Some other Frances Hodgson Burnett books (with illustrations)

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I remember Francis Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden (1911) and A Little Princess (1905) from my childhood. She wrote many more books over the course of a relatively long writing career….doing well enough to support her family, travel, and own several homes. Several books that she wrote around the same time as those books are available from Internet Archive and I browsed them recently.

The Cozy Lion: as told by Queen Crosspatch (1912)

None of these three are as enduring as the The Secret Garden – but they are examples of what books for children were like during that period. I found myself wondering if any of my grandparents – would have seen these books. I don’t think they would have; the families were farmers and barely making enough to keep families housed, clothed and fed. The schools were small schools and 3 of my grandparents went to work as soon as they were able…knowing basic reading and arithmetic required to continue into adulthood and beyond. The one grandparent that did graduate from high school managed it by living with another family in a small town for the last years of her education. It is likely that about the only books in the houses were Bibles; the schools might have provided books but probably not books like these.

Did only children of relatively wealthy, educated parents that lived in cities have books like these?

30 years ago – August 1991

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August 1991 was a stressful month at work for me – several people I depended on took advantage of an early retirement offering from the company and the two projects I was working on were both demanding a lot of time. It might have been one of the highest overtime months of my career after motherhood. Between work and my daughter’s needs, I had very little discretionary time for myself. It was the month I fully appreciated how critical my husband’s support was to enable the peaks of my career.

We had a surprise visit from one of my aunts (with her husband and 2 grandchildren); they only stayed one night but it just added to the overwhelming activity for the month.

We had visited Texas in July and were getting follow up letters in August: my Mother starting her last year of teaching, one sister house hunting and planning to visit in October, another going through similar motherhood experiences with her child the same age as mine, and the sister 8 years younger than me realizing she didn’t know me very well. The documentation I have for the month is largely through those snail mail letters!

My daughter was savoring some activities at home that she had enjoyed for the first time while we were in Texas: dabs of shaving cream to wear around before playing in her pool (a substitute bath) and painting (on paper and herself). She was beginning to use her right hand more although she was not as strongly right-handed as her cousin. She discovered she could make footprints on the deck if she walked with wet feet.

She also remembered music from the Texas visit. Whenever the cassette tape with “Let’s go fly a kite” on it played…she always smiled and clapped when that song played.  

When we went to Wheaton Park we discovered she liked the swings under a large catalpa tree better than the carousel!

It was a time of tension between work and motherhood. The techniques I had for coping were developing - not perfect; over the next few years – I accepted that it was OK to always be developing rather that achieving perfection. But in August 1991, I was pushing for perfection.

I also noted a high ozone day. Looking back, I realize that if there had been action during the 1990s…the climate situation would be better today. I was aware of the greenhouse effect…and that the earth was warming; but in 1991 I thought it was an academic idea, not something that was actionable. Like so many others – I thought it would be very gradual and there would plenty of time for corrective action. So now we are facing an urgent need to pivot --- a challenge to us all. I find myself thinking about what it will be like in 30 years – trying to take actions in my own life to sustain hope for the successful transitions we’ll have to make going forward.

Emerging Monarch

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I went out each morning after finding the Monarch butterfly chrysalis on the day lily leaf; on the second morning that the chrysalis had turned from pale green to clear – the indication that the butterfly was almost ready to emerge. Since I hadn’t seen any Monarchs in our yard this year…I decided to attempt capture the emerging butterfly with my camera.

I came back 30 minutes later…thought perhaps the chrysalis wall was weakening…that some parts in the middle were beginning to split. I had changed to my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS), mounted it on a monopod, and was sitting on a comfortable stool.

30 minutes later it looked like the top – above the horizontal row of gold dots - was beginning to split.

Another 30 minutes and I was out again – zooming in with the camera and thinking, at first, that nothing much had changed. But then I noticed some action on the other side of the chrysalis.

I changed to video since I knew the emergence would happen very quickly. It is not a great video (I need practice with video as much as I do with macro photography!) but I learned a lot from watching it later. The chrysalis did crack open but not exactly in the way I anticipated. What I was seeing at the top of the chrysalis was the abdomen of the insect which was huge! It must contain the fluid that is needed to expand the wings. The papillae on either side of the proboscis moved a lot at the beginning and I wondered if they were somehow involved in the fluid distribution or simply cleaning up the area around the face. See the video here.

