Kathy’s Garden – Page 4 – movingforwardslowly

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.

A Swallowtail Celebration

A collage of Swallowtail butterflies in my garden.

I found the swallowtail butterfly collage I put together long ago. I no longer do collages. Where does the name 'swallowtail' come from? I read somewhere that it is named after the barn swallow bird because they both have a forked-tail. I cannot vouch for the validity of this, however, I like this explanation.

I decided this post needed an audio addition. So, I went looking for an appropriate tune, and discovered the traditional Irish jig fiddle tune named, Swallowtail Jig.

I found an audio file here: https://archive.org/details/SwallowtailFast

I want to thank Rebecca Dunne for uploading this free audio file!

I love to learn new things!

Malva sylvestris – Zebrina Mallow

After looking at the Ricola bag again I realized that I grew another edible and flavorful flower in my garden. The leaves of the mallow plant are eaten around the world and cooked in various ways, often stuffed and wrapped around meat and other foods. I found several foragers who wrote about being overjoyed finding mallow in the wild and harvesting it for food. I grew it because I thought it was a beautiful plant. There are several types of mallow. I grew the Zebrina mallow for its lovely flowers.

Looking through my files looking for the mallow I remembered growing, I found this good picture of a soldier beetle also known as a leather wing beetle. It is considered a beneficial bug in Virginia. It is a pollinator. The flower that the soldier beetle is enjoying is a peony.

Have a great weekend!

Plant Spotlight for Today

Black Lace Elderberry's scientific name is Sambucus nigra. The picture on the left is from my garden in 2009. It needs more sunlight than it had in my garden to achieve the beautiful dark, maroon-colored leaves. My picture was taken before its bloom time. The picture on the right is from the Proven Winners website. They are well-known in the garden business world. 

In the nightstand next to my bed I keep a supply of Ricola cough drops. You don't have to have a sore throat to enjoy one. I had one this morning. The reason I mention this is because one of the medicinal herbs used to make the Ricola drop is Elderberry flower. It is a well-established medicinal plant.

Evidence of Ricola consumption this morning.

On the package you can see the elder flower shown as one of the ingredients. On the wrapper the elder flower is the white one in the bottom left hand corner. I do not have a sore throat. I simply enjoy the flavor.

I did not copy the whole WebMD article because you can look it up if interested.

The elderberry is not only used medicinally, it also can be made into wines, cordials, and other food items.

The website The Spruce Eats is full of information and recipes.

I found this picture in my files. Here is my Black Lace’s flower.

The Healing Power of a Garden

Very prolific flower. Easy to grow. No problems. Honeybees love its scent.

Above you can see a black swallowtail butterfly and carpenter bee enjoying a blazing star. The middle picture shows my pond in its heyday. The third picture shows a clearwing moth enjoying a butterfly bush. The screenshot of the significance of hyssop according to E-Bible taught me something new today. I grew hyssop in my garden for many years. I loved it, and many butterflies of all sizes loved it. Interestingly, I saw very few hummingbirds around it, and this possibly was because the red cardinal flower held their interest (not pictured here.)

Summer Vibes

The other day I was reading something and playing with numbers when I was reminded of a TV series that was on during my late teens (1976-1981). Do you remember the original Charlie’s Angels? I do. I even tried to make my hair look like Farrah’s hair. I never quite pulled it off, not to mention I looked nothing like her. Anyways, this morning I looked at what happened on this day June 25th in history. I was surprised to see that Farrah Fawcett died on this day in 2009. Her death was a little overshadowed by the death of Michael Jackson which happened on the same day. This coincidence with thinking of the TV series, and then seeing that the anniversary of Farrah’s death is today, made me look up the series opening soundtrack. Listen to it above.

The weather today is still too hot and humid for me. I am busy inside with other responsibilities, and when given the chance I still like to enjoy my favorite past time of looking at old garden pictures. It serves as a motivator for me. Look above at a picture from my past. I don’t have too many pictures of damselflies because they were shy and not as noticeable as the more flamboyant dragonflies.

I hope you are staying cool and refreshed. Don’t read the news if you want to stay in a good mood. This is my strategy when I can muster the willpower. The weather needs to get a little cooler and less sauna-like for me to get outside in the garden.

