Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Birth Announcement ~ April 29

The Toulouse was originally bred in France and is one of the most common and popular barnyard geese.
All Toulouse Geese are gray. Their backs are a darker shade, over lighter gray plumage, and their undersides are pure white. The bills of Toulouse Geese are bright orange, as are their legs. The feathers are quite long and most Toulouse Geese have rather loose skin. Some Toulouse Geese have been color bred into white and buff shaded varieties. The name Toulouse is used for several types of gray geese descended from the European Greylag.
Gestation is 28 – 30 days…
Goose Facts
More pictures at Eleven...
Momma G 1 has always been a great Mother!
A special Thank you to my Husband who took part in the paparazzi crew last night.
His pictures are Wonderful…

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Stuff is POPPING out Everywhere ;)

Flee!
Flee fly flow!
Vista,
cumala, cumala Vista.
Oh, no, no, no, not the Vista
Eeny-meeny-desimeeny...
A new Lilac Lilacs that have been here since this home was built @ 120 years ago Lilacs I transplanted from the Niece of the original owners lived in what is now our home
Lilacs over Sarah's Koi Pond
Poppy
Iris almost ready to burst forth
Ferns
~~
Shrimp and Fiddlehead Medley
Purple asparagus originated from a region around Albenga, Italy. This "cultivar" is known as Violetto d/Albenga. Although the spears are of deep purple color, the ferns are actually green. The farmers in Albenga region propagate the plants using seeds from open pollination. Seeds are usually collected from vigorous female plants producing large spears. ~~
Purple hybrids produce larger spears but fewer in number per plant than the green hybrids Green, White and Purple!
To keep the purple in asparagus, add acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to its cooking water. The acid anchors the red pigment, anthocyanin. If you don't do this, the color fades to green--a bit extravagant, because you pay a premium for the purple. Dishes that maximize purple asparagus's color maximize its value, as in the purple, white, and green asparagus platter and the citrus salad. To keep the purple in asparagus, add acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to its cooking water. The acid anchors the red pigment, anthocyanin. If you don't do this, the color fades to green--a bit extravagant, because you pay a premium for the purple. Dishes that maximize purple asparagus's color maximize its value, as in the purple, white, and green asparagus platter and the citrus salad. ~~~~~~~~
Spring Tabbouleh Recipe
used it raw here.
~
Blueberries the kids called them boo babies the picture shows the blossom that sure looks like pantalets to me
Sweet Shrub Scientific Name
Calycanthus floridus
Common NameSweet shrub; Sweet Betsy, Carolina allspice
SWEET SHRUB (Strawberry Bush, Sweet Shade)Sweet Shrub is native to the Appalachian stream banks of the Smokies, where it is also known as Carolina Allspice, Strawberry Bush, Sweet Shade, and Bubby Blossom. Women used to place the flowers in their bodices as a perfume, hence the name "Bubby Blossom". Sweet shrub was once commonly found as an ornamental around colonial homes, especially south of the Mason-Dixon line. Several large bushes can fill a small yard with the combined fragrance of strawberry, cantaloupe, spiced apple, and burgundy wine. Sweet shrub has a distinctive maroon-red flower about 2" across. It is pollinated by small beetles that were the first pollinators of flowering plants and were instrumental in the evolution of flowering plants, long before bees and flies appeared on the scene. When the flower first opens it has the fragrance of spiced apples as it opens over a period of 7 to 10 days. Flowers first appear in mid-March with a flush of flowers in April, and a trailing out through May. Even the leaves are fragrant when rubbed, and in the fall they turn a sunny yellow. In colonial times the cinnamon-flavored bark was used as a seasoning. Sweet shrubs are ideal for planting close to the house near a window where the fragrance may drift indoors. Plant additional plants by a favor-ite path or sitting area. Will flower splendidly in full sun, but is best adapted to light shade. Flowers in 2 to 3 years from seed. Medicinal: Useful for damp spleen. An excellent herb for moving stagnant chi. The leaves, twigs, and buds have diaphoretic properties. An emmenagogue, and possibly has some anti-viral activity.
The seed pod

