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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
This morning I made some hot tea to soothe a dry throat. Attached to the tea bag string was a label with the quote: “One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.” – James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)
I decided to look this poet up at Poets.org. Here is one of his poems that I thought captured a small child's delight with finding golden yellow dandelion flowers scattered in the grass. *Innocence and a wise appreciation of all God's creations. I remember as a young child being told to blow the feathered tops and make a wish, unknowingly spreading seeds for future golden flowers (considered weeds by many.) 🙂
Here is the link to the poem To the Dandelion by James Russell Lowell.
https://poets.org/poem/dandelion-0
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.)
movingforwardslowly 