SPREAD KINDNESS…

“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”

~William Shakespeare~

The Merchant of Venice

Wishing you all 

A Very Happy First Day of October.

and thanks for stopping by.

For our international friends to translate 

by using my translation widget on my sidebar.

Teddy’s Shirt says 

“Spread kindness like wildflowers.”

A FEW WILDFLOWERS FOR YOU TODAY

Star of Bethlehem - Ornithogalum umbellatum. It grows in clumps with hollow, dark-green leaves.  Easily confused with wild garlic, but lacks a distinctive odor. It blooms in April to mid June.Golden Ragwort - Packera aurea - Aster family (Asteraceae). This is a perennial wildflower and blooms from mid to late spring and lasts for about three weeks.  The Northern Dewberry, Common Dewberry - Rubus flagellaris. It is part of the rose family and its most active growth is from mid-spring to early summer.Buttercup - Ranunculus species. Most bloom spring through to Fall, with some lasting until frost.Virginia Waterleaf - Hydrophyllum virginianum. It is native to Virginia. A perennial herb commonly found in moist, wooded areas of eastern North America, including Virginia. Its young leaves and shoots are edible and were traditinally used by the Shawnee and other Native American tribes as a potherb or in salads. The leaves are typically eaten cooked, but can also be enjoyed raw when young, which is why they were used for a ‘salad'.Sweet White Violet - Viola blanda. It has fragrant white flowers and blooms from April until the end of summer.  Prefers damp woods and moist meadows.

Daisy Fleabane - Erigeron annuus

Blooms in May up until frost.  

Thanks for looking and 

I hope your day is going well.

PHOTOS FROM WILLIAMSBURG ON 4-25-25

I didn’t take as many photos on our short trip here. I was having problems with not being able to walk too far because of my knee issues. Gregg dropped us off not too far from this courtyard. The part of the street you see is blocked off to thru-traffic. There were no regular shops on my side as they ended at the road on my left, and to my right it was the start of the historical colonial homes. There were only two tables in use in this courtyard,  I was sitting on a wooden bench in an area all to myself.  It was relatively quiet in my tiny bubble (also where I was privileged to witness the bee swarm I mentioned in this post). I sent my family off to look around the shops, assuring them that I would enjoy my time in this one spot. I love to people watch, and dog watch! I had a great time and not too long afterwards, Gregg after much waiting and circling around, found his parking spot and joined me. We have the app on our phone that locates each other. This is how he found me. I could also follow him and could see how far away he was. It's comforting to know where we are located and is a big help at such times.

Below is a close-up picture of the dog in the above photo. Williamsburg is a very dog-friendly place. People are very responsible and take care of them. I have never seen anything untoward in all the time I have been visiting Williamsburg and all the dogs, I have seen at least, have all been very well behaved. 

We always took family and friends here when they visited us. 

Years ago we lived an hour away and now it is about three to three-and-a-half hours from home, depending on traffic.

In the photo below, on the right of the picture you can see a round piece of art on the brick wall on the right. I wrote about it before, and it shows it in better detail. That post you can find here.

Last dog for today. I loved that expression. I felt she was saying, "I've had enough of this. I would like to go home now and find a cool spot to lie in by the window so that I can watch the world go by, just like that lady over there.” Our eyes connected and we understood each other. 

One last look at the shopping area and...

as our family joined us, Gregg left to get the car again. He told us to walk up the road and turn left on another road. We were to walk to the end of that road where he would pick us up. One of the buildings had a figure of a sheep placed in a prominent spot. These usually show what is being sold inside. It is part of Williamsburg where you often see people walking around dressed in colonial costumes. To step inside these shops it would have been like stepping into the 1700s. We needed to purchase tickets at the visitor center for access. No one felt like it as the general consensus was that time was getting late, and we still had three-and-a-half hours on the road. We had already driven over three hours from the Outer Banks, where we had spent a very nice few days with my sister-in-law and her husband.

I found a plant outside one of the shops called Wax begonia.

This field of wildflowers took my interest for a while as we waited for Gregg.

The buttercups were everywhere...

and so were the dandelions.

The next one is Sweet vernal grass. 

Next you can see the trunk of a Black Walnut tree.

For some reason I took not the whole tree but the bottom and some of the branches and leaves further up. Everyone’s energy level was a little depleted by this time, or perhaps I was projecting. At this link you can see more info. 

If you click here you will find every post on Williamsburg that I have ever done in the lifetime of this blog. Too much to see in one sitting but if you see something of interest, it will give you a lot more information than I have shown today.

I am at end of our latest trip to Williamsburg. It was short but very enjoyable. I know we will be back there again one day.

I am including another collage above and the signature below, which I put together with the app on my iPad. I never get bored using them, and these clever apps make it so easy to do. 

Take good care of yourselves everyone.

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.

WORD OF THE DAY AND DANDELION POEMS

"Dismiss me as a weed," it laughs, 

For it knows resilience is its craft. 

Roots delve deep, seeking hidden streams, 

Drawing sustenance from heaven's sunbeams."

