GREEN SPRING GARDENS - LATEST TRIP ON 3-26-25

 These are the photos that Gregg took at Green Spring Gardens after our car picnic the other day. Not as many photos as usual because my trips are very short but as short as it was, it was lovely to get out and see what was going on. This place is a favorite garden.

I was very happy to see a new Paperbush plant (Edgeworthia chrysantha) in another area of the garden.  There is a much larger one not too far from the gazebo. I talked to the garden manager who passed by as I was intently looking at it some time ago. We had a lovely conversation, and you could tell she thoroughly enjoyed telling me about it. She could see a happy sponge who was only too willing to soak up all the info I could. I told her truthfully, I had never seen one before. It is in my two previous posts here and here where I go into more detail. I hope that lady is appreciated. She certainly was, and hopefully still is, an excellent ambassador for the garden.

I was delighted to see the Woodland crocus (botanical name Crocus tommasinianus).  

Just like the first photo, this is a relatively new planting. I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings in this moment, but I think these were near the recently installed Moon Gate. It's a Koreanspice viburnum (botanical name Viburnum carlesii).

A Bigleaf hydrangea (botanical name Hydrangea macrophylla). Also beautiful and I have seen these in dried flower arrangements.

Snowdrops (botanical name Galanthus nivalis) and how lovely they are to see. A harbinger of spring like all the other flowers we saw blooming on our walk.

An old tree stump and even this I find appealing. 

I always enjoy seeing Gregg's photos when I download them at home. We seem to take shots of the same things but there are ones I don't think of. He sees patterns in nature that I don't. 

I think I will stop here as it's late and I am ready to put the laptop up for the night. I will share what I saw soon. 

Enjoy your day and as always,

thank you for stopping by.

THERE ARE FAIRYS ABOUT...

We call them faerie. We don't believe in them. Our loss.

~Charles de Lint~

And as the seasons come and go,

Here's something you might like to know.

There are fairies everywhere,

Under bushes, in the air,

Playing games just like you play

Singing through their busy day.

So listen, touch and look around,

In the air and on the ground.

And if you watch all nature's things,

You might just see a fairy's wing.

~Author Unknown~ 

My photos of the fairies were taken in the San Diego Botanical Garden many years ago (maps above showing its location). The middle photo is blurry, but I noticed that I had caught a little hummingbird in frame. It is in the left of the photo, slightly above and to the side of the fairy's left wing, sitting on a branch. I was visiting the children's garden at the time, having walked all over the other areas and needing a rest. Keeping still and very quiet is a wonderful way to take everything in, and to see what little birds might appear, as in this case the hummingbird.

I had the place all to myself. The whole garden was very quiet and the only occasional person I came across was one of the volunteer gardeners. It took about an hour to get there driving north, and it was the first time I had used GPS. 

We actually lived in San Diego for many years back in the 80's, as I have mentioned before on other posts. I was looking forward to visiting with old friends.

On this occasion I had gone along on one of Gregg's business trips and we hadn't thought of getting GPS up to that point, but he didn't want me getting lost. We were late to the party, but I took to it like a duck to water and my adventures began, starting with the botanical garden. A lovely memory and another place I would like to get to again one day.

Thanks for looking and 

I hope you day will be great.

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS FROM 2-24-25 TO 3-3-25

Below is our weather forecast from 3-4-25 to 3-11-25. Looks like the weather is heating up.

Thank you family and friends for always letting me know you enjoy these. I sometimes wonder if anyone is interested in what we do, as it's most definitely not a very exciting day-to day. But we enjoy going back and that word again, looking at the 'mundane' things we were interested in at the time. I hope you have all had a great weekend!

I haven't done very well this week for keeping up a daily routine journal. I was feeling a bit below par and didn't feel like writing anything down. Husband and son went off into Georgetown one day and I have already shown those photos. 

Wednesday February 26th, 2025: we went to Green Spring Gardens. That was nice and the sun was shining, the temperature was in the mid 50s. I walked a little further than the time before, saw new flowers and plants starting to show, with a sky that was a perfect blue but first... 

we had our car picnic. A few days previously Gregg had picked up cream sodas at the store, popped them in the trunk and forgot all about them. They were a nice surprise. 

