Sunday, September 30, 2007

Butterflies

Flutterbys

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Bud flutters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enjoy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Also a couple of neat sites I happened upon;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Neat Site Number ONE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. Neat Site Number TWO
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A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form. Most species are day-flying so they regularly attract attention. The diverse patterns formed by their brightly coloured wings and their erratic yet graceful flight have made butterfly watching a popular hobby.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

It was a DARK and CLOUDY Night…

While not quite Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter… The moon was more of a sight than the game. Alas and Alack. No. 18 South Florida Tops No. 5 West Virginia: College Football ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sigh!

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October 6 at Syracuse…TBA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OK Onward and UPWARD…I am going to go KNIT!
Plus get ready to go see our DAUGHTERS and first son-in-law, Whooooo HooooooooooooooooooooLook out DC here we come!

Friday, September 28, 2007

Some Where Over the Rainbow?

Finally some pictures from UP North! Still waiting for others to send more to me…

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“Over the Rainbow" is a popular song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written to showcase Judy Garland's talents in the star vehicle movie The Wizard of Oz, and it became her signature song. She would forever be called upon to sing it in all her public appearances.
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Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American pop singer and actress who was the runner-up to Taylor Hicks on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006.
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No bluebirds, but EAGLES! Of course gourmet meals over a crackling fire!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Nuts with no BOLTS

So many NUTS in the woods this time of year… ~~~~~~~~~~~ Walnuts, acorns, chestnuts etc…

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The other day as I was waiting for my Sweetie to return from the WOLDS of Canada, I amused myself. See how I placed a bunch of Shellbark Hickory nuts for the Squirrels? Tee hee!
~~~~~~~~ First: Carya laciniosa (Michx. f.) Lould. Shellbark Hickory
~~~~~~~~~~ The nuts, largest of all hickory nuts, are sweet and edible. Wildlife and people harvest most of them; those remaining produce seedling trees readily.
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BUT please note we have both here: The bark of this tree is similar to that of the Shagbark Hickory, but often not quite as shaggy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ Second: Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) is a common hickory in the eastern United States and southeast Canada. It is a large deciduous tree, growing up to 40 m tall, and will live up to 200 years old. Mature Shagbarks are easy to recognize because, as their name implies, they have shaggy bark. This character is however only found on mature trees; young specimens have smooth bark.
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The nuts are edible with an excellent flavor, and are a popular food among those who know them. The trees bear too seldom for them to be grown commercially. Shagbark Hickory wood is used for smoking meat and for making the bows of Native Americans of the northern area.
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Hickory Nut Cake* 4 eggs2 cups of sugar1 cup of milkone-half cup of butter3 cups of flour2 cups of Hickory nuts2 teaspoons of baking powderlemon or almond flavoring Beat sugar and butter to cream, then add eggs, well beaten; add milk; mix baking powder and flour and add; beat well, then add nuts sprinkled with flour. Cook in moderate oven. Mrs. H. M. Royal
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Gosh I even have the Celery for this one, more on that later I am dehydrating the last of the celery and peppers in our garden.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hickory Nut Salad* 1 cup of nut kernels1 stalk of celerycelery saltsalt3 to 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise or salad dressing Crack, pick kernels and chop enough nuts to have a cupful of kernels; chop fine one stalk of celery (saving ends with leaves for garnishing); sprinkle some celery salt, pinch of salt and mix the kernels, celery, celery salt and salt with mayonnaise or salad dressing. Serve on salad or lettuce leaves, a small quantity being put on each leaf, or it can be garnished with the ends of the celery stuck upright in the salad bowl. Servings: 6 Mrs. L. J. K. Fowden,Philadelphia Press, 1897
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There is more at this site!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hickory nuts (related to pecans) (Shagbark) - It takes approximately 100 seeds to make one pound of shelled nut meats. Pignut Hickory - Takes about 200 seeds or 2 pounds to make one pound of shelled nuts. It generally takes at least 4 hours to shell a pound of hickory nuts. The flavor is buttery, flavorful and rich. Native Americans would grind up the nut meats and add it to boiling water to make "hickory milk." The nuts make an excellent addition to any desert recipe requiring nuts.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

It’s the BERRIES

Bluebirds eat and run. Their visits may be so quick that you can easily miss them. Most blue birds swallow one or two berries and fly off with another, although occasionally they will take more. A flicker can take 13 berries at one feeding.