After the video of the main event – I went in to let my husband know it had occurred and came back out to finish the event with some photes. Over the next 30 minutes the butterfly’s wings continued to unfurl and expand. At some point the butterfly ejected the extra fluid in its abdomen.

30 minutes later the butterfly finally opened its wings. Note that the abdomen is smaller than when it first emerged and it is probably a female.

What a great way to start the day!

Macro Photography Practice (5)

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Continuing my practice sessions…

Finding the Monarch chrysalis was the prompt for the fifth practice. There are so few of them these days; very different from the 1990s. I sat on a gardening stool to be comfortable and worked to get magnified views of the golden beads and the top of the chrysalis. The water droplets were just nice ‘extras.’

While I was busy with the chrysalis, a cabbage white sat for a few seconds on a nearby plant. It wasn’t a good angle and the picture is not sharp…but it was the first active insect for my practice session. I’ll be trying for more of these. The trick it to practice enough to be able to focus quickly!

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I practiced on a mint flower and a leaf….higher magnification that I’d attempted before.

There was a sticker like weed (one that I pull when I find it) within easy distance of my seat on the stool so I did a series of images – with increasing magnification. It was a more interesting subject than I anticipated!

I tried the same thing with a nearby day lily leaf – without as much success. The colors are somewhat interesting but my focus is off in some of the images…..more practice required.

Previous practice post: 1 and 2 (includes gear); 3 and 4 (includes some indoors images)

Day Lily Leaves

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In the later part of summer, I always cut the day lily leaves when they start to turn yellow so that they come back with new growth that is fresh and green until the frost. It probably reduces the amount of bulb growth underground but the beds are so dense in the beds that it doesn’t matter. Last year it happened in early August. This year the leaves stayed green longer. Maybe we got more rain or maybe the temperatures were better for the leaves to continue growing – or maybe their season is longer now due to climate change. The two areas we have day lilies are in the front flower beds and around the base of our oak tree.

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And every year, one of the tools I use is the old hedge trimmers I have from my grandfather.

He gave them to me when I bought my first house in the mid ‘70s; the handles were already mended. They must be over 50 years old and maybe much older! They are a wonderful reminder of him. I like using them more than the electric hedge trimmers because of the good memories that crowd into my mind when I pick them up (and they don’t bother my hands as much as the vibrations from the electric trimmers do). I also think how much things have changed since he was born in 1901…the way we now live on the Earth with a lot more people and technology that is damaging the planet…how we have to make some difficult changes to enable ourselves and future generations the quality of life on Earth that recent past generations experienced.

The area around the base of the oak was trimmed all the way around. When the new leaves come in they will cover over the mess. I noticed one side was lower than the other and realized the deer must have been nibbling there. The bed near the house was another story. I got about half done – avoiding cutting any of the black eyed susans – when I stopped because of a small discovery.

Do you see the Monarch chrysalis on the leaf (near the center of the image)? I was surprised to see it since I hadn’t seen any Monarch butterflies or caterpillars this year in our neighborhood. I’m going to take a daily picture of it until the butterfly emerges.

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Tomorrow’s post will include a few macro pictures of the chrysalis so stay tuned!

Macro Photography Practice (3 and 4)

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Continuing my practice sessions…

Getting the gear and camera settings set gets easier with every practice. My skill with composition and focus still has a ways to go.

My third practice was disappointing. I felt rushed. I returned to the holly, oak leaves, azalea, mint blooms, a black eyed susan, clover and a maple leaf. The subjects were OK but I didn’t get the magnification I wanted.

The fourth practice was on a rainy day and I was indoors. I looked at some cicada wings I had picked up during the 17 year cicada peak. The glare from the flash on the clear part of the wing was hard to avoid…I decided I liked the look of ‘lightning’ within the wing in the last image.

I had a dried out piece of ginger – getting a macro view of the outside and the cut end.

Even printed materials can take on a different look when magnified.

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The lid on my countertop collection bin for compostables has condensation on the end inside. Taken through the plastic, the droplets have a metallic sheen.