He fixed himself an old favorite, a cheese and onion sandwich on a roll. The first time he had this combination was when it was given to him by someone who ran the naval canteen service on the ship he was on in the early 70s, and who was part of the NAAFI (the Navy Army Air Force Institute). 

He had been on an exchange tour with the Royal Navy, and I am repeating myself continuously on this blog but that's how we met. He was in the UK for a two-year duty exchange tour. 

He hadn't had one of these sandwiches in I can't remember how long, but suddenly decided that's what he wanted for our car picnic. Mine was chicken and lettuce on wheat. Nothing fancy but always tasty. 

Almost forgot, we had two flasks of hot soup also. When he was out the day before for a few hours, I made broccoli, cauliflower and cheddar soup. You can see the recipe at this link. I made it without the half-and-half but with 2 percent milk and a carton of low sodium chicken broth instead of the chicken base and water. It was lovely and a nice addition to the sandwiches. We sat there for a while, too chilly to eat outside just yet, but our car picnics are always enjoyable. (If needed, we get the small vac out when we reach home but have had no problems so far.) 

We sit facing the garden and see a bench through the trees. I am thinking that will be a nice place for our future extended car picnics as it's a hop, skip and a jump from where we park.

So, there we were at the garden. Earlier we had tried to get down to the ponds by driving over to the other side. Unfortunately, there were 'no parking' signs very near where we could see the short walk to where we wanted to go. So, we drove back to the regular entrance. (I am hoping to be able to walk down the hill to the ponds before the end of the year and, as always, keeping my fingers crossed.)

There's 'our' house that is not our house in the distance. I am looking forward to seeing what they will be planting in their garden beds out front. 

We are sitting on a bench and looking across the green. The sky was gorgeous, and the witch hazels were blooming in places.

There were snowdrops popping up everywhere.

I won't share all my photos from the garden today. Another post will be in a few days. I didn't take too many as it was another short trip.

Thursday and Friday, the 27th and 28th rolled by: brain in a bit of a fog truth be told.  

Saturday, March 1st, 2025: and here we are at the beginning of a new month.  Happy first day of the month to everyone. I sketched something new. I'm calling them scribble sketches, because I really have a hard time slowing down on these things. I got the original from Pinterest, one of two favorite go-to places. 

Breakfast: Saturday doughnut from the supermarket for both of us, and coffee for me. Gregg gets his strawberry jam filled dusted in powdered sugar. I get the one coated with chocolate on the top (of course) and the custard filled.  

Late lunch/early dinner: a jacket potato with baked beans. 

Snacks were a few almonds and a dish of skinny popcorn.  A naughty and nice day today.

Sunday, March 2nd, 2025: son came over for a few hours in the morning. He arrives with coffee for me and a muffin. Gregg is not partial to either so ate a lemon yogurt and drank an iced tea. Pat on the back for you I said. 

Later will be our traditional evening get-together to watch The Oscars. We have been doing this for several years. Son and our daughter-in-law will turn up around 5.30 p.m. for our evening of fun. We are eating light, a charcutier board and our darlings are bringing pastries from a bakery in Chantilly. (Gregg had I had ours for breakfast the next day and they were incredible, 10 out of 10 Gregg said.) The charcutier board was our evening meal. I've discovered I like stuffed grape vine leaves. It was sort of like a Ploughman's Lunch but Greek style. Everything on there was very tasty, three kinds of olives, cheeses, the stuffed grape leaves, small and round hot peppers that were hot but not too much, and probably some I have missed. 

Son and D-in-L explained most of the movies to us as we are most definitely not up to speed on these things, but it's all part of the fun. I do enjoy seeing the fashions on the red carpet.

As enjoyable as our time was together, I found that I was a little bored with the show itself, and felt it went on for two long. I might be showing my age ;) And then, wouldn't you know it, the timer for the show cut out on us before the last two major awards were given - didn't know there was a timer but we stream our TV now - and we weren't able to watch the finish. 

No matter how much we tried, we couldn't get it back. I think there might be a lot of miffed people out there as apparently this was done to thousands, and the message was that they had a blackout. It was also the first time they had streamed the Oscars live so our son told us, a major hiccup. Can't do much when that happens with something live. I think we had all had enough anyway as we were all tired and it was past our bedtime. 

