Category: Virginia

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.

Natural Bridge in Virginia

The 2025 calendar on my refrigerator was purchased from the National Park Foundation. April 16 in 1908 the National Bridges National Monument in Utah was designated. 

Our family trip to Natural Bridge, Virginia came into my mind, though, this is a Virginia state park, and is not the one advertised on my calendar. We have not been to the Natural Bridges in Utah.

This was a pleasant reminder of our trip in 2011. I have posted a few pictures from our trip. 

Perhaps one day we will visit the National Bridges Monument in Utah.

This is a screenshot. It is incorrect with the claim of it being the largest natural land bridge in the North American continent. I believe the Rainbow Bridge in Utah might be the largest.
This is the park my calendar was referencing.

Garden Update April 2025

https://birdfact.com/articles/northern-flicker-vs-red-bellied-woodpecker. Picture is from this site.

My husband has been regularly filling the bird seed feeders and the suet feeders. This has attracted all sorts of birds to our garden. The other day I was very surprised to see a Northern Flicker at the suet feeder. I have never seen a live one nor a live one in our garden. It was big for the feeder compared to the little Downy woodpeckers that come around regularly now. When I was in the kitchen baking this morning, I looked out the window and saw the big bird again, but now I am not sure whether it was a Northern Flicker or some other type of woodpecker. The reason I wondered this is because the bird seen at our feeder had a very red head. The red started at the back of its neck and extended up to the back top of its head, and flickers don’t seem to have so much red on their head. However, looking at the comparison pictured above, the bird at our feeder did have the black patch and a mottled look on its front. It must be a Northern Flicker that it is coming around these days, and perhaps its redder head is a variation. In any case, I am very thrilled to be seeing it. It is almost too big for the suet feeder.

The Skip Laurel (Schip Laurel) hedge that is on two sides of our deck is blooming heavily this year. See picture below that was taken with my cell phone today.

Another surprise that I noticed today is a very old tall pink honeysuckle blooming. It was in the garden originally; however, it had been stunted with lack of sunlight for many years because another tree had been crowding it out. The offending tree was cut down a couple of summers ago. The pink honeysuckle is taking advantage of this and is spreading out and blooming. Gardens are always full of ongoing competitions. Next week I will be on break from school, so my plan is to get out in the garden.

Heart Strings

Lamprocapnos spectabilis

The common name is bleeding heart, but I like the name heart strings better. The scientific name is written in the caption. The pictures were taken by me long ago at Meadowlark Botanical Garden not too far from our home.

Today we celebrate the 35th birthday of Laura. We had lunch at Carrabba’s Italian Grill. The quote written on their to-go bags is: “There is no love more sincere than the love of food.” I would like to add “and family” at the end. However more people probably agree with their version.

We all agree that Carrabba’s Cannoli Cake for Two was incredibly delicious! Better to have birthday cake out than have a whole cake at home (way too many calories.).

This cannoli cake for two** at Carrabba’s Italian Grill is very moist and wonderfully delicious.
It was shared by two people, and still the calories should not be consumed daily.

In attempts to get a picture of this cake to share, I found many recipes out there trying to recreate this cake at home. It is good to know I will be able to find the recipe if I ever decide to make one at home. I am definitely more inclined to go back to Carrabba’s. They had a wonderful promotion on taking home meals. I should be set for the rest of the work week ahead. Thank you Carrabba’s!

Bless, Blessed, and Blessings

I have several thoughts on my mind this Sunday. I think I posted about the cardinal flower yesterday because Pope Francis has been in the news.
My thoughts and prayers are with him.

Last week I received my Virginia Real ID. This is my birthday month, and it was time to renew my driver's license, so since the law has changed regarding this, I upgraded to a real ID. I am good now for  eight years before the need will arise again.

My inside joke is that I will be blessed next week since adding one year to my age will make my age 'code' for blessed. I see this word written on clothes, garden stones, garden fairies, etc. Making it a joke is one way to lessen the thought of 'older age' or 'old age'. I don't feel old.

This hypertufa planter I made 14 years ago is still standing strong.
The inside needs to be redesigned with new plant material and fun features.
I found the recipe online at gardeners.com. Here is a picture.
You can find directions at the above mentioned website. I did not follow these exact directions when I made mine years ago. If I remember correctly I found the directions in a book or magazine. They were not complete directions, so I had to improvise with how to make the form. I used a big old picnic basket that I lined with a super-sized, plastic, heavy duty garden refuse bag. I used gloves to slap the mixture on the sides. It was much harder to make than I expected. Once you start the process, you have to finish it. I was very blessed that it turned out as well as it did. The only reason I made one is because I kept seeing them at an upscale garden center, and I really wanted one, though their price was more than I could justify or felt comfortable paying. 

Since I will be blessed this year (ha!), I should redesign the planter with some new mini or dwarf plantings. It currently holds a dwarf azalea, and some dwarf hostas named "Mouse Ears." These are drought tolerant. I still have the faded fairy with the word "Bless" on it. I will look for more garden decor with the words: bless, blessed, or blessing. Also I need to look for an automatic way to water it.

Looking ahead with plans to improve some things is a good way to feel positive right now.


Cardinal Flower Attraction & More

The cardinal flower likes to have its feet in watery mud.
The cool refreshing environment keeps it hydrated.
The nectar filled flowers are pulsing with life.
The hummingbird comes consistently during hot summer days.
The flower's nectar helps power its flight.
The swamp milkweed in the background has its own special suitor.
It arrives later in the summer and lays its eggs under the leaves.
The monarch's eggs will develop into caterpillars that eat and eat.
The excitement of the chrysalis is payment for the patient gardener.

Drum Roll Please (Timpani)

The 10th anniversary was in 2021. I was reminded of this earthquake when I read about the 2.8 earthquake today.
I vividly remember the earthquake in 2011. I was in my kitchen in Sterling, Virginia, and it sounded and felt like a giant was jumping on the roof of our house. Today's earthquake was not felt by me. I happened to read about it in the news, though, it was not big news, especially with everything else going on in our country and around the world.

I did not know that the 2011 earthquake was the most widely felt earthquake in America. I learned this today.

update 4/14/25: I deleted this, then restored it to drafts. Today I was debating whether to permanently delete it. My decision was to republish it because of the drum roll. Also, it shows a fact that I learned many years after the event.

Merry Christmas 2024

My husband said take a picture of your salad. It was served with a big roasted turkey, cornbread sausage stuffing, and gravy, and banana nut bread. Very simple.
Christmas day food update:
Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, a little chopped mix of cabbages & carrots,
Chopped cucumbers, orange & yellow peppers, a mix of small tomatoes,
chopped marinated artichoke hearts, feta cheese, and toasted pine nuts.
We have a small selection of dressings to please everyone. Individuals can top the salad with the dressing of their choice.

We want to start off the new year of 2025 with more healthy choices of food. The cornbread sausage stuffing has lots of celery & sweet onion cooked into it.

The salad was twice covered and briefly stored outside on the deck. The refrigerators are full. The outdoor temperature was perfect for it. (app.41 degrees F)