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Berries - That which is attractive or pleasing; similar to bee's knees, As in "It's the berries."
^^^^^^^^^^ How funny
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Dogwoods!
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In the eastern United States, gardening folklore suggests waiting until just after the dogwood trees have bloomed before setting out cold sensitive plants. The reason: a spell of cold known as Dogwood Winter. Dogwood Winter is suggested by some to be one of several weather singularities common to North America, such as Indian Summer and January Thaw, but in an opposite thermal direction. To describe this singularity in a few words: "It's Spring then suddenly Winter returns." It defines the last major cold snap of winter. In some areas, this reversion of seasons is known as Blackberry Winter because the cold snap occurs when the blackberries are in bloom in early to mid May. In some regions, both Dogwood and Blackberry Winter may occur as separate cold snaps.
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Or Sparkling Glazed Duck Breasts with It's the Berries Sauce!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ripe strawberries and raspberries laced with cassis, so elegant on ice cream, sorbet, mousse, and crepes. Pour over hot fruit, soufflés, cheesecake, waffles, or pancakes My Sweetie brought back the Cloudberry and of course some Minnesota Wild Rice. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Possible even The cloudberry (Latin Rubus chamaemorus, literally "red mulberry") is quite possibly the most expensive berry in the world, clocking in at around €15/l even in Finland during the harvesting season. It has an unmistakable but delicious taste, tart but sweet, and a very pretty appearance, pin-sized orange globules packed into a raspberryish shape. And then there's that name: whoever came up with it must have been a PR genius! The traditional names -- Finnish lakka, Swedish hjortron, Norwegian multe -- sound so much less sexy, and the other English name, bakeapple, is just plain bizarre.
^^^^^^^^^^^^ Nutrition And there's more: cloudberries are a great source of Vitamin A (30 μg/100g) and C (50-150mg/100g), or 10x and 4x more than orange respectively. As far back as the 1600s, Nordic sailors used to take barrels of cloudberry jam along to prevent scurvy. (Sure beats using sauerkraut if you ask me!)

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Cornus floridus
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Cloudberry leaves have also been used as cough medicine in Russia, where they were used to brew tea. Random Cloudberry Trivia Cloudberries are the largest plant on the territory of Svalbard, located at 80°N. Finland's 2-euro coin features cloudberries. Non-Berry Cloudberries There is also a GPS-based vehicle tracking system called Cloudberry, and a Swedish pop band called Cloudberry Jam.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Crape myrtle/ Lagerstroemia indica

Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee Skippyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy I found my Crape Myrtle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
** The 6 petals of the flowers are wrinkled, suggesting crinkled tissue paper, hence the name ” crepe” myrtle.
************* IT had been hidden behind stacks of roofing materials, ladders paint cans etc… Bottom-line it LIVES!

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I first noticed this plant on the campus of the THEN Randolph Macon Woman’s College. I knew one day I would get one to plant, not only because it is a lovely plant, but also for the memories it evokes. Ummmmmm Maybe it would live in the DC area??? I need to be Checking Zones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
************************* Founded as Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in 1891

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Randolph-Macon became co-educational in 1972 and Randolph College became co-educational in 2007 and the two schools are now governed by two separate boards. But that is another story.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Get yourself READY

^^^ Shine On Harvest Moon
By Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth (1903)
Shine on, shine on harvest moon
Up in the sky,I ain’t had no lovin’
Since January, February, June or July
Snow time ain’t no time to stay
Outdoors and spoon,
So shine on, shine on harvest moon,
For me and my gal.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Wolf Moon, the Snow Moon, the Worm Moon, the Pink Moon, the Flower Moon, the Strawberry Moon, the Buck Moon, the Sturgeon Moon, the Harvest Moon, the Hunter's Moon, the Beaver Moon, and the Cold Moon.

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They're really all the same Moon, of course, but long before the advent of modern calendars people named the full Moons of a year to keep track of time. These fanciful names have been handed down through the generations and they are still a part of modern Moon lore.

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The name Harvest Moon applies to the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox (which this year was, Sept. 23rd). Until the advent of electricity, the harvest moon was quite important to northern farmers. On average the Moon rises about 50 minutes later each day throughout the year. However, close to the autumnal equinox the day-to-day difference in the local time of moonrise is only 30 minutes. The Moon will rise around sunset on this night and not long after sunset for the next few evenings. That extra stretch of evening light from the full Moon meant more time for harvesting crops -- essential work to be done before winter's cold set in. The Fall Equinox itself was often an occasion for celebration across Europe and North America. It represented the end of the harvest time - when the last of the grains were taken in and fruits such as grapes and apples were harvested. It was sometimes called "second harvest" or "wine Harvest."

Yellow

Our Cat Castor bonded with the canoe, fact blended quite well with it ;)
My Sweetie is safely home with a myriad of stories to share and soon photos. He called when they got out of the waters and said he had gotten a new [to him] canoe…it was YELLOW.