Monday, April 28, 2008

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Camera Critters ~ Mayfly

~
I feel ALMOST certain that I have a picture of a MAYFLY upon my Poppy
Mayflies are insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera (from the Greek ephemeros = "short-lived", pteron = "wing", referring to the short life span of adults). They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the Paleoptera, which also contains the dragonflies and damselflies. They are aquatic insects whose immature stage (called naiad or, colloquially, nymph) usually lasts one year in fresh water. The adults are short-lived, from a few hours to a few days depending on the species. About 2,500 species are known worldwide, including about 630 species in North America. Common names for mayflies include "dayfly", "shadfly", "Green Bay Flies", "Canadian soldier", and "fishfly" [1].The mayfly belongs to group 1 taxa, or pollution–sensitive animals. This means if mayflies are in or around the water, the water should be of a good quality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click to enlarge so you can see the Mayfly

YouTube has This Video of a MAYFLY …how awesome is that? Mayflies of West Virginia

Friday, April 25, 2008

What a DANDY Day

As a young child I thought these flowers were so PERFECT…I remember gathering them and presenting them in a tight fisted bouquet to my MOM…who would then place them in the most lovely vase… LONG A cause it was a pretty one…Not sure the [long] was the best vase but Mom made it seem so……………
I do remember Daddy getting a SPECIAL tool that would rid our City lawn of those flowers…IT never worked…

Some how I was DEEPLY Secretly relieved, so much so that in my teen years I would go past the PERFECT lawns of the city and BLOW the dandelion seeds, quite innocently… The name Dandelion comes from the French for lion’s tooth (dent de lion) and came about because of the shape of the leaves. They can be eaten...Edible Flower Recipes Check This Blog Some really neat ideas here ~~ Have a great Weekend…I am off to learn gardening stuff…from Heirloom tomatoes to seeing and hearing Alexander Stoddard ~~~~~~~~ I did not participate in these weeks Sky Watch Because… This, like tomorrow, will be the running of the General Lightburn Run…OUR 23rd Running… Whoooo Hooooooooooooooo

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check it out here:
OR

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Poppy

The VFW conducted its FIRST POPPY distribution before MEMORIAL DAY in 1922, becoming the first veterans' organization to organize a nationwide distribution. The poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
~~
Among all the flowers that evoke the memories and emotions of war is the red poppy, which became associated with war after the publication of a poem written by Col. John McCrae of Canada. The poem, "In Flander's Field," describes blowing red fields among the battleground of the fallen.
by John McCrae
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead.
Short days ago,
We lived,
felt dawn,
saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved and now we lie,
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw,
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us, who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields.
A poppy is any of a number of showy flowers, typically with one per stem, belonging to the poppy family. They include a number of attractive wildflower species with showy flowers found growing singularly or in large groups; many species are also grown in gardens. Those that are grown in gardens include large plants used in a mixed herbaceous boarder and small plants that are grown in rock or alpine gardens.

~~

The flower color of poppy species include: white, pink, yellow, orange, red and blue; some have dark center markings. The species that have been cultivated for many years also include many other colors ranging from dark solid colors to soft pastel shades. The center of the flower has a whorl of stamens surrounded by a cup- or bowl-shaped collection of four to six petals. Prior to blooming, the petals are crumpled in bud, and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away
~~
~~
Memorial Day History 2008 Actual Memorial Day:
May 30 Friday
Memorial Day Observed: May 26 Monday
~~
Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

From our Garden ~ Happy Earth Day

Today’s Harvest
Earth Day is a name used for two different observances, both held annually during spring in the northern hemisphere, and autumn in the southern hemisphere. These are intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth's environment. The United Nations celebrates an Earth Day each year on the March equinox, a tradition which was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969. A second Earth Day, which was founded by US politician Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in the late 1960s, is celebrated in many countries each year on April 22.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check out
~~
Angel Hair Pasta with Asparagus
Originally submitted by S. Butters and modified by Kaboose.com Enjoy!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Camera Critters ~ Mufasa

~~~~~~
Have a look see it is Fun
We were taking a WALK ABOUT and Mufasa joined us.. hope you enjoy the sequence of HIS adventures in one of our trees, a weeping cherry tree… We choose to name our animals Different Names…but that is OK don’t ya think? All of our cats are pet rescues. So is our dog George…more about him later.
Mufasa was a fictional lion who first appeared in Disney's popular 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. He was voiced by James Earl Jones. The name "Mufasa" means "King" in the Manazoto language.
~~ Critters