There was a leaf that had dried and fallen from a house plant. I liked the focus on the curve in the macro image – choosing this one from other focus points I had experimented in the practice.

I’ll improve with more practice….but am pleased with at least some of the results now. It’s encouraging enough to continue the practice!

Previous practice post: 1 and 2 (includes gear)

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 21, 2021

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Nine things you should know about sea horses – The males give birth! Like many creatures right now – they are in trouble from climate change (and overfishing in some parts of the world). Not long ago – I learned that there is a species of seahorse native to the Chesapeake Bay. They live in sea grasses and estuaries…habitats that are in trouble.

Electric cars and batteries: how will the world produce enough? – One of the important steps that needs to ramp up as batteries (and solar cells) reach end of life – is recycling. We need to think about closed loops for the resources required to manufacture future renewables!

New analysis of landmark scurvy study leads to update on vitamin C needs – An example of the research behind how those ‘daily requirements’ of vitamins and minerals were developed. I wonder if more of the values need to go through a validation…how many would change just as the vitamin C requirement did.

Top 10 Grassland Species Across the Globe – The ones we have in the US are Long-billed Curlew, Black-footed Ferret, Pronghorn, Swift Fox, and American Bison.

The multi-billion dollar giants that are melting away – Glaciers. When they are gone…many parts of the world will be drier places. This article is primarily about central Asia…but the situation in South America is similar.

Loss of biodiversity in streams threatens vital biological process – Fungi and bacteria can’t do the decomposition job alone…the aquatic insects (often larvae) and crustaceans are needed too. And the populations and diversity of those organisms in our streams is declining.

Top 25 birds of the week: plumage! – Bird photographs…always colorful and interesting.

Gender revolutions in who holds the purse strings – The study was done in Britain…I wonder if similar (or different) changes are happening elsewhere in the world.

‘Polluter pays’ policy could speed up emission reductions and removal of atmospheric CO2 – A change that could speed up the transition we need to make…if we can somehow overcome the lobbying for the status quo trajectory.

Photography In The National Parks: Fun Fact Photography – This is a kind of photography you can do in lots of places. A little curiosity and a camera…some web searches…a neat cycle of learning/art that can turn again and again.

Henriette Willebeek LeMair

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This week I am highlighting 4 Internet Archive books published between 1912 and 1917 that include Henriette Willebeek LeMair’s illustrations of children. They are an idealized version of childhood during that time in Holland. I was interested in the activities depicted!

Grannie’s Little Rhyme Book (1914) is a collection of old nursery rhymes that she illustrated.

The Children’s Corner (1915) was written by R.H. Elkin. Ordinary things like a child getting a haircut and dolls in timeout show up in the text and illustrations!

Old Dutch Nursery Rhymes (1917) has tunes compiled by J. Joentgen…with the English added by R.H. Elkins. The illustrations I chose for my samples are for tunes “The Ducks” and “The stork has brough a baby brother”!

Little Songs of Long Ago (1912) has tunes compiled by Alfred Moffat. The tunes illustrated by the samples below are “Dame get up and bake your pies” and “See-saw, Marjorie Daw.”

Life has changed in many ways for children in the past 100+ years….but the spirit of children that comes through in the illustration is still easy to find today. What will it be like for children 100 years from now? It is something I am thinking about a lot recently….and how I can turn my concern about the changes happening in the Earth’s climate into action.

Precursors to Fall

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It is not fall yet but we already have a few leaves falling; the majority are oak or sycamore. There are always the precursors to the big fall that happens in a few months…usually reaching a crescendo in October in our part of Maryland.

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There is always one corner of our deck where the leaves accumulate. The wind sweeps them into the corner and the only way they leave is with some effort on our part with a broom or rake. Right now - they are mostly sycamore leaves but later the tulip poplar leaves will be there too.

The sycamore leaves are sometimes bigger than dinner plates this time of year. The big ones have been growing all summer. There are still smaller, younger ones on the tree….and sometimes they fall off while they are still green. I noticed an odd leaf that was very dark around the edges…not the normal look to a sycamore leaf on the ground and I’m not sure what caused it.

The oak leaves are changing color on the tree – looking glorious in morning light.

