Katherine J Krein

The Gourd Family

All these pictures were taken by me years ago at a road-side market in Berryville, Virginia.

Yesterday I was visiting several places in my community taking advantage of some rare time away from home and work. Most places I went I saw pumpkins and various other members of the gourd family.

Did you know that cucumbers were in the gourd family? I did not know this until today.

As I was walking into one of the stores I was visiting, I heard a little boy behind me ask whether he could have a pumpkin. I heard his father respond that pumpkins were for October. Without thinking, I responded, “Pumpkins are already in the stores.” Then as I slowed to get a shopping cart, the father smiled at me, and I realized that it was his lame excuse for not buying his son a pumpkin. I smiled back, and went on my way knowing my words could not be taken back. I hope the little boy will get his pumpkin, and I hope that he can draw faces on it or have his dad carve a friendly face on it.

I love the beauty and versatility of gourds. They are one of the reasons I love the fall season, and of course all the pumpkin breads, muffins, pies, and cookies that are available at this time of year. I saw my husband had a carton of a pumpkin spice high protein drink, and I winced at the thought of it. Is this carrying it too far?

Anyways, I went looking for my pumpkin pictures, and I was reminded of my husband’s Uncle Buddy and his llama farm. He is no longer with us, nor is the llama farm still there. All was sold off, and I believe the land was sold to a neighboring horse training farm. Time moves on and things can change. I will post a picture in honor of Buddy and his llamas. I am not sure whether his wife Cheryl is still alive. She left to be closer to some of her children.

I still have some llama wool items I purchased to help support the cause. I will have to pull out the llama wool blanket that I have never used for fear of ruining it. I might as well use it at this point since their is no good reason to ‘save it’.

Some of Uncle Buddy’s llamas near Berryville, Virginia. His property was a stone’s throw from the West Virginia and Virginia border. He was on the West Virginia side.

Sunday Reflection: God is Good

This morning as I was drinking my coffee and looking out onto our deck,
I saw a trail of bright yellow cucumber flowers. 
They looked so pretty in the sunlight shining onto the deck.
Through all my neglect and amateur skills at vegetable gardening,
this cucumber plant has been a star performer bordering on miracle plant.

I looked away and then my subconscious told me to take another look.
I looked again and right above these flowers hung a new cucumber,
which I had not noticed the day before.
This has happened a few times with this plant.
I notice nothing, and then the next day I see a fully developed cucumber.
I have wondered is my vision so selective that I miss things.
I don't know the answer here.
I feel I must have a guardian angel watching over me to keep my spirits up.
It also makes me think I should not give up on future plans of growing vegetables.
I will show proof of produce that has been recently picked.
I won't show the ugly mess of pots and yellowed leaves.

This picture was taken by me today on my deck, including my most recent ‘miracle’ cucumber.

Village Guardians

Picture taken by me with my cell phone at Meadowlark Botanical Garden in Vienna, Virginia. These totems are in the Korean Bell Garden.

Totems can be misunderstood. They are not meant to be worshipped. They are not religious. They are a memorial of sorts, and some say they can frighten away demons. I enjoy them as an art form which I find very interesting.

Happy First Day of Fall!

Meadowlark Botanical Garden will begin to show spectacular fall color.
Go there to learn more about this Bell Garden and the totems.

The Gift of Procrastination

This is an art print from peg-runyan.pixels.com

I was looking out my kitchen window today and saw a bird feeding on one of the cattails that have become invasive in my pond. I have been too overwhelmed to tackle my cattail problem. I got my binoculars out so that I could better identify the bird. It turned out to be a female goldfinch. I had never seen one feeding on my cattails before today. Now, I feel that the cattails were a blessing for the birds.

I looked up cattails and goldfinches, and it turns out they have a close relationship. I read that not only do the goldfinches feed on the seeds of the mature cattails, they also use the white fluffy fibers to line their nests.

