Hodgepodge: Winging My Way Into June

Well, here we are on this last day (and Hodgepodge) of May...
...it not only means that summer is almost officially here,
but that after today the first half of 2017 is officially over.
Can you even believe it?
It also means that there are lots of little winged critters out there flitting about.
Over the long holiday weekend, I was able to capture quite a few...

well...not actually capture capture them, but you know what I mean :)

Dragonflies just amaze me and there are so many different varieties down at the pond.

There is a certain red one that wouldn't be still long enough for me to get a shot.
I will be looking for him the next time.
~
I had yet to see many butterflies this spring...

...until I brought home this planter of Lantana...

...and they came out of nowhere within an hour of setting it on the deck!

The bees are also quite fond of them.

And then there are the are those gorgeous thistles...

...the bees love them too!

So, enough winged creatures for one post.
Let's get on with the business at hand...Joyce's Hodgepodge...

...where she asks the questions and we write the answers.

1. What makes you feel accomplished? Explain.

Okay, I'm just gonna tell it like it is...on those rare occasions when I do feel a sense of accomplishment, it's because I have either just finished a major project of some kind or have gotten some very much needed deep cleaning done...you know, the kind that we all I keep putting off. I have so many things I need to do but it wears me out just thinking about them so what do I normally do? Grab my camera and head for the country. 😉

2. If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be? Tell us why.

The likelihood of me having my own talk show is just as likely as who my first three guests would be, so I would like to invite the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to come sit on my stage...and of course, they would only need one chair. I would ask [them] about all of the whys and wherefores of certain circumstances throughout my life. The Father might tell of how He created the universe and the love that He has for all of us, the Son might talk about His ultimate sacrifice and responsibility of carrying out His Father's will so that we could all be saved and the Holy Spirit would be there to help us try to understand it all. I would also ask Him [them] if we will see our pets in heaven. If they declined my invitation, I would just have to wait for my answers until I get to heaven.

Farther along we'll know all about it
Farther along we'll understand why
Cheer up my brother live in the sunshine
We'll understand it all by and by.

3. Do you have a great burger recipe? What's in it? What do you like on a hamburger and where is your favorite spot to order one out?

I do not have a special burger recipe when it come to beef burgers. I usually just buy good ground beef and freeze my own patties or get the gourmet burgers that are already frozen. Jim does the grilling and he prefers the burgers to be partially frozen when he cooks them due to them falling apart. (Don't tell him, but I think it's because he gets impatient and turns them before they're ready.) We usually add BBQ sauce to them, only when cooked on the grill. Occasionally I do make turkey burgers and although I don't have a certain recipe I follow, I do add lots of seasonings and spices to improve the flavor. There is a favorite restaurant in our town called the Blue Ribbon Diner and they make a mean bacon cheese burger that is probably my favorite.

4. What's the biggest anxiety producing thing you do on a regular basis?

Hmm...I've had to really think about how I was going to answer this one. For the most part, I am not a worrier or a stressed out person by nature. My job is not a cause for anxiety, I actually enjoy it very much...except for that time about a year ago when I was learning EPIC. I can't think of one thing that causes me anxiety on a regular basis....sorry, not sorry. Now if I was answering this question a couple of years ago, it would be a different story. Living with an alcoholic in the family, whether they are under your roof or not is a roller coaster ride...mostly heading in a downward motion. Those of you who read my blog know a little about our son's addiction, subsequent rehab and current recovery-in-process. I never take a day of his sobriety for granted but the constant anxiety is no longer a daily part of our lives, Praise God! Also, on July 1st Jim will officially be an old person and will start using his Medicare. There may be some anxiety there...we'll see. These days, for the most part, getting my next post written and posted in a timely manner might possibly cause a minimal amount of anxiety.


5. This is the last Hodgepodge of May. Tell us about your summer plans.

So far, we have plans to travel to see the Tennessee bunch near the end of June and in late July, the whole family will make the trip to Ohio for my family reunion. The photo below was taken two years ago at our last one and the day before, my oldest brother, Bob, who lives in SC was hospitalized and unable to make it. I edited the photo and added his picture as a way of including him in spirit. Since then, the cancer that he had a couple of years ago has reared it's ugly head and is currently in stage 4. He recently told his doctors that he wanted no more chemo (which was severely debilitating him) and that he wanted to return to his active lifestyle and have quality of life for as much time as the Lord allows him. We are all praying that he can make the trip to Ohio.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm stuck on my random thought and it's getting late. I feel just a tinge of anxiety coming on....😓

Wild, Wonderful Wisteria

Is there something you have seen that is so beautiful you can hardly stop looking at it?
That you take so many photos of it that your SD card is nearly full?
I have...I do...and I did.
It's wisteria.