There are some unusual looks for the oak leaves too – green at the stem area then brown in the upper part of the leaf or green in the center and brown around the edges. These leaves might indicate the tree is somehow challenged – hopefully something it will recover from.

I am trying to separate what is normal for our trees and what I might notice that is an indication of climate change. One thing I am starting to monitor is when the big last big swirl of leaves happens from the tulip poplar; in fall of 1994 (the year we moved into this house), it occurred on Halloween. I wonder when it will be this year.

Black Squirrel

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We have a black squirrel visiting our deck occasionally. The zoomed images show that the undercoat fur in not black and the claws are more visible because of the contrast with the coat color. Other than the darker coat, it seems the same as the other squirrels; it doesn’t get seed directly from the feeder either. I’m pretty sure it is in our neighborhood all the time…that our deck/feeder/bird bath are on the edge of its normal territory so we don’t see it every day.

The acorns are not having a big year – so the squirrels may be keener to get the seeds this year. The last few years have been slim for acorns from our oak. I’m not sure if it’s just the normal fluctuation between mast (big acorn) years, if our oak is infected with something that reduces its acorn production, or if the weather in the spring caused a problem. I am pretty sure it was some cold weather in the spring of 2020 but not sure about this year.

Our oak (and the others in our neighborhood) are more important to the long-term health of the squirrels (and other wildlife in our neighborhood – including birds and insects) than our feeder. In an ecosystem being challenged more and more by climate change – we are becoming more aware of how our actions are important to sustaining what is here.

Grackles

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A group Common Grackles are visiting our feeder. It’s a mix of adults and juveniles…evidence of a successful breeding season for the birds.

The first time I saw them they stayed around or our deck for long enough for me to start photographing upstairs in my office and then go downstairs for a different perspective. Many of the young birds were standing on the deck railing with their beaks open but the parents were not bringing them anything…maybe some tough-love to force the young birds to forage for themselves. The food on our deck is insufficient since the birds are heavy enough that the seed holes in the feeder are partially closed (and the perches are not spaced well for a bird their size). There is some seed spilled by squirrels or the wind on the floor of the deck but not enough for this number of birds to get more than a nibble. They fluttered around for a few minutes but then flew off.

They were back again a few days later. They intimidated the other birds that were trying to come to the feeder – size and attitude are in the grackles favor. The juveniles seemed to have developed more independence in the few days since I photographed them previously.

Note the grackle hanging on looking disgruntled and how the feeder seed hole is mostly covered…not as completely as with a squirrel…but enough that the grackle was frustrated.

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Macro Photography Practice (1 and 2)

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My husband got me started on a more advanced form (for me) of macro photography by sending me some YouTube links (this one from Micael Widell was the first) and identifying the gear that would work with my Canon PowerShot SX70 HS. After talking to me about the possibilities with my camera and sending some sample images he had captured with a similar set up on his more substantial camera to encourage me (posted a few weeks ago here), he ordered the filter adapter for my camera…

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And the macro lens.

I used the same diffuser that fits over the front of the camera as he used with his camera (we got another one since we will be going into the field together once I get enough practice).

The new gear purchases were about $100. Here’s the way my camera looks ready for my practice – from the front and back. The idea is to be able to hand hold the camera (i.e. no tripod) – often with one hand – when in the field.

The technique works best with manual focus and flash…two features of my camera that I haven’t used very much. The idea is to set the manual focus to a particular distance and then leave it alone in the field and simply move the camera to get the focus desired.

It was easier for me to start with plants in my yard in my first sessions. I found that I could get reasonable results with autofocus (still having to move the camera to get the focus on the part of the image I wanted) for plants…but it takes more time than manual focus….which would be problematic for insects that are more likely to move.

Here are the collection of my best images from my first two practice sessions.

Black eyed susans

Mint flowers

Lichen and moss

Ninebark leaves

Bush cut branch and water droplets on leaves

Wild strawberry

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And finally – an insect during my second practice session.

The image below is cropped from the image on the left above.

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Overall I am pleased with my first attempts…but still need more practice!

Changing Food Habits

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It’s hard to change the foods we eat. Recently several articles about ultraprocessed food and the impact of our food choices on the environment have prompted me to evaluate what it eat…and decide on some changes I want to make. It’s going to be hard…many of the foods I am focused on are well-entrenched habits. This is only the beginning.

