PHOTOS COURTESY OF...

our son and daughter-in-law.  They have several trails to choose from near their home, and on their latest we were sent these.  A new walk for them and an added bonus was that they found these uplifting signs along the way.

 How kind of someone to do this for their neighbors.

 

They know we enjoy flowers so we also got these.  

"Scarlet beebalm, a species of Beebalms.  Also known as Bergamot, Oswego tea, Crimson beebalm and Scarlet monarda.  Botanical name is Monarda didyma.

Scarlet beebalm is a flowering herb native to the United States.  It attracts hummingbirds and is cultivated as an ornamental plant and grows best in full sunlight."

Name story:

Scarlet beebalm: the common name beebalm refers to the use of a resin which is derived from its utility for healing and pain-relieving, especially from bee stings.  Besides that, most of the flowers are scarlet red-colored, so it is often called scarlet beebalm.

Scarlet beebalm always gives a cool and refreshing feeling.  Its fragrance is calming and soothing, and its flowers are also very beautiful.  At the turn of summer and autumn, its flowers attract a hummingbird's attention for food.

Symbolism: person of virtue.


Lance-leaved coreopsis, which is a species of Tickseed.

On my plant app they give a lot of interesting information.  I am repeating what I have read there.   

Description: Lance-leaved coreopsis is a plant native to the United States related to the sunflower.  Lance-leaved coreopsis is cultivated in urban areas and attracts pollinators like bees.

Name story:

The flowers and leaves are very attractive and the yellow petals are featured with notches which gave the flowers a papery texture.  The flower stalk grows from a clumped basal rosette of lance-shaped leaves.  The genus name, Coereopsis is derived from the Greek word koris, meaning 'bug' and opsis meaning 'view'.  The name tickseed, especially the 'tick' part is referring to 'the insect'.  So, it is called Lanceleaf tickseed."  

Symbolism: always cheerful.

I have a plant app called Picture This - Plant Identifier, which I downloaded on my iPhone and iPad.  Whenever I am out and see a flower, plant or tree that I am unfamiliar with, or need a refresher on its name, I will take a photo with the app and the identity comes immediately. Very rarely do I feel I have to question what I have been told.  When I get home I search the name on line just to confirm.  It gave all the information above and lots more.  I remember having to pay for it, and I can't remember how much it was exactly.  You can look at it here if interested.

FENCES AROUND THE WORLD

If you would like to see other fences around the world, or join in with your own, you will find the link here. Thank you for hosting Gosia.

Sorry I am late joining in but I am still hobbled with my laptop, which isn't working properly yet.  Hubby is doing wonders and is almost at a solution.  However, I am plodding on with my iPad in the meantime, and yes I love my iPad but there are things on there that I can't do.  I will be slow visiting your blogs but hope after the weekend to be back to normal.  Thanks so much for your comments.  I will catch up eventually.

I am continuing on from yesterday's blog post.  These photos belong to my niece and nephew in Germany.  They visited another flock of sheep after sheering their own three, as the owners told them there were new lambs to see.  As there were fences in most of the photos, I definitely had to put these on today for Gosia's meme.

Adorable!

This will be the end of my sheep photos for a while, but there will be more eventually I'm sure. Another big thank you to my niece and nephew for letting me share their photos.

A lot of sad things going on right now that are absolutely heartbreaking, and my heart, thoughts and prayers go to everyone who is having to deal with them.  Wishing everyone peace, good health and love for one another.

SHEEP

I am grateful to my niece for today's photos.  She and her husband live in Germany, and they have three pet sheep they keep at the top of their garden.  There is a large piece of land for them to roam, a nice shelter to go into if the weather takes a turn, a stream with fresh spring water that runs through the property, plenty of tasty grass to eat, plus whatever they need in every way, and are given a whole lot of love.  Last weekend it was sheep-sheering time for all three.

Not exactly their favorite thing to get done maybe, but they must feel great having their old winter coat taken off.  Aren't those horns amazing?

All done!

All taken care of...

and off they go!

With thanks to my niece and nephew again for letting me share their photos today. I will have more on Friday.

A LITTLE LAMB

Here is a photo of a lamb my niece took three days ago.  When they, my niece and nephew, shared it with me, I asked if I could put their photo on my blog and they said yes. I will have more in a few days.  Thank you My Darlings!

I found the following diagram online of all the different sheep there are.  Hopefully if you enlarge the photo, you will be able to see their names.

