Vernal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere- 7:02 AM
Spring!
We are eager for it to begin. In earnest.
Monday there was a two hour delay due to ice, snow and sleet. It was unexpected and I heard it on the radio as I was already driving to school.
Can we trust the groundhog? Phil said it would be an early Spring. Well Phil, it’s Spring tomorrow on the clock and calendar but it feels like WINTER today. Chilly and gray. We are ready for blossoms, muddy earth, warm breezes. Saturday I saw my first robin in the back on the porch post.
Now I know, no one reads the blog for the weather report but the change of seasons is significant. We just want to be reassured that a true Spring is coming and will warm us up. SOON. (Florida readers- I saw those photographs of you in short sleeved shirts!!)
Before school I stopped in at the Giant Eagle and bought this bouquet. I took the daffodils to school for the students to photograph. They were buds in the morning and by the afternoon they had opened.
You can see the set up with the background of folded white paper to eliminate clutter. When I was ready to go home and the lights were off, this is what I saw.
Just received from a Florida friend who is visiting friends in Boston-First Day of Spring.
Thanks Kristin
Overbought on the Floral Tape- DIY Flower Pens
One roll would suffice. It was on the list of supplies for this crafty kitsch!
Last week in Pittsburgh, granddaughter Anna saw a pot of flower pens that Aunt Lala made years ago. They are corny but cute and definitely appealed to an 8+ year old.
The old pens still wrote after all those years!!
Anna was fascinated with the pens in the pot and asked if we could make them when I came to Ohio. After a fun trip to the Crafts store for the supplies and brief instructions from Laura, we set up shop. Didn’t even use a full roll of floral tape.
There are rolls and rolls left. We made a pot for her mom, her other grandma, for Aunt Lala, for Anna’s desk and a new one for me which I might take to school again for our sign-in counter. Laura made some for me to take to school years ago, too.
If you seriously want to make them for any reason I found instructions just now online here at show
After making them with Anna and looking up instructions, I see people create them as favors and as pens for wedding guest books and such.
You can see her peeking through the finished pots of pens.
So do we buy more fake posies, pens and pots and glass pebbles and make more flower pens? I’ve a ton of floral tape!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Friendship
The sunflowers are a gift from a friend.
This photograph was taken in the art room today on my iPhone. Most of the middle schoolers were on a trip. After lunch I had a few who didn’t get to attend. This wonderful painting was created by a young man named Scott. He painted the sunflowers a friend had brought me.
I didn’t want to leave the flowers at home alone so took them with me to school. They were so vibrant and summery.
Oh, the unexpected surprise of the gift of flowers from a good friend.
Friday after school, I put the bouquet on the front seatand when I arrived at my son and DIL’s home and took them out of the car, my granddaughter ran down the hill of the front yard to greet me and said excitedly when she saw them, “Oh we studied that artist! ” Later in the craft store she picked up a Starry Night Umbrella and told me it was the same artist as the Sunflowers. She’s 8 1/2 and just completed second grade Tuesday.
Thanks for the flowers, friend. I thought it would cheer you to see them in Scott’s painting.
(And that eyeball glaring from the chair is from the cover of a book that belongs to Scott’s classmate and friend, J, who told me he has checked out the photos on this blog! Cool. )
To see other responses to the weekly photo challenge click here
First Jelly Roll I’ve Baked in Years and a Blooming Hellebore
Filled With Homemade Four Fruit Jam- Sour Cherries, Raspberries, Gooseberries and Currants
I brought the dessert.
Otherwise Known as a Lenten Rose
These bloom in the snow and are quite beautiful. Hellebore is a hell of a name, though. My friend is quite a gardener.