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Diet Pepsi (and other soft drinks). They are not food – just liquid that has 0 nutritional value and may have negative impacts on health (jitters and hydration skew caused by caffeine, increasing craving for sugar). But I’ve been buying and drinking them for a very long time; they are a habit that is hard to change. Earlier this year, I changed from plastic bottles to aluminum cans when it became obvious that plastic bottles were not being recycled properly (whereas aluminum cans were)…but that is not enough. When scrutinized objectively – they are not worth anything positive…so why buy them at all.

Peppermint candy. Aargh! These come in big bins…I buy them when I travel then continue eating them after I get home. The lure of sugar and peppermint. I will stop buying them to avoid the temptation. Maybe I should start chewing fresh mint leaves from the garden to get the flavor but not the refined sugar!

Soy or Almond Milk. I’ve been drinking the non-dairy milk – to get calcium via my diet without the challenge of lactose intolerance. The change I am contemplating now is to transition to lactose free milk as a less processed alternative and get more protein too (9 grams vs 6 grams for soy milk).  Also - all the non-dairy milks have supplemental calcium so they are almost like taking the supplement which is an ultimate in ultraprocessed ‘nutrition’!

Turkey sausage. Highly processed but a better choice than pork sausage in terms of calories from fat and also less environmental impact (poultry vs swine). It does have a lot of sodium. I won’t eat it more than once a week or so…but is a quick way to add protein to a meal.

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Dark chocolate. Ultraprocessed…but I am choosing to still have it for my 1st breakfast (two squares of the Lindt 70% is my favorite). I like the kickstart it gives my day…enough calories to keep me going before I am ready to prepare my 2nd breakfast at mid-morning. But I am not going to eat more than that small amount very often.

Overall – I am pleased that I have so many fresh vegetables (and some fruits) in my diet. I enjoy the farmers market and the produce section….and finding new ways to prepare salads, smoothies, soups, stir fries – skewing toward raw and whole!  I haven’t become a vegetarian – yet – but I am eating less meat that I was 5 years ago (almost no pork and less beef)…ramping up nuts.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 14, 2021

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

How your phone battery creates striking alien landscapes – Lithium….needed for batteries that are needed for so many things (not just phone batteries).

Why do house finches love your hanging plants? – These birds are frequent visitors to our feeder. Based on the crowd we are seeing now – they’ve had a very successful breeding season…lots of young birds.

Ultraprocessed foods now comprise 2/3 of calories in children and teen diets – This article prompted me to look at what ultraprocessed foods I am eating…and making some changes. I am keeping the 1st breakfast that includes 90 calories of dark chocolate…but all the other ultraprocessed foods are going to become occasional or rare in my diet.

Tracking the Restoration of the River of Grass – An interview with Eric Eikenberg, President of the Everglades Foundation. There is a lot of work coming to fruition this decade in restoration of the Everglades…some positive news from Florida. It was an encouraging article but after reading the whole thing, it still seems to me that climate change will be a continuing disaster for Florida.

Red Tide Rages Along Florida’s Gulf Coast – On a more pessimistic note about the environment in Florida right now…

Top 25 birds of the week: August 2021 – Birds….so many different kinds to see.

Crawling with crickets: the insect swarm in the western US – Mormon Crickets (really katydids) have population crescendos in 3 of every 10 years in the west. The occurrences are patchy but damaging for some crops.

Music in the American Wild – I watched the Missouri Music at 200 webinar this week and am now looking at more of the concert videos from the ensemble. I’ll post the “Missouri Music at 200” webinar video address (when it is available on YouTube). Of course – live performances would be even better. I enjoyed the Hawaii 2020 project videos already…lots of good views of the island (particularly birds and volcanos!).

The ancient Persian way to keep cool – We’ve had quite a few heat advisory days recently…will probably have an increasing number every summer. The world will need to implement the most efficient strategies available to keep people cool.

Camera Trapping As Mainstream Nature Activity – Little cameras in the wild…they are probably less obtrusive than a human being in the place all the time…but not totally benign in every place.

