HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE. - HORSES IN VIRGINIA

Old photos I thought I would share again, going back as far as a couple of months after I started blogging in April 2008. In a couple of years, I will have been blogging for 20 years, starting with another blog - since closed but available for me to share with you when I haven't been doing much. I opened this one in 2016.

We often went for a ride on the weekends. We found these gorgeous horses and for the life of me, I can't remember where. Gregg to this day is great for following his nose and taking a road we have never traveled before. We don't have to ride long before we reach horse country.

Aren't they beautiful?

Just look at their expressions?

It just says, "I'm disgusted, where is my apple and the least you could have brought us were a few cubes of sugar? Don't come back next time without them!"

I would have loved to have fed them a few carrots, or an apple, or a cube of sugar. I didn't actually have anything but probably wouldn't have fed them. I'm not sure their owner would have been happy with me doing that, and I felt I was taking a liberty asking Gregg to stop the car so that I could take a few pictures. They ambled over immediately, for that treat maybe?

I thanked them for their company, and for the photos. Truly, I love these beautiful animals, and I so rarely get to see them now, except from a distance

RANDOM PHOTO - A HORSESHOE CRAB

I find these fascinating creatures and very prehistoric looking. As I am sharing from my archives and looking at a lot of old blog posts to reshare, I found this. We were in Virginia Beach walking along the sand. It is a shell of an old Horseshoe crab. I wondered if its demise was caused by a hungry gull. Their footprints were everywhere, as you might expect from a walk on the beach.

Horseshoe crabs are marine anthropods of the family Limulidae and order Xiphosura or Xiphosurida that live primarily in and around shallow waters on soft sandy or muddy bottoms.  

A horsehoe crab is best described as a 'living fossil', an ancient, armored arthropod that has remained virtually unchanged for over 450 million years, predating even the dinosaurs. Despite their name they are not true crabs, but more closely related to spiders and scorpions. 

There is an amazing amount of information about them online, but I will finish here.

If you want to find out more, you can go to this link. The following photo I found on pixabay.com

Thanks for looking and I hope you are having a great week so far.

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - SHE’S NOT AVAILABLE TODAY…

 

A cute quote, I found it on Pinterest and it appealed to me. No, I am not out with the wildflowers. I will be patiently waiting until next spring to see them again. Today I am adding a few collected from my old blog.

The first photo is Wrinkleleaf goldenrod, botanical name Solidago rugosa. You can click on the link of each flower for more information. I was so focused on the bee I didn't notice the caterpillar until I got home.

These are from my archives. The first three were taken at Big Meadows along Skyline Drive. The others were found at Manassas Battlefield, both in Virginia.

Field Thistle, botanical name Cirsium discolor. A little blurry but better photos at the link.

A favorite, Dutchman's Breeches, botanical name Dicentra cucullaria.

Yellow Trout Lily, botanical name Erythronium americanum.

Just a few today, most you will recognize. It is always fun for me looking back at my old photos. They take me back to places I always enjoyed, and are great memory joggers.

I have turned the comments off today as I am trying hard to catch up with you all. 

Thanks for visiting and have a great day and week ahead.

PATIENCE...

 We were driving through one of our small towns some time ago and spotted this car several times. Finally, we came up behind it at a traffic light. I know nothing of its make, but I thought it was a very cool car. Anyone out there an expert? Like us they were in no hurry to get out of this pretty little town before exploring all the side roads. The quote made me smile.

"Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears."

~Barbara Johnson~

THE CLOTHES LINE

 

The Clothes Line 

~Anonymous~

A clothes line was a news forecast

To neighbors passing by.

There were no secrets you could keep

When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link

For neighbors always knew

If company had stopped on by

To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the fancy sheets

And towels upon the line;

You'd see the company tablecloths

With intricate design.

The line announced a baby's birth

To folks who lived inside,

As brand new infant clothes

Were hung so carefully with pride.

The ages of the children

Could so readily be known,

By watching how the sizes changed,

You'd know how much they'd grown.

It also told when illness struck

As extra sheets were hung;

Then night-clothes and a bathrobe too

Haphazardly were strung.

It said "Gone on vacation now",

When lines hung limp and bare.

It told "We're back!" when full lines sagged

With not an inch to spare.

New folks in town were scorned upon

If washing was dingy grey,

As neighbors raised their brows 

And looked disgustedly away.

But clotheslines now are in the past

For dryers make work less,

Now what goes on inside a home

Is anybody's guess.

I really miss that way of life.

It was a friendly sign

When neighbors knew each other best

By what was on the line.

(To this day I seem to be able to remember the fresh smell of sun-dried sheets when helping Mum take them off the line.  Those old scents from years gone by still linger somehow.  Do you have any favorites from childhood?  Fresh mown grass is still one of mine to this day, and the baking of bread.)

MEADOWLARK GARDENS CONTINUED - LAKE LENA

Happy First Day of June to you all.

