Category: Interesting Information

Information I want to share in a non-essay form

Sunday: Some Moments of Joy From This Past Week

There have been many, but here are a few that leap into my mind as I sit to write.

There was a morning coffee visit with my backdoor neighbor Patti, where her two beautiful cats were happy to see me. (I took care of them months ago while Patti was away.) This time, surprise, the shy female wanted to love on my bare feet and play.

My neighbor Teri is feeling much better after a bout with something that made her quite sick for about a week.

The magnolias are blooming. We have a number of the small, dwarf “little Gem” versions in our neighborhood. These big blossoms are mildly fragerant. A regular magnolia is a big tree. Way back in the day, my first cousin who lived in rural Virginia (Lovingston) near the mountains, carried a magnolia blossom in her June wedding in a beautiful little rural Episcopalian church. I was in her wedding at a young age–15 or 16–and my parents flew me from Omaha, Nebraska, to be in Elizabeth’s wedding, which would have been a big expenditure for them at that time. My Uncle Jimmy (Elizabeth’s dad) picked me up in a small plane at a DC airport (maybe the early Dulles) and flew me to Lovingston.

A wonderful neighbor has her house here in Moore’s Landing on the market as their dream house is up for sale on Isle of Palms. She included this drone pic of the upper part of OUR neighborhood in the pictures of her house. (She is a realtor.) The lower part of the picture truncates the little cul-de-sac where our development backs up to a pond and woods that separate us from houses that lie beyond.

I marked my house with a tiny black arrow (it is on the right)–and that is the back of the house and my screen porch “outdoor room.” The street leading out of the development on the top leads to the big street where I walk daily (2 miles today). We are NOT this close to the sound and the barrier islands, but we aren’t far either. That would be Isle of Palms on the right side of the picture, beyond the mainland. We get to the barrier islands via 2 “connector” roads that go over the water.

Noon dinners on the porch have been wonderful this past week. Here, roasted chicken; roasted sweet peppers, carrots, and garlic; baked sweet potato; sautéed baby bok choy; sliced Honey Crisp apple; and an espresso.

And some days later, grilled flank steak, roasted sweet peppers and steamed carrot (assets), steamed broccoli, air fryer French fries, sliced Honey Crisp apple, and an espresso.

With FaceTime help from Jimmy at Carolina Quilt Studio (a wonderful and patient man), I was able to switch out the ruler billet foot on Innova with the “quick change” standard foot that can also use the same foot adapter. And now I have now the last of the 4 quilts using the 1920-30’s reproduction feed sack fabrics on the longarm. All looks well. Big sigh.

My name tag for the Charleston Modern Quilt Guild is almost finished. Maybe some hand quilting on the front before adding the back? I do a lot of hand quilting, so that seems to be a good idea.

I’m moving steadily through the last two rows of “Happy” with the hand quilting!!!! This quilt has taken me SIX YEARS to finish it.

A dental procedure involving replacing a bridge involving 3 upper jaw teeth knocked me back for a bit last week, but I have my energy back.

I had good time with Bryan and Corinne’s three girls Saturday, ending with a lamb chop dinner last night cooked by Bryan. (Corinne is in Philly for the weekend.) There was also a visit on his front porch while dinner cooked–which is always good. We have fun talking about ideas and life.

Saturday, neighbors Teri and Mike took some of their family in their boat to Capers Island where Boneyard Beach is located (off the coast of Awendaw, SC) and had a great time exploring. So I learned all about that place after Teri told me all about it. Here is a link that has some pictures.

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=boneyard+beach+sc&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&lqi=ChFib25leWFyZCBiZWFjaCBzY0ikoNjrgbWAgAhaJRAAEAEYABgBGAIiEWJvbmV5YXJkIGJlYWNoIHNjKgYIAhAAEAGSARJ0b3VyaXN0X2F0dHJhY3Rpb26qATkQATIeEAEiGqhHmVTDha-vtunJ-PMVO5J5UZEEmLy9KEyHMhUQAiIRYm9uZXlhcmQgYmVhY2ggc2PgAQA#rlimm=15922024207442797517&lpg=cid:CgIgAQ%3D%3D,ik:CAoSLEFGMVFpcE16a2FoNUREak9SeXdXLWYzakdseGpFa29SNFNXNVF3UFo5ZFU5

And now it is time to go upstairs to sew! That’s my happy time too.

More Bits and Pieces–April 27, 2024

My neighbor who saw and filmed the otters in our neighborhood ponds told me that there were THREE otters in the pond where she filmed when she and another neighbor first got to that pond while walking their dogs.

She told me that she, too, has been reading more about otters in coastal South Carolina. Apparently they are somewhat rare and other nearby costal states don’t have them at all anymore. She said the otters travel around through the sewers and culverts. Well, that makes sense as there are A LOT of drainage systems here in the Low Country.

Also, Betsy wrote that her husband Bill gifted her with the quilt pattern for the quilt I showed you yesterday–it wasn’t a kit–which means Betsy chose her own fabrics, and didn’t she do a great job with her choices? (I fixed the post.)