Even so, we had a great time because after all, it's the company right? 

Time to stick my head in a cup of tea and snorkel my way down to the bottom! 

Have a great day everyone, have a great March and 

thanks for stopping by.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - SAUSAGE, SPINACH AND MUSHROOM BITES - 6 SERVINGS

Sausage, Spinach & Mushroom Egg Bites - 6 servings

This is a very nice change of pace from our usual breakfast. I found the original recipe at Eating Well at this link. The author is Craig Ruff. I always recommend visiting these blogs to see the original recipes. They have great photos, great tips and other great recipes.

Total time from prep to table: 50 minutes.

Active time: 25 minutes 

Servings: 6

Calories for 1: 232 

1 tablespoon canola oil (I used olive oil in a spray bottle)

6 ounces pork breakfast sausage

4 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

2 cups coarsely chopped baby spinach

8 large eggs

2/3 cup whole milk 

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. 

Add sausage; cook, stirring often and breaking into crumbles, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. 

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving the drippings in the pan. 

Reduce heat to medium.

Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned in most spots, 6 to 8 minutes. 

Add spinach; cook, stirring constantly, until wilted, about 30 seconds. 

Transfer the vegetable mixture to the plate with the sausage. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs, milk, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and salt in a large bowl until thoroughly blended. 

Stir in the cooled sausage/mushroom mixture. 

Divide the mixture among the prepared muffin cups, about 1/4 cup each. (I was a little concerned we had filled the cups too full but they didn't overflow in the oven, it worked out well.)

Bake, rotating the pan front to back once, until puffed and set, 14 to 16 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before removing the egg bites from the pan.

To make ahead:

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or wrap individually in plastic and freeze for 1 month. (We used small snap-lid containers).

To reheat, remove from packaging/container and  cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave until hot, about 1 minute. 

Full nutritional values can be found at the website.

I copied down a few of the commentors suggestions in case we want to try next time.

One substituted half and half for whole milk and added onions. Commentor said they were absolutely delicious. Also said they would make them in small Pyrex dishes instead of muffin tins as found it a little difficult to remove them. (I have a note about that at the end of my recipe.)

Another person said about having to thoroughly oil the muffin pan well or they don't come out. Now sprays muffin cups for easy removal.

Someone else added bacon as a protein source and found that delicious. They also cut the mushrooms in half, sprinkled fresh Parmesan cheese on top in the last 5 minutes of cooking, and topped with avocado and Tapatio sauce. 

Next person had no spinach, so used minced onions and thinly sliced portabella mushrooms. No pork sausage but had chicken sausage links in the freezer. Used half whole eggs and half egg whites. Added feta cheese and kalamata olives. Used small custard cups. Took a little longer due to the greater volume (1/2 cup of egg mixture). Also felt there was too much sausage for their taste. (We had no such problem and enjoyed with the pork sausage. Also felt they would have been perfect without the breakfast sausage.

What did we think? Excellent and will definitely be making these again. We both enjoyed them. 

A nice side was a few strawberries and blueberries. We thought avocado another time. 

I added about 1/2 a sweet red pepper, diced.

I bought these a couple of years back after reading very good reviews about them. 

I also have a 12-cup silicone muffin pan slightly smaller sized cups. I am very happy with the result. I sprayed the inside of the cups just in case, and the egg bites came out very easily.

The egg cups took a few minutes longer to cook, a) because our oven runs a little cooler when following usual cooking times, and b) the muffin cups were a little larger.

Here is the website address for copying and pasting.

https://www.eatingwell.com/sausage-spinach-mushroom-egg-bites-8654583

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - SHARING SON'S PHOTOS TODAY IN GEORGETOWN, DC.

 He and his dad were in Georgetown, DC, on Wednesday, February 26th, 2025. The weather was in the high 60's that day.

Our son's reflection is in the window on the left. He was interested in the quote. I liked that and the reflection of the street.Here is the poem in full.

~Dreams by Langston Hughes~

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

You can read all about Langston Hughes here. The beginning paragraph reads: James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1st, 1901 to May 22nd, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, novelist, playwright and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary form called jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.