Since the daily visitation of a neighborhood hawk scared all the birds away, bird sightings in my garden have been very limited. The birdfeeder has been mostly avoided even though my husband keeps it filled with fresh bagged seeds. The first to return has been a female cardinal who looks to be rejoicing with her exclusive rights to the feeder and garden. Today she shared the garden with this female goldfinch who looks healthily plump. Perhaps she has been feeding on the cattails under my radar, and was not noticed until today. Her coloration does blend well with the collection of cattails that now find their home in my garden. Now I do not feel so bad about dragging my feet in cleaning up the pond. I will wait to do this until the birds have their fill of seed and fluff.

I thought about going out to get a picture but the goldfinches are notoriously hard to capture in a picture. I simply open the door to the garden and they fly away. So, I borrowed the above image from a website that sells garden print merchandise. The address is in the caption.

Choose Reason Not Resonance

A spiral shell within a sea of sound.
Waves crash within the shell, bouncing off
the hard smooth walls.

Sound flows within this spiral, and mimics the motion of the ocean, and
brings the symphony of the sea to any waiting ear 
that holds it to their ear.

This symphony is written by the surrounding sound waves that fill our air.
We can become the prisoners when we hold this resonance too close.
Stand back and away from the shell for awhile. 
Let your heart and mind contemplate with reason.

A Sunday Surprise

These pictures were taken today with my old Nikon D300. It still works, though my skills need a refresh course. The surprise is the clematis I planted in a pot. This is the only new plant I planted this year. I have spent very little time in the garden for many reasons, not the least was the fact that the weather was miserable for most of the summer. Though, the real reason is my lack of motivation and my indoor care-giving responsibilities. So, when I walked outside onto the patio and looked to the left, I was pleasantly surprised to see the clematis blooming. This one’s name is Diana’s Delight. I bought it simply because its name is close to Diane, a family name.

I did plant a few vegetables on my deck several months ago. I have harvested a few cucumbers, a few tomatoes, and now a few peppers are ready to be picked. I did not care for them very well, though, I did manage to water them when they looked too dry. Back when I devoted lots of time to my garden, I never grew vegetables. Even though I have farmers on my family tree, I think I would be a poor one. I enjoy the beauty of flowers, birds, butterflies, and various other insects. My philosophy has always been to leave vegetable growing to those who are good at it, and buy from them. Though I must say I ate one of my home grown tomatoes today and it was good. Several summers ago I had one tomato plant out in the garden and it produced prolifically and my husband enjoyed most of them. So maybe, I will try again in the future. The season is not over yet, and the vegetable production is picking up with the few plants that I have on my deck.

One advantage of growing older is that I have gotten better at prioritizing the things in my life that are most important to me, and that is my family. My garden can wait until my life allows me the luxury of spending more time at it.

I have been watching the Corn moon all this week. Last night it was clouded over, and I did not see it. The sky has mostly cleared, so I am hoping to see it full tonight. Yesterday I made a chicken enchilada casserole and put lots of corn in it as a tribute to the moon tonight.

Hello September!

I will welcome September with open arms. The full Corn Moon will shine bright next Sunday, the 7th, though in North America we will not be able to see the total lunar eclipse that will turn it into a blood moon. (The next total lunar eclipse visible to the United States will be March 3, 2026.) The Harvest Moon will rise in October.

We can still enjoy the full Corn Moon. It is already candy corn season in the stores, and I have purchased my yearly quota. I cannot seem to let go of this tradition that dates back to my childhood. Once a year I buy a bag to consume by myself. Now that I am older and wiser (ha) I spread it out over a few days, thus avoiding a sick stomach. I never eat it at any other time during the year.

The autumnal equinox will arrive the 4th week in September. Bird migrations will be in swing and they will continue through October.

Snow geese, black ducks, and American coots…

These are just a few pictures of some of the birds that migrate and take a rest stop in Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. I have many more pictures. Hopefully, I will be able in return there in the future for another migration season.

The cooler air coming in will be a welcome relief from the hot, hot summer that is coming to an end this month. Possibly, I will get outside and try to take some picture with my old Nikon of the hawk that comes daily now into our garden in Sterling. It perches in the lower branches of the tall crepe myrtle tree closest to our patio. It is visible from our kitchen window and the big dining room door that exits to our deck and patio. It has scared all the smaller birds from our feeders, and no scurrying feet of other garden wildlife can be seen either, which in some cases is a good thing. Overall, I welcome the hawk's presence. The food chain is in action.