The diffuser has peppermint and lemon in it this morning–and it is lovely and fresh smelling in the big room. (This would be another small moment of joy.)

The sequel to Erica Bauermeister’s novel The School of Essential Ingredients may be even better than the first book: it’s The Lost Art of Mixing. I read/listened to The Scent Keeper a while back, and now I have No Two Persons in my Audible system. I’m listening to The Survivors by Jane Harper, and so far it seems like it will be interesting. It’s set in a small beach town on the coast of Tasmania. Yes, there is a mystery involved. The printed book I’m reading is Jan Karon’s second book in her Mitford series, A Light in the Window.

Today is my youngest granddaughter’s 9th birthday–so there will be cake later this afternoon. I’m getting her card from me ready this morning:

I have for a long time now printed out pics of my quilts and used them in cards. I smile when I see them–and hope recipients do as well–so here’s another small moment of joy.

I am just finishing hand sewing the LAST block in the 4th row of 6 rows in “Happy,” the quilt that has taken YEARS to make. That means the middle is done and I’m over the hump of finishing this quilt as the edge rows are so much easier to get to while hand quilting. The border will quilt fast as there are not pesky, bulky seams to manage.

Betsy also identified the little purple wildflower I saw along my walking path.

It goes by several common names, like Dakota Mock Vervain,” depending on where one lives–all involve “mock vervain” in the name.

From Wikipedia: “Glandularia pulchella is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family known by the common name South American mock vervain. It is native to Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, and it is present elsewhere as an introduced species and roadside weed.[1][2] It is an annual or perennial herb producing one or more stems growing decumbent to erect in form and hairy to hairless in texture. The rough-haired leaves are divided deeply into lobes. The inflorescence is a dense, headlike spike of many flowers up to 1.5 centimeters wide.[3] Each flower corolla is up to 1.4 centimeters wide and white to purple in color.” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glandularia_pulchella)

I didn’t think to use my plant ID app, but Betsy did, using my picture. When I tried, yes, up came the ID. Duh!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Bits and Pieces

What a busy week it has been so far.

Tuesday night’s meeting of the Charleston Modern Quilt Guild was a lively, fun meeting. Among the many visual treats, Cathy Beemer showed us the quilt she had just picked up from her longarm person. Cathy is teaching us how to make these blocks at our monthly Sit and Sew meeting. I have 1/4th of one of these blocks made and need to slow down and make at least one other 1/4th. They are so fun to make and use up solid scraps. Cathy has taken many classes with Maria Shell, and this quilt shows that influence. After it is bound, this quilt is meant to be a gift for Cathy’s nephew, which is “Wow” What A Gift of Love and Care.

I went back to Hidden Pond Nursery also on Tuesday, to look for a plant for this vacant spot in the garden. I came home with this rose–a floribunda called “Popcorn”–and three perennial Lantana that are the same color. All these plants will spread out–but not get higher than 2 feet.

It took the Maddox and a shovel and lots of will power and energy to dig the hole for this rose as there was a large vein of black clay running right through where I wanted to put it.

Hidden Pond has BEAUTIFUL container pots these days. I came home with this one so I could repot these Kalanchoe plants (Calandiva is a hybrid) my sweet neighbor Teri gave me for my birthday. They have NOT stopped blooming since mid-March.

And, I had a visit with the three hens that were loose in the Hidden Pond gardens today. Like most hens, these were very social and started hanging out with me as I walked around–making me miss the days I had some chickens of my own in Maine. These gals were very vocal and encouraging about keeping on walking.

The honeysuckle is blooming in the woods now. On my Tuesday walk, I stopped to smell this honeysuckle plant. It was heavenly–and qualifies as savoring one of the quiet moments in one’s day.

This little wildflower is growing along the sides of the path here and there. I can’t figure out what its name is.

And the very fragrant Ligustrum shrubs are blooming now. Some like this plant’s strong smell; some don’t. I do.

Wednesday was a dreaded dental day–but all went well.

And today I spent the whole morning outside–planting “Popcorn” and the Lantana and repotting the Calandiva. I fertilized, trimmed, and watered the roses and the new plants. When I came in, I showered (boy did that shower feel good) and had my dinner on the porch with my book (Jan Karon’s second in the Mitford series, A Light in the Window). Neighbor Teri came over for a porch visit catch-up, which was nice.

And now I’ll sew.

The River Otter is Back

We have three large ponds and 1 smaller one here in my neighborhood.

I think I told you about a neighbor seeing an otter in the big pond in the back of our neighborhood a few weeks ago. And I may have put a link to information about river otters in South Carolina, but I can’t remember if I did or if I just sent the link to my son after telling him about it, and I don’t see a post where I might have talked about otters in our area.

Well! This neighbor saw an otter again–this time in our front pond. And she got a great video before it “took off.”

The video is absolutely adorable when the playful otter comes toward my neighbor (who had two dogs with her) and comes out onto the bank–about halfway through the video, which is a little over 2 minutes. The beginning is where my neighbor is training the camera on the right side of the pond, and the otter comes, finally, from the left.

And here’s more info on river otters in South Carolina.