Which leads me to the word of the day "resilience", which means to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.  At different times we have all had to show our resilience.

"Simple and fresh and fair from winter's close emerging,

As if no artifice of fashion, business, or politics, had ever been,

Forth from its sunny nook or shelter'd grass - 

innocent, golden, calm as the dawn,

The spring's first dandelion shows its trustful face."

~Walt Whitman~

We took a trip up to Skyline Drive the other day. A lot of people had the same idea as it was busier than we expected. This was on a weekday and not the weekend. Being retired we usually go when we think it is going to be relatively quiet, but the warmth and sunshine beckoned many, including us. 

My first poem is with a little help from AI, with prompts by me, changing words to suit my own ideas. Walt Whitman needs no introduction here in the States, but for those of you elsewhere you can click on his name and it will take you to more information.

My photos are from the first overlook. After looking at the gorgeous view, I was drawn to a few dandelions. Seeing the splash of yellow several yards away was enough for me to go check them out.

I thought how pretty! And then when I got home I saw a dandelion in the garden about to shed its seeds everywhere and I went, "Oh no!", aghast at the thought. Why do we do that? Poor old dandelion! And yet when we see a beautiful sculpture of one, we go "Oh that's beautiful!" and admire it.

The sculpture was part of an exhibit at The Norfolk Botanical Garden in 2013, a place we used to go regularly at one time, but it's been a long time since our last visit. 

Poor, maligned dandelion! A field of them looks gorgeous, but one in the garden is enough to make me run to get the weeding tool. There are a few other weeds, but I want to make sure they are not seedlings from the flowers we planted last year. A great gardener I am not by any stretch of the imagination, but I live in hope that we will be seeing a few pretties blooming soon. The hellebore is thriving beautifully.

ADDED NOTE: Saturday, April 20th, 2024.

A link that takes you to Instagram and tells you interesting information about the dandelion  Go here to see it. 

Thanks for visiting and enjoy your day!

A WILDFLOWER - BULBOUS BITTERCRESS

I found this pretty wildflower on a walk at Bull Run Park in the spring.

 Bulbous bittercress (Botanical name Cardamine bulbosa).  Other names are Spring cress, Bulbous cress, Bulb bitterness and Spring bittercress.  This wildflower is native to North America and is widespread in the eastern part, where it is found in the moist soils of forests and swamps. 

Its leaves are edible apparently, and they can add a sharp, peppery flavor to salads (not brave enough to try that any time soon.  I don't know enough about such things but found it interesting).  

It blossoms with white flowers in late spring and early summer.  It's the first time I have seen this particular wildflower, or at least noticed it.

What wildflowers do you have growing in your neck of the woods?

GREEN SPRING GARDENS - THE POND AREA - PART 4

Last of the photos from Green Spring Gardens for this trip at least.  My previous two posts from this particular visit can be found here, here and here.  We go a lot during the summer months.  It is one of our favorite walking places.

I have shared these grasses before as my dear other half noticed them also, and unbeknown to each other, we had taken more or less the same photo.  It is called Eastern bottle-brush grass, botanical name Elymus hystrix.   Native to eastern North America.  Mice eat the seeds readily.  Studies are underway to examine whether bottle-brush grass can be domesticated as a food crop for livestock or potentially even for humans in the future.

Next is Blue plantain lily, also known as Hosta.  Its botanical name is Hosta ventricosa.  It is an herbaceous perennial native to China, and attracts hummingbirds.  However, snails and slugs enjoy them too.  Something I am interested in as we get a lot of shade in our garden, it prefers partial to full shade.

Blue plantain lily is low maintenance and shade-tolerant and will attract hummingbirds, as mentioned.  In summer they produce lavender-colored plumes that host sweet nectar at their center.  The colors are attractive to hummingbirds as they can see purple at a distance.  The shape of the petals creates an enclosure at the flower's head.  The hummingbird's long beak must dig through the tunnel to reach the sweet nectar.  As this happens, the hummingbird gets covered with pollen which it will then spread when it leaves.   Not only hummingbirds like this plant, butterflies do too.  Shades of purple are easiest for butterflies to see, while hummingbirds are more attracted to red hues.

I always enjoy seeing the turtles and there were several out today.  Some just skimming under the water, others on rocks like this one.  

No expert here but from what I have seen online, these appear to be Painted Turtles.  There is a fun page at this link that has interesting facts and also for those of you who like crafts, it shares a fun parent/child/teacher/student project, on how to paint a turtle using five rocks.

Facts I found at the website: a turtle's shell is made up of 13 plates called scutes. As the turtle grows it sheds its outer layer.  This means you can count the scutes rings in the same way that you can count tree rings, to find the turtle's age.  Painted turtles can live up to 61 years.

They don't have teeth but do have horny plates that grind their food.   Turtles hibernate under water the whole winter and hold their breath the entire time.  The Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) gets its name from its appearance.  Its skin color looks as though an artist painted it on.  It is part of the American pond turtle family, Emydidae.