I am continuing our walk at Meadowlark Gardens, this post concentrating on Lake Lena.  There are three lakes at the gardens, this being one of our favorite areas.  We usually make a beeline for the Adirondack chairs you can see in our first two photos, when available, and sit for half an hour or so, when there aren't other people around.  It's quite secluded here.   We spend a pleasant half-hour or so looking at the activity on the water.  It was also where I was 'moved on' by a formidable Canada Goose that at first gently nipped at the shoelaces on my sneakers, which I thought was quite cute until I realized he was getting a little more agitated.  We had inadvertently sat near a nest they were building, story which I have mentioned before in other posts.  The garden people have added additional seating since, all with a pretty view of the lake, each having its secluded spot.  This particular one, however, is our favorite as they were the only chairs available when we discovered this little gem several years ago, and they did and still do, fit us comfortably like an old shoe.

According to their website Lake Lena is in a small wetland at the lowest elevation of the gardens.  There were several native trees already established when the walkway was made over twenty years ago.  

These rather stalky plants are called Rough horsetail.  Its botanical name is Equisetum hyemale.  Other names are Scouring rush horsetail and tall scouring rush.  The plant appears like tiny ridges running vertically along the stems that contains silica, giving the stem the rough sensation.  Hence it is called rough horsetail for the appearance and rough sensation.  Also, early Americans used the plant for scouring pots and pans.

There are numerous bald cypress trees. We are always fascinated with the 'cypress knees' at the water's edge.  

No one can say for sure what their function is, but there is a very interesting article here.  They are generally seen on trees growing in swamps.  One hypothesis is that they might help to aerate the tree's roots, create a barrier to catch sediment and may protect them against erosion, assist in anchoring the tree in the soft and muddy soil, or any combination of these things.  

There are also Sycamore, black gum, river birch, willow and sweet gum.  Many of Virginia’s most southerly wetland shrubs and wildflowers are on exhibit here.

The large bush on the right (above) is the Carolina Allspice, which I have also shared before on other posts to this part of the garden.  Its botanical name is Calycanthus floridus, but is also known by Bubby brush, Eastern sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy and Sweet bubby bush.   

It has fragrant burgundy, spider-like flowers along the branches, and they always remind me of something that would look at home in a prehistoric jungle. They bloom from early spring to mid-summer.  It is also deer resistant.  The powder they obtain from this plant is used in sauces and soups, stews and curries.

There are aquatic native plants such as pickerelweed, native fragrant water lilies, arrowhead and sweet flag that thrive in our humid summers.  In addition, pitcher plants, red and blue cardinal flowers and blue flag iris, souring rush (Equisetum) mingling with aromatic bayberries. You will see many widespread wetland species around the lake, including cattails and numerous native sedges.  Cyperus and Carex represent two particularly specious genera.

Lake Lena also provides habitat for aquatic animals and birds. Several species of turtles, northern water snakes and native frogs inhabit the area. Many native fish and aquatic insects coexist with the plants. Wading birds frequent the lake. Great blue herons, green herons and black crowned night herons enjoy secretive hunting on the water’s edge. A full assortment of perching birds enjoys the lake too.  The birds I remember seeing here was a Great Blue Heron and a Green Heron, but there was no sign of them today, just the turtles, and they always fascinate me.

Another plant I found was this yellow one.  A native of Eastern Canada and the United States, it is called Golden Alexander, botanical name Zizia aurear.  It is also known as Golden zizia and Golden Alexanders. 

 It blooms in spring and summer, and can tolerate -40 degrees F., and is a plant that larvae and the woodland swallowtail butterfly loves to dine on.  A perennial, it grows to about two feet tall. 

There are bird boxes situated all over the garden.  This is the first time I have seen one made out of an old log.  We passed it as we were leaving Lena.  A simple design but clever.

I also found the Flame Azalia not too far away. There was a large bush blooming and reaching way above my head.  It was gorgeous and photos don't do it justice.

Flame azalea, botanical name Rhododendron calendulaceum, is a shrub native to the Appalachian area of the United States.  The generic name, Rhododendron, is Greek for "rose-tree".  The name 'calendulaceum' means Calendual-colored, referring to the flowers. 

An early French botanist Andre Michaux, who botanized in North America in the late 1700s, discovered and first named this plant, describing it as new to science. The vernacular name, “flame” azalea, derives from not only the fiery color of the flowers but also the expanded, unopened buds, which suggest the flame of a candle.

I am finishing off with a map of Virginia and part of its surrounding states, just because I found the map and I liked it...

and again as an art print.

and finishing off, one showing Virginia's location on the U.S. map.

This is the end of today's post.  I have one more on the gardens which I will share soon.

Thank you for visiting today and I hope the rest of your week is a great one.

DUCKS AND GEESE

 An old post revisited.   This is a Egyptian Goose.  You can click on any of their names to learn more.  

Here we have a Blue Swedish Duck.  

They have a Mallard ancestry.

 

I shared this one recently, a Bar-headed Goose.

A Blue-headed Mallard.  I was surprised to see the color of his head.  There is an explanation here.  The green headed ones I am more used to seeing.

Buff Orpington Ducks

This one has a pretty light brown color, a female I think.  The male has a brown hood and a buff-colored body.  There are also chickens described as Buff Orpingtons.  I didn't find much information but the above site shared some if you would like to take a look.  

I sure got a kick out of these geese running down to us as we were bending over the fence trying to take their photos.  I think they were used to people feeding them, and when they saw us they were hopeful.  Sorry duckies!

We thanked them for giving us such a chuckle, and we left smiling.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.