^^^

Well---------------this is what ran through my head… State Road Yellow? AARRGHH

^^^

As I sat in the swing awaiting the FIRST sighting of the returning Fisherman these songs ran though my mind.
^^^ Mello Yellow--- – Donovan

^^^

^^^ The BeatlesWe all live in a yellow submarine, Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
^^^
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-dot Bikini - by Brian Hyland – 1960 ^^^ Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee he is home… AS for the CANOE, it really A WVU, Mountaineer OLD GOLD… J West Virginia University's official school colors - gold and blue - were adopted by the school's upperclassmen in 1890, according to West Virginia University: A Pictorial History, 1867-1979. The color choices were taken from the West Virginia state seal. The correct reference to West Virginia University's color scheme is "Old Gold and Blue", not Blue and Gold.
^^^
Goooooooooooooooooooooo Mountaineers… #5 West Virginia 48, East Carolina 7

^^^

Next game… Fri, Sep 28th, 2007 at So_Florida 08:00 PM Raymond James Stadium

Sunday, September 23, 2007

News from the North

Howling Winds
ELY at 5 pm on Saturday after hot showers ************ 7:30 am today leaving Indianapolis Yellow canoe on top of car Smelly wet clothing inside the car Hope to be home 2 pm Trip was good But windy Fishing was great But we all stink and my boots are awful
Ran out of York Peppermint Patties

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Fishing in the Boundary Waters and Quetico is exceptional. These lakes are home to smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, lake trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout.
*************************** Think we got some great pictures.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Before and After ~~~

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AKA: Thuja standishii x plicata ^^^ While not quite an AFTER, we are hoping to see considerable growth by this time next year… A START probably would be a better statement.It took my son and I two hours to properly plant twelve trees [add one that got transplanted that was not a Thuja].
^^^
Digging in soil that for years had been planted in corn was not easy. We had the soil conditioner plus mulch that has to be mixed then planting the 1 gallon tree re mixing the soil with more mulch and staking the trees [FOUR stakes PER 3 foot Tree] so the Weed Eater people COULD see it before killing it. AARRGGHH yet another story…
^^^
This site I located has an additional appeal, the section on What is in Bloom Now! Very interesting. ^^^ Deer grazing does not appear to be a problem for these hardy trees—certainly a beneficial quality for landscape plants
^^^
A superior introduction from the U.S. National Arboretum that will grow to 60ft or more in height, at the fantastic rate of up to 3ft a year! All this while keeping its glossy, green color in winter and maintaining a tight and uniform, conical shape. A superior introduction from the U.S. National Arboretum that will grow to 60ft or more in height, at the fantastic rate of up to 3ft a year! All this while keeping its glossy, green color in winter and maintaining a tight and uniform, conical shape.
^^^
'Green Giant' won the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Gold Medal Plant Award in 1998.
^^^
Although a small genus of six evergreen Conifers native to North America and East Asia, Thuja is important as a source of timber and ornamental trees and shrubs. You might know the weather-resistant wood of White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) and Western Red Cedar (T. plicata) as the material of choice for fence posts, shingles, greenhouses, and other outdoor structures. A great number of varieties are available, selected for unusual form, color, texture, or growth rate, and are useful as specimen trees or in hedges, or in the case of dwarf forms, in rock gardens and foundation plantings. Grow in average to moist, well-drained soil.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Anticipation

Here it is Friday then Saturday THEN Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my Sweetie will be back… ~~~~~~~~~~ I have kept myself busier than usual just to be so tired that I could sleep…SOON, just around the corner…last minute preparations. Not all got accomplished that I had hoped. But much did get worked at.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tomorrow will be a tad easier to get through because they will be out of the Waters and also listening to WVU. Yes YES another game…BUT I will hear his voice instead of the recording I am been listening to all the time he has been gone.
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SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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This Saturday WVU v East Carolina at Noon (ESPN+) Home Game!
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Artist: Carly SimonSong: Anticipation
~~~~~~~~~~~ Anticipation, Anticipation
**
Is making me late
**
Is keeping me waiting
**
And I tell you how easy it is to be with you
**
And how right your arms feel around me.
**
Bit I rehearsed those words just late last night
**
When I was thinking about how right tonight might be…
********************************************************* SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Bird Cookies?

Continuing my Late Summer walk I was able to get these photos of the Great Blue in our Creek. Memories of the first time we saw this large bird and “Stories”!

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Ummmmmmm wonder if my Sweetie is catching fish as well?
~~~~~~~~~~~ Great blue heron Ardea herodias Pronounced ARE-dee-ah her-ODE-ih-as
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Sacred Mallomar a sublime and elusive blend of graham cracker, marshmallow and a pure dark chocolate coating.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As for The Sacred Mallomar, OUR Version, ask our children!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The great blue heron is the largest heron in North America. It stands three to four feet tall and has a wingspan of almost six feet.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ardea means "heron" in Latin. Herodios means "heron" in Greek.

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~~~~~~~~~~ SO EVERY FALL, amid the kind of hype that typically accompanies the return of the swallows to Capistrano, Nabisco rolls out the red carpet for the beloved Mallomar. Because the chocolate would supposedly melt during shipping, Nabisco says it can only offer the Mallomar from early October through April. So every September, publicists for Nabisco wisely distribute case upon case of fresh Mallomars to editors around the country.

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"On November 13, 1913, another famous cookie was born.
~~~~~~~~~~ Or make your own