Galoshes and an umbrella help around here also.
but not too far away. The crows are all of a dither!
Interesting crow fact:
"How long does a crow live? Once they survive the first year, they have a good chance of making it for several more years. Some are six years old and still helping their parents. Some crows should live to be 17 - 21 years old. The oldest known wild American Crow was 29-1/2 years old. The second oldest known, however, was only 14 years, 7 months. These are crows that were banded."
As you may have guessed, I enjoy our local crows.
Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.
This is the first time I remember seeing a Red Spider Lily, only being familiar with the pink ones. Its other names are Spider Lily, Equinox flower, Naked Lily, Red surprise lily, Hurricane lily, Resurrection lily, Lily and Red magic lily. Botanical name Lycoris radiata (phonetic spelling LY-kor-iss ray-dee-AY-tuh).
I found them not too far from the gazebo. They were growing next to the lake, a small group of them as you can see in the photo below.
First of all, a wedding scene. I blurred the faces and we were quite a distance away. What I did want to see was this young bride's wedding dress, which I thought was charming. I also liked the lady's outfit (groom's mother I'm assuming). When we have been to the garden in the past, we have often seen a bride and groom having their photos taken.
Later as we walked back to the visitor center, the wedding party had moved on and we focused on the large chess set. This is a new addition since we last visited.
"I don't ask for the meaning of the song of a bird or the rising of the sun on a misty morning. There they are, and they are beautiful."
Pete Hamill (born William Peter Hamill; June 24, 1935 – August 5, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and editor.
This salad has a dressing that is nice and light and had only two ingredients, red wine vinegar and olive oil. I found it here.
What did we think of this recipe? Very enjoyable, a pretty salad served with your main dish.
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) I don't have very often, but I like the texture. I once read that Quinoa was an important crop for the Inca Empire, and that they referred to it as the mother of all grains, believing it to be sacred. It actually isn't a grain but is a seed that is prepared and eaten similarly to a grain. It has been consumed for thousands of years in South America, but reached a 'superfood' status several years ago and is now very popular and considered very healthy.
I changed three of the ingredients by replacing the shallots with green onions and the fresh mint with fresh basil. I also used a hothouse cucumber, the kind you don't have to remove the seeds.
Added note: I made this dish again a week later. I was curious what it would be like using Orzo pasta. I replaced the Quinoa with the Orzo. This time we added a slice of crusty bread, thinly sliced Dubliner cheese and Branston chutney, which made a semi Ploughman's supper, similar to the one below.
You can change the ingredients to your own tastes but a Ploughman's basics traditionally are bread, cheese, a selection of deli meat and pickle. My favorites are a freshly baked wholewheat bread roll, two wedges of cheese, usually Stilton and Sharp Cheddar, sliced ham, lettuce with onion, gherkins, cucumber and tomato wedges, and Branston Chutney. I add a glass of cider if I am out and about.
Here is a photo of the salad with orzo pasta.
In part it says: "fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic and French folklore), a form of spirit often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural. (Might as well slip in a Word of the Day:
"pre·ter·nat·u·ral - beyond what is normal or natural. As in "Autumn had arrived with preternatural speed"