries are not edible. The leaves can be used to treat eczema.
Today I’m taking part in the Squares Challenge/Life of B/April – Bright . I think these Dragon Fruit I recently purchased are the perfect choice for bright.
Dragon Fruit, proper name Pitaya or Pitayaha, come in two colors, a beautiful bright sunshine gold, and these amazing magenta-crimson variety. So far, after sampling both types in the past few weeks, I am a little more partial to the gold, Perhaps the red variety wasn’t quite as ripe as it should be though, so I will give it another two chances…exactly the amount of dragon fruit I still have left.
After reading the link below, I was able to conclude my Dragon Fruit was ready to eat. The fruit was bright in color and the ‘wings’ on the skin had browned a bit and started to wither.
3 Ways to Tell if a Dragon Fruit is Ripe
I took a chance when I purchased this fruit. It is very expensive. For some reason I thought they grew on trees. I was surprised to find they are a type of cactus. A piece of the stem from the cactus is visible on one end of this fruit. Would I be able to propagate it using this stem? I don’t know, perhaps I’ll give it a try. I do know I will be saving some of the seeds in an attempt to grow them into a plant. I’ll update my progress in future posts.
How to grow a Dragon fruit from fruit’s seeds.
The seeds in a Dragon Fruit are edible, much like a Kiwi. I slice the fruit in half and scoop it out with a spoon. I prefer the fruit to come to room temperature if it has been stored in the refrigerator. Delicious!
Colds and Coughs are not the C-words you want to experience at Christmas. At this time of year we need to cultivate a bit of contentedness, rather than pushing through responsibilities, and even the fun times, oblivious to our own needs.
City Sonnet’s December Photo a Day Challenge is Start with C. Comfort is the c-word I’m hoping to bring to a loved one through Frankincense essential oil. He has come down with a cold during the busiest time of the year. I’m hoping to ease his stuffy nose with hot water and a few drops of Frankincense in a diffuser near the chair he is resting in. I was surprised to find this 100% pure essential oil available in my local drugstore. Frankincense packaged for aromatherapy is not to be taken internally. The fragrance reminds me a bit of Tea Tree Oil, another great choice for clogged sinuses.
“Frankincense is particularly effective if you’re dealing with a terrible cough, or any type of respiratory infection, for that matter. Breathing in frankincense essential oil (via a diffuser or hot steam) will help break up the mucus in your lungs, while simultaneously acting as an anti-inflammatory for your nasal passages.”
~ Elite Daily/Six essential oils for colds
My choice to use Frankincense is timely, a perfect reminder of the one of the gifts that the Magi brought to Jesus. This post and photo are part of the #timesquare challenge hosted by The Life of B.
Another way to boost your mood on this Nurturing Thursday is to take a few moments to listen to good music. This, That and the Other’s 30 Day Song Challenge topic is A Song you Like from the 70’s’. I posted Aspenglow last year as a favorite, and I’m once again posting it. The beginning chime effect, John Denver’s voice, and the beautiful lyrics always have a calming effect on my inner spirit. Enjoy!
Another way to relax is to sit down and watch an old movie. Frankincense reminds me of one of the brother’s names in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, one of my favorites. Here’s the amazing Howard Keel singing about his future bride. This 1954 movie is a classic.
