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.
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.
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.
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.
A collage of Swallowtail butterflies in my garden.The barn swallow also has the distinct forked-tail.
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.
Old songs continue to be on my mind. My parents were not album or music collectors, though they did enjoy music. So, when I received as a birthday gift in 1971 a Sugarloaf Green -Eyed Lady 45 rpm vinyl record from my friend Judy Moreau, it was a big deal to me. Above you can hear the song. I will also post the lyrics here.
I did not get the album as a gift. I only got the small record of this particular song. I was floored when I just read above that Jerry Corbetta wrote the song about his girlfriend, Kathy, who had green eyes.
The heat wave has been broken. Today is overcast, a lot cooler, and damp. I now plan to get outside and get some work done. Until later…
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.
Since I am avoiding the heat, I did some more looking in the same folder where I had found the other pictures in my last post. When I focused in on the katydid pictures I noticed the backside of its abdomen was dark brown. My first question to myself was “is it depositing eggs? I did a little research and learned of the word “ovipositor”. I found this word here on this video https://youtu.be/IRG-zCDS9iI?si=Djgo13btr1ugw24q . Since my katydid from my garden did not have an extended ovipositor, it must not have been laying eggs. Still I learned this new word today! Thank you to Bug of the Week.
I was curious about the man who posted this video, and I was curious whether he had any new 2025 videos. I saw that he had a Fireflies 2025 video posted. This reminded me that I have seen a few in my garden recently, and last night I saw several of them lighting up. Fireflies always remind me of my grandparents that lived on a farm in Plattsburg, MO. My grandfather once took the glowing spot off of one and stuck it on my ring finger. I still have this memory 50+ years later. It was a magical memory in my childhood brain.
movingforwardslowly 