HE FOUND IT!

 

Not so many birds have been around yet for this new bird bath. There is one male Goldfinch who pops up every now and again. This little guy arrived before a thunderstorm last night and it rained buckets. I said I think he needs a tiny stepladder and asked Gregg if he could make one to help. I got an affirmative “no!” Oh well! Yes I was joking I told him but I don’t think he quite believed me. I am looking around for a ground bird bath. The other one cracked. Gregg knows I can squirrel speak. He told me to tell squirrel to go to the creek which is on the other side of the trees. Harsh! Grin….

Enjoy your day friends and 

thanks for stopping by.

ODDS AND BODS ON TUESDAY, JULY 21ST, 2026

 

Good Morning! How are you today?

Sorry I’m late. I was telling the trees how beautiful they are - Healing Hearts

Let’s walk down to my imaginary cottage.

We can enter by the gate.

I like coming home to wide open windows where I can see the curtains dancing in the breeze.  As we walk around the back, there is the smell of bread baking.

Oh yes, this looks like the perfect recipe.

Homemade Artisan Bread - Ingredients: 3 cups of flour 

1-1/2 teaspoons salt - 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast 

 1-1/2 cups warm water (heated to 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit).

Instructions: 1. Mix dry ingredients and add warm water, 

stir to a sticky dough. 2. Cover and rise 12 to 18 hours. 

3. Shape gently, rest  30 to 45 minutes. 4. Preheat oven to 

450 degrees Fahrenheit. 5. Cool 1 hour.  Tips: Wet dough = airy loaf 

Dutch oven makes a crispy crust. Longer rise = deeper flavor.

We have a choice of cottages today. What do you think? A bit too hilly? Do you have a favorite?

Both come with lovely neighbors. 

Are you a Woodlarker? 

Woodlarking - Not everyone walks through the woods the same way.

Some see trees, and some see stories, others notice the tracks, the 

feathers, the old stones, the things that happen in the corner of your eye. 

We are the ones who stop. Who listen and look closer. Woodlarkers. 

Maybe you are one too - Woodlarking. 

Ipsety (English) - (n.) the quality of being oneself; embracing our 

Individuality + what makes us unique.

Liberosis - lib.er.oh.sis - the feeling of wanting to 

care less about things, a sense of calmness that comes 

when you let go of unnecessary concerns.

Orophile - a person who finds peace and serenity, 

and connects with themselves more deeply in 

mountainous settings; a lover of mountains.

And because we must remember our cat lovers.

Ailurophile - noun - meaning: one fond of cats.

Last one!

niksen (NEEK-sen) noun (Dutch) - the mindful

practice of doing nothing. A pause for your

mind to wander, rest and refresh. It’s not

avoidance, but a quiet space where clarity and

calm naturally emerge. 

This little one has all of that figured out.

Do not disturb! Bee is sleeping. He has had a busy day being a bee. 

I am feeling like a bit of a snooze myself...

but I am trying not to nap today as I know it will cut into a good night's sleep.

Sometimes it’s okay to stop doing and just bee.

Have you had a banana today? I had mine for breakfast, along with a cup of blackberries and 1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt. I have been on my journey to eating healthier for a long time. Let’s just say it’s a long journey, with a few side-trips, and leave it at that. Each day is a new adventure.

Advice from a Banana - always be ready when the time is ripe - Friends 

are better by the bunch - Just because someone calls you “yella,” it doesn’t 

mean you’re a coward - Ignore all the monkeys, they’re just trying to get to you.

Sometimes when you’re slightly bruised is when you’re at your very best

Life’s little surprises are what makes it so apeeling.

Now for some recipes. I thought I would start off with brown bread…

Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread - Ingredients: 2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon yeast - 1/4 cup honey - 2 tablespoons molasses 

1 tablespoon espresso powder (optional) - 4 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour - 2 tablespoons butter, softened - Oats for topping

Instructions: mix yeast, warm water, honey, molasses. Let foam for 5

minutes. Stir in cocoa, espresso, flours, butter, salt. Knead until smooth. 

