That's a cryptic title isn't it? Then again, I'm pretty confident that mostly folks don't even notice the title. Once upon a time I was considered the title queen, helping other artists come up with titles,, although I have not picked up that mantle here in Murphy. Somehow, and it even boggles my mind, I have come up with 2,196 titles for this blog! Speaking of old blogs, if you want extra credit you might want to read this post from 2007 where I describe how to make okra, or this one from 2017 with some cool photographs of Bruce's mom and dad when they were young.
So what do I mean about ages? It's a stretch, I will grant you that, but we have some baby doves in our yard who are merely a week or two old! I was on the phone as I walked out the front door and said, oh my goodness, I need to hang up and get my camera!
Yes my friends, for the first time in 2,196 posts, I am showing you a young dove which if you want to get technical is called a squab. Sort of like a young swan is a cygnet. In any case, I was amazed because it stayed on that branch in the Japanese Maple tree for like hours. So strange. And even stranger is when I discovered that there are two who hang around in the beds outside the porch wall.
This morning when I was leaving the house I looked over and one was just chilling on the front porch carpet under the chairs. And even more crazy is when Bruce returned they both flew atop his car hanging around on his kayak rack! Perhaps you remember when I noticed some unusual dove activity in that tree a few weeks ago. To refresh your memory, here is one of the parents.
Noticing earlier today that they were flying in and out of the tree again, by golly she is on the nest again, albeit a shaky one which according to Cornell is quite common. As is having a second batch right after the first one that is successful. So how exciting is this news? We are enjoying finding them in new places around the yard!
At the same time we have a young rabbit that is so cute. First thing in the morning we check from our perch on the back porch. This morning I went out back to fill the feeder and little bunny did not even move. Up close I discovered she is the size of a squirrel!
Much smaller than the parents whom I have not seen lately.
At the same time as all this excitement, by golly I am still growing tomatoes, much to my surprise.
Flowers were present for weeks and I was assuming that they did not take but my assumption was flat out wrong. They are so cute and tiny and there are actually five of them to look forward to. The cucumbers are super tasty. This little salad is my home grown produce including the Italian Parsley.
I just had to make a BLT to use one of them. So yummy!
The herbs are looking very lively indeed.
The balloon plant is back in action after about a month hiatus with no blooms.
The color is so lovely, isn't it?
And the mushrooms have returned, this time going so far as to spread amongst the caladiums. (Caladiums are the best! I bought a pack of bulbs in the clearance section of WalMart and they are providing such great color for the $3 purchase!)
Note that they are on the tree in their beginning form which takes no time at all to turn into petite umbrellas.
Goldfinch have returned,
as have hummingbirds. Finally!
Some days, especially when we are eating lunch adjacent to the window out to the front porch, there are three of them buzzing around. One day one of them was flying towards me and barely flew over my head!
As it turns out, summer here is warm, but full of activity that keeps me going. One of the fellows we play pickleball with graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in agriculture so whenever I get the chance, I ask him questions. Just yesterday I learned it takes 45 days from flower to a tomato ready to pick. Cucumbers are half that time, as we are finding out for ourselves.
It's been so much fun watching things grow and change and the same holds true for little bit, Christian, who continues his winning ways, melting Fallon and Bill's heart each and every day. He continues to work on his crawling and is becoming very vocal. As I've mentioned before, Fallon is so thoughtful, sending us videos with frequency in order for us to keep up.
All of the above is about being young, but there is beauty in being old as well. Saturday a week ago, we attended our Sunday School classmate and friend, Esther's 90th birthday party held out at the Folk School.
As has become common a slideshow of photographs was running and I thought this one showed her sweet spirit even at a young age.
She was born and raised about four hours east of here in typical Appalachian fashion for the time. In other words, very, very simply. Both her son and daughter were there, as well as lots of extended family, both biological and of the friend family. For some years she was the head of the Folk School, and you might remember I told you how her husband is honored on the River Walk for his contribution to making it happen.
You know me, I could not resist documenting the occasion for her, so I did my best to photograph every guest, of which there were many! Just as I was taking her daughter Sarah's photo, well ....
What a photo bomb, right. I believe that man's name was Jeff, and he asked me if I would take a photograph of him with his mother's quilt that she made for the festival back in 1983. Apparently she passed away recently. My pleasure!
Yup, another photo bomb! So fun.
Lots of family members help put it on, including her granddaughter who made the beautiful banner behind the table.
That carrot cake was delicious!
When I asked them to pose for me, Sarah immediately wrapped her arms around her momma showing so much love, it really warmed my heart.
I got to thinking about what in the world my Mom would have been like had she lived 12 more years?
Our trips to the Folk School have been infrequent this year, so it was a joy to wander their gardens again, and much to my delight, the Purple Martins were active.
How much longer that tottering pole will last is anyone's guess!!
We drove home, content and with full hearts and while driving amongst this kind of scenery, who wouldn't?
I learned something else from Tom the other day and that was the first frost, on average, is October 10th.
My word, that is only about 70 days away, which seeing as how fast time seems to fly, is just around the corner!
Did I neglect to mention that I took a light jacket with me this week? Yup, 70 degrees felt a little chilly.
your friend,
Gail
p.s. Just finished 1 Thessalonians.