The sign above is attached to a building that was once "the Dumbarton Theatre opened in 1913, a 460-seat playhouse. This theatre showed movies sometime later. It was designed by architect William Nichols in a Gothic Revival style.  Located on Wisconsin Avenue NW in Georgetown, the movie house was renamed the Georgetown Theatre in February 1950. It had been remodeled in 1948 in Streamline Moderne style. The Georgetown Theatre was closed in 1986 and is today used for retail." This information came from a website called Cinema Treasures. 

I remember passing this place in the early days of our marriage but we never went inside as we were always heading somewhere else. We used to go to Georgetown a lot in the two years we lived in Alexandria back in the mid-70s and sometimes met up with friends. One of my most favorite memories, however, was taking my parents to a restaurant where my father, who knew no strangers, got to talking with the restaurant's piano player. My dad was also a wonderful piano player, and he really enjoyed listening to this man's music. 

I have nothing about this old alley way, other than finding the big old lock on the gate interesting. I was trying to see if it had any significance and couldn't find further information, but did come across this site on other alleys in DC.

A nice mural down one of the side streets. Thanks to seeing the artist's name - Aniekan Udofia - I found this website. This was an interesting place called Crumbs and Whiskers, as you can see below. You can find out more about them if you go to their website here.It is a charitable organization (another in Los Angeles) and for $25 you can purchase a ticket online to drink coffee and eat snacks with the kitties (coffee and snacks you also have to pay for while there).They rescue cats, have had thousands adopted and donated thousands of dollars to charity.

The following were taken of the C & O Canal. I was surprised that there was no water, so I did a bit of looking up and found the following information. The canal has been drained for a couple of years already as it underwent a 30-month time frame to allow for a major restoration of Locks 1, 2 and 5, as well as critical valve and wall repairs. The previous information came from this website. 

There is also an interesting page here that shows the canal boats and where you will eventually be able to buy tickets once those restorations are done. I saw an article that said they were reopening in April 2025 but you can check the previous websites to find out. I'm sure they will update them. Interesting article here.

Thanks for looking today, have a great Sunday and a wonderful week ahead.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - ROCKIN' WHO?

If you want to hear the original version of Rockin' Robin, there's a great YouTube at this link.

The full lyrics are below, with thanks to all the good little birdies rockin' in the treetops.

Rockin’ Robin lyrics

Our key: Overtones

Other versions to check out: Bobby Day (arr. based on this one), Michael Jackson

Intro

Verse 1

He rocks in the treetops all day long, hoppin' and a-boppin' and singing his song

All the little birds on Jaybird Street love to hear the robin go tweet-tweet-tweet

Chorus

Rockin' robin, Rock-rock-rockin' robin'

Go rockin' robin 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight

Verse 2

Every little swallow, every chick-a-dee, every little bird in the tall oak tree

The wise old owl, the big black crow flappin' their wings singin' "go bird, go"

Chorus

Rockin' robin, Rock-rock-rockin' robin'

Go rockin' robin 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight

Bridge

Well, the pretty little raven at the bird bandstand taught him how to do the bop and it was grand

They started going steady and bless my soul, he out-bopped the buzzard and the oriole

Verse 3 (same as 1)

He rocks in the treetops all day long hoppin' and a-boppin' and singing his song

All the little birds on Jaybird Street love to hear the robin go tweet-tweet-tweet

Chorus

Rockin' robin, Rock-rock-rockin' robin'

Go rockin' robin 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight

Bridge

Well, the pretty little raven at the bird bandstand taught him how to do the bop and it was grand

They started going steady and bless my soul he out-bopped the buzzard and the oriole

KEY CHANGE

He out bopped-the buzzard and the oriole

Verse 4 (same as 1)

He rocks in the treetops all day long hoppin' and a-boppin' and singing his song

All the little birds on Jaybird Street love to hear the robin go tweet-tweet-tweet

Chorus

Rockin' robin, Rock-rock-rockin' robin'

Go rockin' robin 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight

Outro (like intro)

And that's the way it is on a 

Saturday Morning at the Birdfeeder!

Thanks for flying in 

and have a great weekend!

LATEST ODDS AND BODS - 2/28/25

 

How about some pretty art?

The foxes don't seem to mind the snow, but I think they are looking forward to the warmer weather just like we are.

Love this one!