Two Books with William Russell Flint Illustrations

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The week’s pick from my recently browsed books on Internet Archive are two written by W.S. Gilbert and illustrated by William Russell Flint. The Scottish artist was known for his watercolors of women….and the illustrations from these books offer some examples of his work.

Princess Ida; or, Castle adamant (1912)

 The artist was long lived (1880-1969) so many books with his illustrations are still copyrighted. I wonder how (or if) his depictions of women changed over the years; certainly fashions changed a lot over the 1900s and the role of women changed with two world wars, more access to education, and the roles of women in industry/business.

17 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

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17 months into the pandemic and whatever optimism that I felt earlier about the vaccines helping the country return to normal this fall has evaporated. Last spring, I was very optimistic that by this time, I would be planning fall foliage/birding trips…that maybe we would be able to do the Staunton River Star Party – camp out on the field with other amateur astronomers. Now I am not looking seriously at any non-family related travel. I am hoping to be able to make another road trip to Texas for my mother’s 90th birthday in the early fall.

I’ve already posted about the road trip I took to Texas during this last month. It was the second one this year and very different than I expected when it came to COVID-19. The first trip was back in April-May just after I was fully vaccinated. At that time – I felt relatively secure and hopeful that the pandemic would be waning over the summer; the hotel had COVID-19 precautions in place and many people were wearing masks. I became more anxious as the second road trip progressed. The delta variant was surging in some areas when I drove from Maryland to Missouri to Texas, but other areas seemed relatively untouched. I limited my activities in Springfield, Missouri (one of the early places that the delta variant filled the hospitals); there were two indoor events I attended for a wedding in Dallas where it still seemed safe. By the time I started home, the delta variant was surging in more areas, no one was wearing a mask along my route except me (even in the hotel), and I was anxious enough about the possibility that I had been exposed to buy and use the at-home antigen test even though I never developed any symptoms. Based on statistics – if I was exposed and had a breakthrough infection, it would not be life threatening but I didn’t want to risk any ‘long COVID’ issues or expose others. It was reassuring to test negative with two tests. I was grateful that my daughter had convinced me to upgrade from cloth masks to KF94s last spring before I made my first trip. They are the mask I have been wearing since April.

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The dominant emotion I feel now about COVID-19 is sadness – for the lives damaged and lost since the vaccine has become widely available…for not being with my family as much as I would like or traveling to places I enjoy…for the self-destruct aspect of the US culture that continues to surprise me (it is hard for me to accept its pervasiveness)…for the failure of leadership, particularly at the state level.

Mask mandates for indoor settings are something that can be helpful in the short term…but vaccine mandates might be even more important. With the full FDA approval of the vaccines, maybe vaccine mandates will become more widespread. They are already beginning to happen in health care, military and school settings. It will be a long slog with legal challenges, unfortunately.

I am conscious of activities I won’t be restarting anytime soon – as long as the delta variant continues to cause spikes in cases:

Flying. COVID-19 is just one of the reasons. The increased number of incidents with unruly passengers is another. I was disheartened that some airlines recently declined to mandate vaccines for their employees.

Eating in restaurants. I’ll enjoy take out but with the delta variant there is no way the filtration systems can make it safe to eat in the same indoor space with other unmasked (while eating) patrons.

Any spaces where there are a lot of people. Theaters are not a place I would want to be; same for stores during times when a lot of people are shopping. Even parks are problematic if there are large numbers of people.

I am going to the training for the fall programs where I have volunteered in years past. Most of the programs are outdoors…I’ll do some of them this fall…skip the ones that have an indoor setting.

Last spring – I expected that the August post might be my last about my COVID-10 pandemic experiences. But it isn’t over yet. So frustrating….and sad.

Racoon at the Bird Feeder

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My husband put our bird feeder and camera (Reolink Argus) back up while I was returning home. I checked it a few days after I was back and discovered that the image was askew; a squirrel had perched on the camera and jumped onto the feeder on the very first evening…moving the camera and its solar panel!

But – the different angle captured a racoon visit the evening before I checked! The different angle was not good for bird viewing but one of our better views of a racoon (use the arrows to move through the images). All the action took place in about 15 seconds!