Speaking of food chains, here is a white heron eating something it caught in the water, fish or frog…

This bald eagle pair was far away and I did not have a long enough lens, however, you can see that they caught dinner. I think they were feasting on snow geese.

Sunday Reflection: Revisiting an Old Post

https://movingforwardslowly.com/2019/12/07/the-spin-is-all-that-matters/

Above is a link to an old post of mine dated 12/07/2019, and titled The Spin is all that Matters. Thinking about the wooden bus mounted on top of a Ford metal frame shown in my most recent post from yesterday, reminded me of this old post of mine about wooden spools and how they can be made into something new.
I talked about God in this post. It is most likely considered a radical idea. However, I thought it appropriate to revisit it this Sunday.

I definitely believe in God. He has proven time and time again that he exists in my mind. The problem arises when trying to visualize him, and maybe this is why some religions believe God transcends our ability to visualize him.

("Many monotheistic faiths, like Islam and some interpretations of Christianity and Judaism, emphasize God's transcendence, making direct visual representation impossible..." This is an AI quote.)

My difficulty with visualizing God must stem from the fact that I was raised in the Christian faith. So, in my attempts to visualize him, I make him so large he controls Earth and continually remakes the female earth to advance with technology, and with him (since they are entangled.)

There is no way to be sure of any of my visualizations, so I am content with keeping him in my thoughts and my heart, and trying to live by his doctrine of good will towards all. He does transcend us all, and is larger than life on Earth.

The Oldest Surviving American School Bus

This picture is from The Henry Ford Museum. https://thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/357533

As I was thinking about going back to work, and about the students coming back to school this year (2025), I wondered about the history of the school bus. It is interesting to see the yellow color has survived multiple upgrades of the American school bus. In American history 7th graders will learn about Henry Ford and his model-T car. Go to the museum link I have provided in the caption under the picture of the Blue Bird No.1., and you will be able to read more about the oldest surviving school bus in America.

Fortunately for students today the buses are much safer and more comfortable than back in 1927. I hope everyone has a good beginning to this school year 2025.

I know I have a picture of my daughter getting on a school bus for the first time, however, I could not find the picture at this time, though I did find a picture of her on her first bike with training wheels. I also found a picture of Ivan the giraffe from our visit to the San Diego Safari Park. I have added the picture to my post about date palm trees, and I found a picture of my daughter and my mother at the Anne of Green Gable house on Prince Edward Island, and I have added this picture to my last Sunday Reflection post.

United States National Arboretum

The weather today is hot and sticky, even early this morning when I went out to run a few errands. I have not been going outside as much as I would like, however, I have been taking care of myself getting preventive medical exams and other healthcare appointments.

Today I want to spotlight the United States National Arboretum. Since I have been going through my old picture files, I found a folder of some pictures taken at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum which is located on the arboretum grounds. It was mid- February of 2009, and we took a car trip into D.C. to visit the National Arboretum. Winter is not as busy as other times of the year, so parking was easily available and the admission is always free.
https://www.usna.usda.gov

I have shown only a few of my pictures that I took on this trip. I revisited the U.S. National Arboretum website to see what was going on there currently in 2025. I discovered the interactive map (ABE) which is very cool. It gives you a bird's eye view of all the arboretum grounds and where it is located within the district. It has a plant finder feature which is very useful if you love to discover new plants or explore variations of known plants.
One thing I could not find on their site was a little history of how it all got started. I found this website: https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/national-arboretum-washington-dc/

If you have a child in school they will learn about U.S. history. One unit of study will be the New Deal which was a program to help the U.S. recover from the stock market crash (1929) and the depression that followed. The link above gives more information about this. I have taken a screenshot about how the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) helped to lay down the groundwork of the U.S. National Arboretum.

Thinking about the school year ahead, you might want to plan a visit to the U.S. National Arboretum during the winter break when your children are under foot, and you want to enrich their learning at no substantial cost to the family budget.