Matzoh Ball Soup and Homebaked Challah
Full Moon from my Driveway
Jack Conquers Angry Birds plus a New Year’s Bouquet
Year’s Day Laura and James hosted a party at their home. Sharon (her MIL) brought pork roast and sauerkraut and potatoes. Laura made Pierogie Casserole and Texas Caviar and I made my retro Spinach Balls and pignoli cookies. We had romaine salad, Irish cheddar,crackers, carrots and celery and hummus and lots of chips and dips and pretzels and bread and butter pickles. Dessert was blueberry cheesecake and Molasses ginger cookies. A few played Apples to Apples and football games were on the tv. Aunt Brenda and Uncle Jerry brought a box of old family photos to look at and identify. We used a lot of the wedding presents for preparation and presentation. It was fun. Washed unused brand new dishes for the first time and everything looked great. Why I didn’t take a photo of the table is beyond me. It was busy. Two big dogs, Penny, the 9 month Golden Doodle and Murphy the 9 yo Airedale, livened things up, too. James kept Penny on a leash as she is “in training”
Saturday at Weiland’s, a small but gourmet grocery (unlike a giant chain), I’d picked up some flowers to put into the new Waterford vase that Erika and Mark gave Laura and James for their wedding gift. I managed to pass out a couple of Flat Ruthies to James’ sister Kim to take to her farm and to Sharon, to take to her artist’s studio. The boys built Lego and then Jack asked for my iPod. Tomorrow I have to head back home and reality but it has been a wonderful vacation. 
Penny the Golden Doodle Sleeps on the Floor While Jack Masters Angry Birds
Giant Spider in the Neighbors’ Garden
We were talking outside as I had just photographed an item (stay tuned) in my neighbors’ driveway and as I was heading home. We were still chatting and I started to photograph a little grasshopper sitting on top of one of their daisies (might be a different species but similar in appearance).
The conversation went like this-
J said- Look at the spider-
R- what spider?
J-the big spider-
R-where is it?
J-the big black and yellow spider—– right there under the flower
R I don’t see it.
R———- OH MY- I see it now -that spider is ENORMOUS-
Steve I might need a new glasses prescription. How did I miss this giant spider? It is considered harmless to humans according to the information on this type of spider but I would not want it crawling on me. Click here for more info on the
Argiope aurantia commonly known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider-
Fred: A Faithful Feline Companion
Born March 6, 1993. Passed December 22, 2010. He will be sorely missed. Found a site to help cope with pet loss
Happier Days- Fred Smells the Flowers.
Monarch Drinks Pentas Nectar
Click the link to read about the amazing Monarch migration.
Mary told me about Monarch migration this summer. I photographed (shot didn’t sound correct) this Monarch in a planter at OSU stadium. Tonight I emailed several pleas for plant identification and Master Gardener Liz R was the first to respond, THANKS Liz. Today is Marlene’s(Mark’s MIL) birthday(having cake at Aunt Linda’s tonight). September 3rd, 1912 was my mother’s birthday, born in Durand Illinois, now passed a decade ago. My mother loved butterflies and always planted a beautiful garden, including buddleia to attract the butterflies. The pentas seem to be doing just that. Hummingbirds love them according to what I read. Lots of parentheses in this post.
Find the Hummingbird in David’s Garden (scroll down for close-up)
Monarda didyma(Bee Balm) attracts hummingbirds.
National Geographic photographers do this much better but thought I would try. The hummingbirds dart around really fast. We sat in chairs outside and David called it watching Hummingbird TV. A great show.
Sunlight on Sunflowers
From outside on the patio I saw the setting sun hit the sunflowers’ petals. I asked the hostess if she minded my photographing her bouquet. It was a few golden moments of sunlight on the sunflowers. To see Van Gogh’s Sunflower Series Paintings click here.
Sunflowers in the Snow
Near the Bloomfield Post Office, these flowers caught my eye. I had just mailed a package to my DIL in Ohio. I told the clerk I was mailing the hat I had just finished knitting. ”Did you ever read The Knitting Circle.” she asked. ”Never heard of it”, I replied . She stepped back and reached under the different envelopes and pulled out the book.(author Ann Hood) I asked, “Do you knit?” ”No. But reading this book makes me want to”
I told her about Natural Stitches Knitting Store in East Liberty by Staples and Trader Joe’s, the little strip mall where Phar-Mor used to be. 
Chrysanthemums Central Park New York City
Where they got the idea for the color names-Harvest Gold, Burnt Orange....
Recent Comments