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The racoon was probably a female with kits (note the belly). The young would be moving around on their own by now but still getting nourishment from the female.  This one did not look as big as some I have seen so maybe it is her first season with young

Yard Work

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My husband maintains the lawn part of the yard while I am away – but the bushes and flower beds are left for me to get back in control when I return. The milkweed was dominating the front flowerbeds….but there were no caterpillars (or signs that there had been caterpillars) on the plants; it was time to cut them down. There were some black eyed susans that came up through the day lily leaves beginning to bloom.

With the milkweed gone, the black eyed susans show up more. In my next round I’ll do my annual cutting of the day lily leaves to have fresh green ones growing until first frost.

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The Virginia Creeper is growing better than ever on the oak tree. I am leaving it alone this season.

I trimmed the Virginia Creeper growing into a window ledge. There were some ants underneath the leaves on the ledge….not good. I’ll monitor to keep it lower than the ledge for the rest of the season.

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The plant has suction cups that hold it to tree trunks and bricks…not as damaging as rootlets that some other vines have. I still cut the vines on the exterior of the basement because they were about to reach the siding and I did not want them to grow on or under the siding.

While I was cutting the milkweed – I noticed several things to photograph: 1) blooming mint. I have harvested it in years past but am opting to just let it grow among the day lily leaves now.

2) an insect exploring the nine-bark bush. I love the varying leaf color on the bush. It is growing well now, and I am reluctant to trim it because I like the lush and colorful new growth!

3) a zoomed images of a black-eyed susan flower.

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Our tiny holly has berries this year; they’ll start to turn red soon. I cut back the growth of the old bush (dying) behind the holly to maximize the space for the young bush.

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The ferns and grapevine are growing better than ever before under the deck. We are trying not to bother them although I worry about accidently rolling over them when I get the wheel barrow in and out.

The second morning of yard work, I took two wheelbarrows of trimmings from the chaos garden. There is one cone flower there….otherwise it is lemon balm gone wild, some blackberry canes, other invasives….leaves and sticks from the sycamore. There is still more to do in the coming weeks.

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The sycamore is already dropping its leaves…which is normal. The ones on the yard will be chewed up when we mow the yard. The ones on the stairs to the deck will be swept off and onto the yard before we mow.

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When I was taking the last load back to the brush pile at the edge of the forest, I found a red maple leave on the ground – already looking very much as all the leaves will look in upcoming months.

My goal is to work in the yard for 2 hours a week….trying to get it done first thing in the morning – when the temperature is the lowest of the day.

Great to be Home Again

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I’m about over the flurry of activity that follows a road trip – emptying the car, replenishing groceries, and doing laundry. Shedding the few pounds of weight and heighted anxiety accumulated while traveling is still a work in progress.

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Going to our local farmers market was something I missed while I was away; it felt good to go to the market and come back with fresh produce to fill my refrigerator crispers: onions, collard greens, spaghetti squash and tomatoes.

I’m also thinking about the trip in retrospect at this point.

  • What do I remember most about each state?

    • Texas – I spent the most time away in the state – enjoying seeing family in person. It was hot and very sunny. The speed limits are high and the drivers are usually going at least 10 miles above – sometimes a bit scary. The employees at the Walmart closest to my parents started wearing masks on the last few days (a new mandate from corporate) and a lot of the customers were wearing masks as well. Lots of mosquito bites. Hazy skies (maybe from the fires or maybe just the way Dallas is in summer). Josey Ranch Lake and the Pocket Prairie nearby were pleasant in the early morning…always some plants or wildlife to see there.

    • Missouri – No one was wearing masks even though the state was in the national news for their Delta variant outbreak. People seemed friendly but I got the impression that they didn’t like that I was wearing a mask when I went indoors at rest stops. The rest stops along I44 are not as frequent as in other states and traffic is heavy with lots of trucks (and they sometimes seemed to be playing games passing each other and slowing down car traffic). I had a near accident on I44 when a pickup with a camper on the back must have forgotten how long the combination was - pulling over too soon after he passed me (almost forcing me off the road to avoid being swiped by the camper). A few mosquito bites from sitting out on my daughter’s patio at dusk. I enjoyed the Springfield Botanical Garden.