Let rise 1 hour, shape into loaves. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle 

With oats. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. 

to go with…

Slow-cooker Sausage, Potatoes and Cabbage 

Ingredients: 12 ounces sausage (such as kielbasa or smoked sausage), sliced

5 potatoes, peeled and chopped - 5 cups of chopped cabbage - 1-1/2 cups

chicken broth - 1 white onion, sliced - 1 teaspoon dried thyme seasoning -

salt and pepper to taste - Instructions: 1. brown sausage in the skillet.

2. Layer the sliced kielbasa, peeled and diced potatoes, cabbage and sliced 

onion in your slow-cooker. 3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and dried thyme.

4. Pour the chicken broth over the ingredients. 5. Cover and cook on low for

5 to 6 hours or until potatoes are tender.  -   With this Slow Cooker Sausage,

Potatoes and Cabbage recipe, you can effortlessly create a satisfying and comforting 

meal that pays homage to its European roots. Whether you’re looking for a crowd-

pleasing dish at a family gathering, this recipe is sure to delight your taste buds

and warm your heart. Enjoy! 

Or maybe we want something easier and simpler to prepare on a hot summer day.

Cucumber Sandwich: You will need 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 

2 tablespoons mayonnaise - 1 tablespoon lemon juice - 1 tablespoon dill, chopped

and let’s not forget thin slices of a hot house cucumber. You don’t need to deseed

those. 

Mix all the ingredients up and spread it on your favorite bread. Add the sliced cucumber and there you have it. I love a cucumber sandwich.

Wise Words!

Be like a sunflower - bright - sunny - positive - spread seeds of happiness

stand tall and always turn to the light

Joy can be found in the tiniest moments.

Never stop looking. 

Pep Squad arriving! You are going to get tired of me telling you, but it’s important to remember the reminder. 

Sometimes you forget you’re awesome, so this is your reminder.

Pep talks - you’re doing better than you think. Even on the days when you 

feel tired, unsure, or a little behind, you’re still moving forward. Give 

yourself credit. Give yourself grace. You’ve overcome so much - and

you’re still rising. 

Take a deep breath. Feeling scrambled? Let that go. 

It’s a great day to be you. Strut your stuff. You got this.

I am proud of you and everything you have accomplished. Keep shining brightly, and never stop

believing I yourself.

Okay, that is the end of my Odds and Bods for today.

You all take good care of yourselves and

thanks for stopping by.

(My thanks to Pinterest for today’s inspiration.)

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - LEMON BARS

This is another one of those weeks where no new dishes were prepared. I went into my archives and found this. It has not been made in a long time, should have been as it was and would still be a favorite of ours, so maybe soon. Unfortunately the links no longer work. I will do a search later and see what I can find. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy! 

Lemon Bars

For the crust:

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

6 extra-large eggs at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons, I ended up using 6 lemons)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup flour

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into squares or even triangles, and dust with confectioners' sugar. 

If you like that lemony taste, which we do, this is a wonderful treat for dessert. You don't need more than a small piece as it is very rich.

Because it's just the two of us I made a regular batch. After we had tried a piece I put the dish into the refrigerator, and when it was completely cold I cut it up into individual portions. These portions went into a freezer bag and then into the freezer, to take one out to thaw whenever we felt like a piece. They still taste great after being frozen.

Added note: the ingredients appear to be the same as the recipe from Barefoot Contessa at this address:

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/lemon-bars

Thanks for taking a look, have a great week

and Bon Appétit!

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - MOTH PAINTING EXHIBIT AT LEWIS GINTNER BOTANICAL GARDEN - JUNE 25TH, 2026

 Today I thought I would take you back to Lewis Gintner Botanical Garden. We were there on June 25th where we met up with our family. 

As I have been talking about moths and butterflies and others lately, I am sharing the paintings on display inside the visitor center. This is truly incredible art. I have provided links where you can see an actual photo. 

My first is of the butterfly (and moth) display in the visitor center. It was on the right as you walk through the doors. I wish I had taken more notice as there are artist tags identifying them. They have a very nice butterfly garden inside a section of the Conservatory, which is in the large greenhouse structure that you will see once you get outside. It is in the next photo in the background. The frog fountain is a definite favorite of mine. 

The exhibit is on the walls of a very long hallway on the left. These paintings are by Deborah Davis. Link here to see these paintings. 

Luna Moth

Pink-striped Oakworm Moth

Hollow-spotted Plagodis

The ID is at the top of each photo on my collage below. I could have happily pulled up a chair to study each painting. The detailing was exceptional.