WISTERIA INTO SPRING
~a poem by Thelma Elizabeth Zaracostas

Upon opening the curtains

To welcome the day

You were standing there

Your head hung low

Your endless array of purple

Clinging to your slender limbs

 

You waved as the gentle breeze

Blew your delicate fragrance

My way

I love spring when you are in Full bloom

My beautiful magical plant

Wisteria.

 

It started out as a single stick, probably about 8 or 10 years ago.
One of our patients at the clinic where I work had brought me a start off of hers.
During a conversation we had I'm sure I must have mentioned something about wisteria
and how smitten I was with this gnarled and tangled up mass of purple-ish pleasure.

I'm not sure about your area, but I never grew up seeing this in Ohio,
or even when I lived in Kentucky, for that matter.

 

For the past few years, it had gotten zapped with an early spring freeze and had little to no blooms.
It was a couple of weeks ago I noticed the slight hint of purple at the bottom of the driveway.

It starts out as these fuzzy little pods sprouting from the l-o-n-g, winding vines.



The vines will climb up anything close to it...in this instance, what once was a small pine seedling.



Let me just say that they became very close friends that have pretty much grown up together :)



I actually think if you stood there beside it long enough,
 it would become one with you as well!
  

These photos were taken over just a few days...


.
...and once you see the first hint of violet, it's quite amazing the change the next day will bring.

 

We have seen many boring bees already buzzing around the house,
 but after the wisteria bloomed...

 

...I think just about every bee in the neighborhood was swarming around it.



I took my life into my own hands getting these shots :)

 

If I had to count them, I'd say there were...too many!

 

 

But I just couldn't stop myself...snap, snap, snap...

And just when I thought I was finished, I turned to go back up the driveway...

 

...and was mesmerized how the early evening sun had made these drooping beauties glow...

...snap, snap, snap...

~

Surely, there will be wisteria in heaven...there just has to be!

~

I will be heading to the sea shore tomorrow for a little spring break weekend with the grands!

YEEHAW...I'm so excited!

I'll catch up with y'all when I get back! 

 

Sunflowers

No fences this week...only sunflowers!

I just love them, don't you?

These are some from my son's garden that I snapped last week.

I just can't look at one without feeling happy!

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.”
~ Helen Keller

~

I found what I thought was a poem but soon found out it's actually a children's song.

Does anyone remember this from their childhood by any chance?

I can't say that I do, but it certainly is sweet!

~

BABY SEED SONG

~ Edith Nesbit, 1858-1924

Little brown brother, oh! little brown brother,
Are you awake in the dark?
Here we lie cosily, close to each other:
Hark to the song of the lark
"Waken!" the lark says, "waken and dress you;
Put on your green coats and gay,
Blue sky will shine on you, sunshine caress you
Waken! 'tis morning 'tis May!"
Little brown brother, oh! little brown brother,
What kind of a flower will you be?
I'll be a poppy all white, like my mother;
Do be a poppy like me.
What! You're a sunflower! How I shall miss you
When you're grown golden and high!
But I shall send all the bees up to kiss you;
Little brown brother, good-bye.

The field below is just down the road from the cabin.



"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction."

~Antoine de Saint Exupery

I used this poem in a post last year but decided to share it again with these new photos.

~

POEM TO A SUNFLOWER

~By Katherine R. Lane

I see you there in glory shining bright,
Following the sun and its path of light.
Standing tall above all others in the field,
You grow, conquer, and do not yield.

The little birds take great delight
In playing round you, from day to night.
With your petals of yellow and leaves of green
How very easily you are seen.

But there is more to you than first sight,
More than beauty and grander to delight.
Every beautiful aspect that appears,
Gives praise to the Father dear.

He made you a part of creation,
And you praise him in glorious celebration!
The beauty that within you is expressed,
Gives testimony to his greatness.

Sunflower, how I long to be like you!
Glorifying God in all I do.
Following the Son and His path of light,
To worship Him in His glory shining bright.