Airborne Seeds and More

I have posted in the past about Maple helicopter seeds (whirly gigs). I ran across this Swamp Milkweed seed picture this morning and was impressed once again by the beautiful silky fibers of this seed. These fibers allow the Swamp Milkweed to go airborne (in a different way than the helicopters). I have posted the picture to show you the beauty of these seeds.

I have been thinking about planting a Swamp milkweed again. It really does bring in the Monarch butterflies. It is a host plant for them. I have been getting out into my garden, though today the weather is making me stay inside. Outside feels like an intense sauna.

Yesterday morning I started organizing all my garden supplies by cleaning out my long deck storage box and my garden shed. I have many old garden gloves, however, the two long sleeve pairs I had are now damaged. So, I ordered two more long garden gloves to protect me from all the bad plants that could hurt me. I also found my head netting that goes over my garden hat, and protects my face, ears, and neck from garden bugs.

Looking through my pictures brings back plant memories to me. I also found a cool picture of the aster flower with a flower spider and its prey. Perhaps I will plant more of these. Look below.

I also ran across a picture of a beautiful dahlia flower that used to grow in my garden. I used to order dahlia corms from Swan Island Dahlias. Dahlias do not grow year round in my garden because we are in a plant zone where you have to dig them up to keep them. I still get an occasional email from Swan Island Dahlias, so now I am considering whether I could grow them again. My garden has changed drastically since then. Here is a picture of the beauty from the past.

I need the weather to move out of the danger zone before I can make serious progress. I have been taking advantage of early mornings and late evening for some garden clean-up. Patience is needed right now.

Stay hydrated if you have to be out in the heat, and be careful.

The Storm is Over, Power has been Restored, and a Heat Wave has been Forecast

The recent storm caused power outage pushed me to rearrange the deck and uncover my Big Green Egg. I had a big enchilada casserole in the oven when the power went out in the late afternoon. I waited, thinking the power would be restored soon. After a couple of hours I covered the casserole still in the oven. Around 6am the next morning when the power was still out I fired up the grill, and placed the casserole on the stone shelf. It finished cooking this way. It was delicious!

We kept the two refrigerators cold with a generator we had not had to use for over 10 to 15 years. Neither my husband or I could remember exactly the last time we had an extended power outage, though we knew it was a long time ago. The small portable Jackery power station my husband uses occasionally with his business came in handy for smaller electrical necessities.

I read about the heat wave that should be arriving this weekend or early next week. I prayed that our power would be restored before this time. The power came back on last evening when the day was winding down. Thank God, and thank you Dominion Energy and all your dedicated service workers.

The picture above captures my mood this morning.

Three Poems

This photo was taken by Katherine June Krein in the year 2008.

Hairstreak
Small in size, about an inch, it still captivates. Up close it is more attractive than from a distance. Usually, the opposite is true, especially true of humans.

There are different types and variations of the hairstreak. It has a scientific name. I don't have it memorized. You can look it up.

The sky is overcast today. We are in the future now, and not in the past with this. I have not seen any butterflies yet in 2025.

Honeybees were swarming the skip laurel hedge yesterday. I read it provides an early spring nectar. They seemed a nuisance, but they are important pollinators, so they will be left alone. I am insignificant to them, and probably not even noticed.

The overcast sky today has changed to intermittent sunshine. A storm is forecast for later tonight.

Rose Hips
The season is over, and all the petals have fallen.
The stark and brittle rose stems are left standing.
They remain armed and dangerous with thorns intact.
The blossom bases that were once green begin to redden and ripen.
These jewels are called hips.
They hold value and should be picked.
Fresh or dried they can be used for tea or jam.
If left alone, the birds will find them and be thankful.
These rose hips might even keep the doctor away.
(July 12,2020)

Not exactly dirty, hot, and sweaty! AI generated image.

Unadorned
No necklaces, no manicures, no pedicure
Uncut, unpolished, and rough.
Sweaty, grimy, hot and dirty.
I sit completely unadorned in the garden.
The plants, insects, and garden birds take center stage.
The only spotlights are the sun and moon.
In the garden I'm the watcher and director,
When nature decides to acquiesce.
(I deleted it and typed it again today. The original date has been lost.)

P.S. I combined two old posts. I was going to delete them, and decided they could stay here. Why not?
P.P.S Today I added a 3rd poem.