This looks really good! If you want to see the full instructions, you can find them at this link.

Time for some fun with Food

All these would be fun for the kiddos. I would even make this one for this big kiddo!

Wise Words!

It reads, "There is a place I go when life gets too static, and civilization seems far from civil. It's a place where they all know me and everyone is free, where I can sit in solitude and feel the Earth's energy, be at peace with everything around me, where I can hear the voices of animals. A place where I can speak the secret language of trees."

by Emelia.

but...

"We witness other people's storms 

From the shelter of 

Our Own perspectives.

Let us be mindful

That we don't add the

Cold rain of judgement

To their already

Soaked spirits."

Liz Newman

"

Totally agree!

"There is nothing wrong with having a tree for a friend." - and that of a lamb would make me doubly happy. 

Ah now! Hello Cottage of Mine By The Lake. 

You make a lovely cottage of my dreams.

Little Cottage 

by 

Virginia Wauchope Bass

I know a little cottage 

Where everything's just right;

The windows bloom with tulips 

At dusk there's candlelight.

The knotted oak beside it 

Is webbed with ivy leaves,

And honeysuckle tangles

In clusters round the eaves.

The friendly gate swings open

Against a low stone wall,

Where quaint old-fashioned blossoms

Design a Paisley shawl;

and up the winding pathway

The stones with moss are grown.

I love that little cottage

Because it is my own.

(How I wish but it's nice to dream!)

Close your eyes,

Take a breath,

Inhale calmness.

Exhale stress.

Make a cuppa, 

Sink into a chair,

Pick up a book,

Disappear.

And what a lovely bedroom this is.

A bee? I would put one of these gates to enter my secret garden. Then I suppose it wouldn’t be such a secret would it, if we could peek through. 

I would like a gate such as this.

I have changed my mind, I think I will have this one. I will just build my secret garden out of sight. 

How pretty to light up the pathway.

Another wall. Let’s hope this is miles from anywhere, and the big kids (you know, adults like us) and little kids aren’t playing baseball nearby.

A few friends were meeting in the garden.

Having a little chinwag, just catching up on the latest news. This little one looks like he has big shoes to fill, but he's doing a grand job so far.

Not sure what's going on here but I like to think kitty is little birdy's protector.

Little duckling is trying hard to do snow angels. Keep trying little one!

As for mothers everywhere, fathers too, they know how to keep their chicks warm and dry.

I wonder what's happening on the other side of the fence. I think it's a game of football.

Kitty has the hang of it, that's a darned good snow angel. We had a lot of snow a while back. I am too old to try to get down and do snow angels. Come to think of it, I never did snow angels when I was young. It was not the thing where I grew up. My loss!

Some wise words. 

1. Compliment three people every day.

2. Watch a sunrise at least once a year.

3. Be the first to say, "Hello!"

4. Live beneath your means.

5. Treat everyone like you want to be treated.

6. Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen.

7. Forget the Joneses.

8.Never deprive someone of hope. It may be all they have.

9. Pray not for things but for wisdom and courage.

10. Be tough-minded but tenderhearted.

11. Be kinder than necessary.

12. Don't forget, a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

13. Keep your promises.

14. Learn to show cheerfulness, even when you don't feel like it.

15. Remember that overnight success usually takes about 15 years, sometimes longer. Never give up on your dreams.

16. Leave everything better than you found it.

17. Remember we rise by lifting others.

18. When you arrive at your job in the morning, let the first thing you say brighten everyone's day.

19. Don't rain on others people's parades.

20. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

And now something for the love of all children.

"Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can read, write and count. It is a small window of time to learn and develop at the pace that is right for each individual child. 

Earlier is not better!"

~Magda Gerber~

The bird is telling the rabbit that spring is on the way. There is no snow now but if you close your eyes and feel the warmth of the fire, the soft rain outside will sing you a lullaby. Wrap yourself in a cozy throw someone gave you and think of the love they put into every stitch.

I hope seeing these lovely things has kept your heart happy and you don’t have any...

I don’t have any mubble-fubbles today. The weather is getting warmer, but I am not going outside until the temperature is at least my age, or near to it!

Thanks for looking everyone 

and have a great day!

(With my thanks to Pinterest for today’s inspiration.)