It is the most common turtle in North America, found in many ponds, marshes and water's edges.  Like other American pond turtles, the Painted turtle loves swimming in the water and basking in the sun.  The female can lay 6 to 20 eggs at a time, and those groups of eggs are called clutches. This website will tell you about the different kinds of turtles you can find in the States.

Now back to the plants I saw.  I have seen this one several times over the years, and have probably mentioned it many times (other plants and flowers too no doubt).   It is the Common buttonbush, also known by a lot of other names.  Case in point, Button-ball, Button-willow, Button bush, Globe-flowered bush, Honey balls, Little snowballs, Swamp globeflower, White pond dogwood, Honey-bells, Riverbush and Buckbrush.  Its botanical name is Cephalanthus occidentalis.

It is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub that grows 6 to 12 feet tall and 4 feet to 7 feet wide.   Grown as an ornamental for its unusual flowers, the common buttonbush can attract more than two dozen species of wild birds, including water and shore birds.  Some of the birds it draws are robins, kingbirds and towhees.  In the summer its spherical flowers are frequently visited by hummingbirds, as well as polinating insects, like the one below.  

In the Fall the shrub produces round nutlets which are particularly enjoyed by wild ducks.  Because they stay around well into winter, they are an important food source for other birds as well.  The Common buttonbush is used for shelter and nesting by wood ducks and other waterfowl. Buttonbush plants are named for their fragrant white spherical flowers.  Since it is one of the most common plants in the genus, it is called the common buttonbush.

Another white bloom is from the Bottlebrush buckeye, also known as Dwarf horse chestnut or Dwarf buckeye.  Its botanical name is Aesculus parviflora. It grows deep red, tubular flowers that hummingbirds love to feed upon for their nectar.  The seed pods also produce protein-rich seed that several types of birds consume for food.  

Quite a hardy plant and my brown thumbs would do very well with this one.  It grows in shade to part shade and does very well in shady spots. 

I enjoy everything I see at the garden, but I was particularly interested in the lotus.  It is an Indian Lotus and other names are Bean of India, Sacred Lotus and Red Lily.  Its botanical name is Nelumbo nucifera.  

Each blossom consists of approximately 15 petals. I more often than not rely on my plant app, Picture This.  An interesting fact I read was that the Indian Lotus can live as long as one thousand years.  These plants can go into stasis and then revive.  Seeds from the Indian Lotus can remain viable for over a thousand years as well.  

This plant is important for religious ceremonies, water treatment, crop rotation and historically, human consumption.  

It is super easy to take care of, with resistance to almost all pests and diseases. 

A poem that I would not have associated with its poet, but am happy to do so, was written by Edgar Allan Poe.

“And the Nelumbo bud that floats for ever

With Indian Cupid down the holy river.

Fair flowers, and fairy, to whose care is given

To bear the Goddess' song, in odors, up to Heaven.”

I am always on the look-out for birds.  The smaller ones are elusive.  I have seen a Great Blue Heron here, though not for a very long time.  There have been ducks. 

I can always count on the Canada Goose.

This one was on its own and, as you can see, was next to the lotus.  Canada Geese are the largest type of goose.  Females lay between 2 to 9 eggs and both parents are involved with hatching the eggs.  However, the female invests more time in the incubation process.   At this link you can read lots more information about them.  

They are very cooperative when taking photos, and hang around long enough for me to take several.  Such a good goose!  I didn't see a mate today.  

Most every time, my photos are shared in order they were taken, so I am back to plants and trees.  This tree is called River Birch. I love its bark! 

Fortunately there was an ID marker at its base. It read, "Betula nigra Heritage ('Cully').  (Species native to Virginia).  Heritage River Birch." Later  I read that it is also known as Water Birch, Black birch and Swamp birch. 

It grows between 40 to 70 feet high.  It is usually planted in threes to make a stronger visual impact, to restrict their growing space and keep them at a manageable size.  Also, to give them natural protection.  

The black streaks on its trunk are called lenticels, and their function is to enable the exchange of gases between the tree and the air.  River birch is a strong but knotty wood.  It is sometimes used to make woodenware and furniture, but it is not usually used for commercial lumber. Native Americans would boil the sap to make a sweetener and would even eat the inner bark when food was scarce.  River birch is also a food source for many wild birds and even deer.    

It makes a lovely shade tree, and its leaves turn yellow in the Fall.  Shade-loving plants like ferns are a great choice for underplanting this birch. Underplanting as used here means to plant or cultivate the ground around a tall plant/tree with smaller plants. This info is for those who don't do a lot of gardening, and even at my age I am still learning. More information can be found at this website. I would love to plant one in the spot where we had to have a tree taken down, but it would grow far too big for the little patch we need to put it in, even with pruning. We would need a much larger garden. We are still searching for the perfect tree. As it will be a mid-planting between our home and our neighbors, even though it would be on our side of the property line, we have to consider them too.

We have finished our walk around the two ponds and made our way to the top where our car is parked.   It has been another wonderful walk.