GOSIA'S FENCES AROUND THE WORLD

Our son and daughter-in-law went for a walk last weekend.  They live 15 miles away.  It looks like it was a nice, quiet trail.

However, someone had been there before and left a welcoming sign for those walking their dogs.

Here is a nice fence for Gosia's meme.  I asked if they would mind me sharing their photos just for today, and they were happy to.  Thank you My Lovelies!

I have seen photos of these boxes in other areas.  The one they came across says, "Little Free Library - Libraries big and small, we love them all.  Take a book, return a book."

Such a neat thing to do for the community.

"That's the thing about books, they let you travel without using your feet."  ~ Jhumpa Lahiri.

A great quote and very appropriate for this time of self-sheltering.  

Thank you for hosting Gosia.  If you would like to see other Fences Around the World, or join in with your own, you will find the link here.  

AN INTERESTING SURPRISE...

in this photo.  I didn't spot it at the time as I was so interested in trying to focus on the bee.  I only saw what was behind it when I transferred it to my laptop that night.  Can you see him?

How about a little closer?

I was kicking myself that I didn't see it at the time.  I probably would have taken a hundred photos to try and get it into more focus than this one single shot.  The funny thing is I have been looking all summer for a Preying Mantis to photograph.  Oh well!

I asked our son if he would pose on one of my favorite bridges, and he obliged.  When I showed him this shot later he joked that the only thing that would make it better would be if he had a big bug next to him.  Hmmm....

I got to work.

Not perfect but he had a good laugh when I showed it to him.

A FAVORITE WALK, MEADOWLARK GARDENS IN VIENNA, VA

I get here as often as I can but today I am sharing my son's photos  He came over last week when hubby was out of town for a few days. I was just getting ready to head over to the garden for a walk, and when son called asking if I was free and would I like some company, I asked him if he would like to go with me.  I was very happy when he said, "Sure Mom, sounds like fun."  He's a good egg!

He also gets a lot of enjoyment taking photos, and I am sharing the ones he took that day.  The plant in the photo above is called Jimsonweed.  Other names are Thorn Apple, Moon Flower, Devil's Snare and Angel Trumpet.  The Jimsonweed is poisonous but in Chinese medicine it is used as an anesthetic or painkiller.  It can also purify air but definitely don't keep this plant inside, as according to my plant app it has hallucinogenic effects.  Well, there you go, forewarned!

These were taken with our son's cell phone.  I am always impressed with the photos they take.  The bee is on a flower called Plumed Cockscomb.  It got its name because of the special folding characteristics on its petals resemble a rooster's crown.  When it is not in full bloom the flowers are more feather-shaped.

You might recognize the little beauty in the next photo as I have shared him before.  He is getting bigger.  I've seen him many times on my trips here, and started nicknaming him Sunshine.  When we got back to the visitor center after our walk, I introduced Sunshine to our son who told me he was a bearded dragon.  

Next we drove over to a place I know, a British shop owned by a man from England.  It is called The Pure Pasty Company and we (hubby and I) go when in the area.  This is the first time for our son.  I pick up a few British food items, and I asked our son if he would like to try a pasty for lunch.  He did and thought it was excellent, and I agreed that they make the best pasty's.  If you look at their menu, you will see they have all kinds of fillings.  Their cottage pies are also the best and their other pies too. 

We had a lovely time and this was a nice ending to the day.  Not only is he great company but I appreciated him sharing his photos with me for my blog.  Thank you son!

MORE OLD FAMILY PHOTOS

Here are more finds from Gregg's genealogy search, old photos of his side of the family, distant cousins, on his mother's side.

 All these photos we are guessing were taken in the early 1900s.

This young lady lived to be 104 years' old.

MY BUTTERFLY JAR...

With thanks to one of our nieces,  I have something new to my collection.  A scent warmer.  It looks like this in the daytime, pretty yes?

It is extremely pretty when it gets dark.  You plug it in, pick your scent, pop the little wax squares into the glass dish resting on top of the jar, and wait for the heat of the bulb to melt it.  Then you start noticing the amazing scent that floats through the house.  Depending on your scent preference, it is wonderful!  I put the lights out and that's when the magic happens.  It sparkles!

 I got a little creative in Paint Shop Pro...

and came up with a collage.  

I also made an addition to the signature tags, plus one on a plain background.  Yes, I had a little time on my hands this afternoon, it was fun to play.   This is a nod to Sandra at Mad Snapper as I love her creative candle photos.  She inspired me today. 

And thank you dear Niece, I love my new scent warmer.

Have a great day everyone.