I can learn from you, my friend,
With every breath, praise to God, I might send.
With all of his creation telling the story,
Might I, with you, proclaim His glory.

I really do want to be like the sunflowers.

~

Happy Thursday!

Bees, Butterflies and Milkweed Blossoms

When I was a little girl, I remember being excited about finding milkweed pods in the fall.

I remember thinking that it must have been where Elmer's Glue came from...lol!

I mean, the milk inside looks and feels just like Elmer's, right?

I also really liked the fly-away thingys inside and generally just thought they were really cool.
~

What I didn't know until I was exploring and snapping some weed pics,

was that in the summer they have gorgeous blooms!

How did I not know this until last year??

I guess that's what happens when you start a blog...
...on one of my many treks driving about in the country, I discovered them.

~
These photos were taken last summer and I just recently came across them in my files.
I had intended to use them in a post but they seem to have gotten misplaced until now.
I guess I should do a better job of keeping my photos organized, huh?

Anyway, when you look at these lovelies...what do you see?

Is it possible that molars (teeth) come to mind?
Maybe even teeth with cavities...I mean, am I the only one that's seeing this?

Anyone???

Well, whether you see teeth or not, I am totally enthralled by these gorgeous blooms.


Where ever you find milkweed in bloom, bees and butterflies are almost certain to be present.



The bees were so busy drinking up nectar, they didn't seem to mind me being so close.

Neither did the butterflies.



I'm glad to know that I am never too old to learn new things, aren't you?
~
Have a great Hump Day, friends :)

Personal Photo Challenge: Taking a Closer Look

Greetings, friends!
I hope everyone has had a good week!

Today, I'm excited to be linking up to Donna's Personal Photo Challenge!
When I saw that her challenge this time was for macro shots, I decided to join in the fun.
Many of the photos I shoot are close-ups.
It's amazes me...the minute details unable to be seen with the naked eye...
...and how it opens up a whole new world that we may have missed otherwise.

I have had my trusty little point-and-shoot,
a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55 7.2 megapixel camera since about 2008.

It has been (and still is) the best little camera I have ever owned.
 It only took me about 4 or 5 years to realize that it has the ability to get in really close...
...that is, after I read about macro photography on the web.
I guess I didn't read that part of the manual. :)

Of course, my dream is to one day (soon, hopefully) own a DSLR...
...with a few bells and whistles...but I have the feeling that I will keep my little Sony too!

************

All of the photos below were shot using the macro setting, without a flash.
I'm pretty sure that most P & S cameras have the capability to shoot in macro mode...
...look for the little flower icon on your dial.
Also, do not zoom out...keep the lens at it's widest setting.

 This photo is of a darling weed that I came across while out looking for beauty.
I think I found some.

The tiny, lavender flowers were only about 1/8" in diameter...
...and the dew drops on them were not visible to the eye when I took the shots (no tripod).

The key to macro photography is having a steady hand...or a tripod, which I do sometimes use.
Many times the camera can be set atop a steady object or even braced against your own body,
inhale, hold steady and don't exhale until you snap the photo.
 Also, always push down the shutter only halfway at first to focus,
then gently push the shutter down all the way to capture your subject.



This photo is from my post entitled September, where the goldenrod was at it's peak...
...and so were the bumble bees :)

I always take several shots of my subject and like to experiment with different angles.
Many times, you will find me lying on my tummy on the ground or the floor...
...or standing on my head taking random shots up from underneath...of maybe flowers for instance..
Sometimes, my best close-ups are discovered only after I get the pics on my computer.
Often, I just snap-snap away, randomly, not seeing what's in the view finder.


This is a photo of a vintage amulet given to me by my mother-in-law.
The intricate detail in this beautiful piece just makes my heart go all a-flutter :)

The actual size is an oval of about 2" x 3".
I noticed the tiny spot of greenish patina on it afterwards...too tiny to see normally.

Natural lighting is pretty much always the key.
Using a flash most often will create an unnatural glow to the pictures, resulting in losing the detail.
There are very few times when I use a flash...and never for macro shots.

************

So, there you have it!
My very first effort at posting to Donna's Personal Photo Challenge!
I'm really looking forward to seeing the photos that others will be sharing too!

Spring is nearly in full bloom here and I just might get out and get a closer look!
May your weekend be blessed!