I have included additional links below for more information.

Small-eyed Sphynx Moth

Polyphemus Moth

Rosy Maple Moth

Pink Shaded Fern Moth

Nais Tiger Moth

White Spring Moth

Here is a pretty graphic I found on pixabay.com

Thanks for looking and 

I hope your day is a great one.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - A BIRTHDAY PRESENT?

 

As you can see, the birthday gift I said I would share is a new bird bath on a stand. It is solar powered and has a camera attached. I am a happy camper. My family couldn't have bought a more perfect gift. 

It has been a bit quiet but they have to get used to the little fountain that shoots up in the middle and it's a bit noisy and gurgly. When it's in full sun, the fountain can be several inches high. 

So far it hasn't attracted any squirrels or other night critters. It gives me a live feed also and if I hear a noise, I can check my phone to see if any curious animals have made their way up on the deck. I am happily waiting in anticipation.

And by the way Mr. Goldfinch, as for the scary place in my head, have you seen inside yours birdie? It's all relative!

That's how it goes on a 

Saturday Morning at the Bird Feeder.

We're all doing fine here, I hope you 

are too.

I also hope your weekend will be a great one,

and thanks for flying in.

For our overseas blogging friends to translate the words in the photo 

using my widget on the side bar.

Photo 1:

"This is camera lady's birthday present from her family. 

She is real happy to be able to see her birds up close again.

She is doing cartwheels in her head. I am very happy I am not

in her head. It's a scary place. Please don't tell her I said that!"

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IN ONE NEAT LITTLE PACKAGE

When we went on a walk the other day, ending up at the Walney Visitor Center, what I was looking for were butterflies. I didn't see one unfortunately, not even skippers, but there were lots of bees, a few milkweed bugs and an interesting, pretty little creature that you can see in my next photo. I found it on a milkweed plant. I thought to myself what a little beauty. When I got home, I found that this was Beauty and the Beast in one neat little package.

What I read surprised me and I was disheartened by my find. It is an Invasive Spotted Lanternfly nymph. What strikes me is that they are the most beautiful insect but horribly destructive to crops. Because they are an invasive pest in Virginia, local agricultural departments strongly encourage residents to destroy them.

These nymphs go through four developmental stages (instars) and I am getting all this from Google). The first three are black with bright white spots, while the final stage turns bright red with black stripes and white spots. They are wingless, powerful jumpers and feed on plant sap, excreting a sticky substance called honeydew.

These are their four distinct stages: nymphs hatch from over-wintered egg masses in late April or early May. They grow through molting stages (instars) before transforming into adults in mid-to-late July.

1st to 3rd Instar: very small about 1/4 inch wingless and black with distinctive white spots.

4th Instar: larger (about 1/2 inch) and bright red with black stripes and white spots. This seems to be the one I found.

Diet and Damage: nymphs use straw-like mouthparts to pierce the tender stems and foliage of over 70 plant species, extracting nutrient-rich sap. While feeding, they excrete excess sugary fluid called "honeydew", mentioned earlier. 

Sooty Mold Threat: the excreted honeydew coats surrounding plants and surfaces, promoting the growth of a thick black "sooty mold" that blocks sunlight and can harm or kill the host plants.

Jumping ability: because they don't have wings yet, nymphs can't fly but they have strong hind legs and will jump and hop rabidly when disturbed.

Here's a YouTube on how we can take steps to get rid of them and there is plenty of other information online if you have found them in your area. 

The following photos were on Wikipedia here and where you can see the adult. Quite beautiful as you can see from the middle photo at the bottom.

According to a study done by Penn State, this YouTuber says they have caused $50,000,000 worth of damage, and the loss of 500 jobs per year.

This was only my second introduction to the Spotted Lanternfly. The last one I saw was an adult in a Winchester shopping center three years ago. I had no clue as to what it was but I remember thinking it was one of the most beautiful moths I had ever seen. However, it isn't a moth despite its moth-like wings. It is actually an invasive planthopper that belongs to the order Hemptera (which includes true bugs, cicadas and aphids). Moths belong to the order Lepidoptera. And now I know.

Have you seen them in your area?

Thanks for looking and hope you are all staying cool in all this heat. To those of you on the other side, hope you are staying warm.