    • Kentucky – The one overnight in a hotel on my road trips to Texas/Missouri. The highway is scenic, and the rest stops well placed. I recalled the road trip I did with my daughter in 2005 when she was learning to drive; there was a segment in Kentucky that I remembered being scenic; when I got home I looked back in my notes and it was the interstate between Louisville and Cincinnati rather than the route I take now. Signs that feature horses and bourbon seem to be everywhere.

    • Oklahoma – Just passing through. It’s a little harder drive since most is not interstate – no formal rest stops. The toll roads are a hassle. It’s not as pretty as I remember growing up – not as many big trees. Maybe it’s the way the highways have been developed; in the 1960s we were driving a lot of the way on two lane roads.

    • Illinois and Indiana – Just passing through. Rural. There are rest stops frequently enough and they are well tended. The traffic is a lot less than in Texas and Missouri. Plants along the roads are not mowed --- lots of blooms and seeds. I wondered if they are intended to provide food for migrating birds and butterflies.

    • West Virginia – My favorite segment of the trip. Even though I’m seeing it at highways speeds – the forests and mountains are gorgeous. The state does a good job with rest stops along the highway as well. I want to find out more about new national park in the state – New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

  • I also noticed plants along the way as I drove and at the rest stops. Many of rest stop areas are transitioning to native plants; some even have pollinator gardens. The plantings are something to savor for the few minutes at the place…as the traffic on the interstate continues to roar past.

    • Wild/wood hydrangeas

    • Chicory

    • Sunflowers

    • Oaks

    • Red buds

    • Sweet gum

    • Maples

    • Cone flowers

    • Butterfly bush

I am very glad to be home!

Road Trip Home

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I break the road trip between where my parents live in Texas and where I live in Maryland into 3 8-hour chunks…seeing my daughter in Missouri along the way.  There is still some tweaking I want to make to the route, but it is much better than trying to do the drive in 2 days through Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

The first day of my preferred route from Texas to Maryland is from Carrollton, Texas to Springfield, Missouri through Oklahoma. It is the most difficult day of trek because 1) most of the miles are not on Interstate (so very few ‘rest stops’) and 2) I don’t have a toll tag for the turnpikes in Oklahoma. On the plus side, there are improvements being made along the route – particularly the part through the Choctaw area of Oklahoma and I will probably get a Texas toll tag which will work in Texas and on the Oklahoma turnpikes before I do the drive again. I also realized that there is a state park in Oklahoma just off the highway where my husband and I camped on a fall foliage trip about 40 years ago…well positioned for a picnic/rest stop. I took a few pictures along the road the first day – the Oklahoma Welcome Center, a stop along the turnpike (I was surprised that I had my feet in the frame….and that my feet looked so narrow), and the Missouri welcome center.

The next morning, I left Springfield, Missouri shortly after 7…heading for Frankfort, Kentucky.  There was a lot of traffic on I-44; the traffic (particularly trucks) was reduced after I passed St. Louis. The highway through Illinois and Indiana is rural but there are plenty of rest stops. And then the highway is very scenic in Kentucky. The first part of the day was somewhat challenging because of the traffic but the highway was good and the scenery in the second half of the day made the drive enjoyable. I had originally planned to get takeout for my dinner but opted to eat what I had in the ice chest and a protein bar; it was disconcerting that all during the day – through areas with low vaccination rates and high infection rates with the delta variant of COVID-19 – that no one was wearing masks. And the hotel was back to business as usual. I didn’t want to risk a breakthrough infection (I am vaccinated) and bring in home to my husband so I was putting on a mask any time I was indoors and running my air purifier in the hotel room.

The last day of the trek – from Frankfort, Kentucky to my home in Maryland – is my favorite. The route is scenic and fun to drive – lots of curving Interstate through Kentucky, West Virginia and into Maryland. It also has the highest density of highway rest stops of the whole 3 days. It was helpful to stop a little more frequently and move around – otherwise I get achy and stiff on these long road trips. The traffic picked up the closer I got to home…but, like the other two days, I arrived at about the time my nav system had predicted when I stated out in the morning!

This route works very well for me although I realize that the curvy Interstate in the second half of the trek will not work for winter road trips. I hope the COVID-19 cases will not still be at a high level along the route in October because I would like to make at least one more road trip to Texas this year.