WE RISE....

BUSY BEES, A FLASHBACK TO WARMER MONTHS - ONE PHOTO BELOW TRANSFERRED TO AN ENGLISH GIRL RAMBLES 2016

"The key to nature's therapy is feeling like a tiny part of it, not a master over it.  There's amazing pride in seeing a bee land on a flower you planted - but that's not your act of creation, it's your act of joining in."

~Victoria Coren Mitchell~

THE ABOVE QUOTE WAS PUBLISHED ON AN ENGLISH GIRL RAMBLES 2016 ON 1-22-25

"The bee is an exquisite chemist."

~Royal Beekeeper to Charles II~

Did you know that the bees' buzz is the sound made by their wings which beats 11,400 times per minute?

THE PHOTO ABOVE WAS TRANSFERRED TO AN ENGLISH GIRL RAMBLES 2016 TO BE PUBLISHED ON 1-21-25

"Bees communicate with each other by dancing."  I have always liked bees, now another reason why.

Other interesting facts about bees can be found here.

YOU SHOULD SIT IN NATURE...

MAY YOUR WEEK BE...

No recipe post today. I have a bad cold and  between the sneezing and coughing, and lolloping, along with the catch-up naps, I have been watching a wonderful British TV show called Grantchester. It is on the PBS streaming channel I subscribe to.  

I am a little slow answering comments, and I thank you so much for them.  I will be visiting when I can during the week. 

Fortunately I have been better organized as I have set several posts well in advance.  This week is taken care of, all except my recipe post which I was going to make yesterday but, you know, lolloping! 

Have a great week everyone and thanks for visiting.

RANDOM PHOTOS

I only have the use of my iPad for the next few days and I still am unable to leave comments when using that.  Things will be back to normal after Wednesday and I will be catching up then. 

It is fun to come across unusual mailboxes.  The owners of this one were very creative. 

This is the same photo but it is cropped.

When we go to a new area we like to get off the beaten path, and this often takes us a drive through neighborhoods.  You just never know what you are going to come across.

  Thanks for looking and enjoy your day.

GOOD FENCES FOR GOSIA

This is my contribution for Good Fences hosted by Gosia. 

This pretty log cabin with its white picket fence was found on a quiet country road a few weeks ago. We were in the south western part of Virginia in July. If you would like to see other fences, or join in with your own, you can go here.  

Thank you Gosia and thank you for visiting everyone.  Have a great weekend. I will be back on Monday.

THERE IS ANOTHER SKY by EMILY DICKINSON

There is another sky,

Ever serene and fair,

And there is another sunshine,

Though it be darker there;

Never mind faded forests, Austin,

Never mind silent fields.

Here is a little forest 

Whose leaf is ever green;

Here is a brighter garden,

Where not a frost has been;

In its unfading flowers

I hear the bright bee hum:

Prithee, my brother,

Into my garden come!

REYNOLDA GARDENS - FLOWERS AND FLUTTERY THINGS

There are over 28,000 species of butterflies around the world.  80 percent you will find in tropical regions.  I found these facts at this link.

I will be sharing photos from our trip down to the south western part of Virginia for a while, particularly the flowers and fluttery things that land on them.  There were many flying around and many beautiful flowers blooming, I took lots of photos.  The first two are of Silver Spotted Skippers.

Reynolda Gardens, where I took today's photos, was a great day for pollinators.  I believe the butterfly below is a dark form Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  Please let me know if you think I am wrong on any of my ID's, as I always like to get these things correct.  This link will take you to an ID site for the swallowtail, and if you scroll down you will see very similar photos.

 Buckeye Butterfly 

The Silver Spotted Skipper again.  They were out in full force.

Another swallowtail.

After an extensive search I wasn't able to identify the following.  A Fritillary perhaps?  There is an interesting website here if you would like to take a look.  It gives a lot of interesting facts about butterflies. 

Added note 8-21-19: I think this is an American Painted Lady.  I found one on this wonderful nature blog here.  Mike, its host, has incredible photos, many taken in the places I know very well.

And yet another Silver Spotted Skipper.  I was very grateful to these little guys as not only were they all over the place, but they stayed still long enough for a good pose.

"Just like the butterfly, I too will awaken in my own time." 
~ Deborah Chaskin~

AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES AT REYNOLDA GARDENS IN NORTH CAROLINA

One of the nicest memories from our trip to Reynolda Gardens, apart from being among all the flowers and the butterflies, which will be in tomorrow's post, was the sight of these pretty American Goldfinches enjoying the sunflowers.

Gregg took all of what you see today.  He didn't have long as they were soon off into the trees, but he was able to get several photos in a short space of time.

 You can read all about our pretty bird if you click on this link.

There are two Goldfinches in the photo below...

and there were several in the garden.  They really loved those sunflowers.

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by.

SUNFLOWERS, SMILES AND FITZGERALD

PILOT'S PERCH CABIN VACATION - PART 6 - JULY 21ST TO 26TH, 2019

We have been home since the evening of July 26th, and have repeated this paragraph for the entirety.  The last time as I am now at the end of this particular vacation.  It has been a great five days at the cabin.  I have been sharing its website (link below in red lettering), not only for you to take a look but who knows, you may be looking for a place to rent if you visit the area and want a neat place to stay.  It is highly recommended by our own experience.  You can see all the posts from our trip if you scroll down on the right hand side of the page, and click on the button 'Pilot's Perch Trip - July 2019'.  Now for the last day of my diary.

Pilot's Perch Cabin Vacation

From July 21st to July 26th, 2019  

Part 6  

Friday, July 26th, 2019  

An early morning send-off party and the journey home.

When Gregg was loading up our car just before we left for home, he saw these cute cottontails in the front garden.  He came back inside to tell me to get the camera. 

 They posed for several minutes and allowed me to take a lot of photos. 

but then they decided it was time for them...

and us... 

to move along.  

Just as I thought they would soon be out of sight, they found another tasty buffet across the street...

and stayed for a few more minutes as we kept them company.

Finally, however, it was time to get out of the buffet line and hippity-hop home, for all of us.

We watched them go and thanked them for such a sweet send off.  It was a welcome delay and at 
9.14 p.m. we started for home.  The Odometer reading,  8795.  71 degrees F.

A quick stop at the Fancy Gap Post Office to mail postcards from Mabry Mill to friends.  I remember mailing postcards when I was a little girl, written in my scrawled, childlike handwriting to my grandparents, Mom and Dad's parents.  This was a practice my mother started since the first time we could put a pen to paper.  I still enjoy sending postcards and so does this close group of friends I have.  There always seems to be a lot of postcards for sale at these tourist places.  Do you ever send them?  I am curious as I wonder if, like handwritten letters, it a dying art.  Just a thought that popped into my head.  

Right next to the post office was the Carolina Log Furniture company, and just because I am forever curious, I looked it up after returning home and going through my photos.  Their website can be found here.

The journey home was a good one, and though the traffic was heavy at times, for the most part it flowed.  We did have to pass a few wide-load vehicles. 

 But then there were scenes such as these...

and these.

We were happy to stick to the freeway.  Usually when heading out on a vacation, we side-tour onto country roads, but when going home we always seem to take the fastest route as our homing pigeon instincts take over.  Six hours later, with a couple of stops on the way, we were home.

We had a great time at Pilot's Perch, and I would like to thank Tannya and Blake for letting us stay at their mountain cabin.  We couldn't have wished for a nicer, more perfect place to hang our hats each night, and we look forward to returning one day.

I have a lot more photos to share from our trip, but this is the last entry in my diary.  I hope you have enjoyed it.