Enjoy!

https://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/species/riverotter.html

Brown Thrashers

My Georgia grandmother once told me that the Brown Thrasher was her favorite bird. We were sitting in the back yard, which was all covered in pine straw, and each of us occupied a chair in the permanent ring of chairs where family and visitors often sat–especially mid-morning when it was maybe time for a cold coca-cola drunk from the little bottles that held that liquid back in the day.

I think now that my grandmother’s favorite color was brown, and that her eyes were such a lovely dark brown. And, I think that the Brown Thrasher is a big brown bird with an amazing vocabulary of sounds.

I saw TWO of them today as I walked–widely separated by distance. Each flew into the underbrush as soon as I came near, which is how they are described in the first link below, which also has sounds.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Thrasher/overview#

This link has some nice photos.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Thrasher/photo-gallery

Camellias, Koi, and Donkeys

Bryan and Corinne gifted me with a camellia for my birthday this year, and yesterday Corinne and two granddaughters took me to buy it at a local nursery not far from me: Hidden Ponds Nursery in Awendaw.

We found a beautiful red camellia, and another one (pink) jumped into my cart, along with a pink canna lily.

There ARE hidden ponds on this property. And I so enjoyed seeing the koi begging for food.

There is also a large collection of other animals–a beautiful black duck roaming free, hens in a very cute coop, rabbits, goats, a BIG rooster in a separate pen, and…DONKEYS.

At the donkey pen, a very kind woman had come to visit with the two donkeys (a mother about 8 years old and her daughter)–which is something this very kind person said she does frequently–and she passed us carrots, apple slices, and peppermint treats made for horses–all of which the donkeys happily took from our hands.

This woman also had a beautiful dog–half Springer Spaniel and half poodle–who was enjoying chasing a ball people threw for him. But, sadly, I didn’t get a picture.

Anyway, in a few minutes I’m putting on old clothes and going out to plant the canna lily. Bryan will come sometime in coming days to help me with the camellias as they are large for me to plant.

Hmmm…

Maybe I will move an azalea that is not thriving to where the rest of those azaleas were moved–and I will put the pink camellia in that spot. It gets morning sun and afternoon shade. Perfect!

Daytime Reading

Former Virginia neighbor Gina sent me an interesting opinion article “defending” daytime reading–as it is apparently often seen today as being lazy or unproductive since it distracts from “more important” activities. Thus, daytime reading is seen to be a forbidden treat. Or, I suppose, an act of rebellion.

Turns out there are now “silent reading” parties where one can go to read while listening to especially chosen music. And there are Zoom reading parties online. There are small charges for these events of course. And…many of these seem, LOL, to be at night.

I read. Every day. In the daylight. My mother used to say that I would read the back of the cereal boxes at breakfast if I didn’t have anything else to read at hand. Not that she would have allowed me to read at the breakfast table –or any other meal table–anyway.

In the mornings now I read online those whom I follow to keep abreast of what’s going on in the culture. So, that may seem more like work–but it is also a deep passion for me as my background is Cultural Studies.

At my noon “dinner,” and after I’ve done whatever chores or errands I need to do, I read from whatever book of fiction I have on hand. My nearby library has a kiosk that is always filled with books one can buy for $1–books chosen around changing and timely themes. I like to get a few of those at a time–ones that look interesting for one reason or another–as then I don’t have to worry about returning them by a “times up” deadline. I usually “play them forward” or return them to the library, and I’ve found some authors I like this way and often go on to read or listen to (audio books) other books by those authors. I especially like to read a bit longer while I enjoy my dessert fruit and espresso. Having my dinner on the porch just combines all of these pleasures.

When I get well into a book, I will often take time on the couch later in the day to read further or finish a book. That is a joy. I don’t feel guilty. But I am retired–I do realize that fact. Nevertheless, I have aways read a lot–every day.

I picked up a book by Jan Karon from the library kiosk a bit ago and very much enjoyed it–an Episcopalian minister’s life in a small East Coast mountain town who goes to a coastal parish for a 6-month interim appointment before retirement (with wife and pets). This book, A New Song, turned out to be a kind of “quiet” book and is midway in a series of about 14 books. I enjoyed the humor, the values on display, and the plot. So I got hold of the first book in the series, which I have just started. I’ll see…what develops.

Gina wrote in her note that her book club is now reading The Last Castle (Denise Kieran) which is a history of the Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC. Next up in this book club is The Women (Kristin Hannah). Book clubs are great for reading good books–for the most part.

Today is VERY stormy with gale winds off and on and flash flood warnings from the national weather system. So, I will stay put, and I’m sure there will be fiction reading. And, sewing later in the day.

Buzzard Bonanza

A few days back when walking with a neighbor, we saw that there was a large gathering of black birds along the sidewalk–about 20-25 I’d say. At first I thought the birds were cormorants as some were holding out their wings like cormorants do to dry their wings. But as we got closer, we could see that they were black buzzards, which are very, very common here, and I knew there must be a carcass down the side of the hill.

Yes, there was a dead deer–a young male with its horns trying to emerge. It was probably hit by a car and got as far as the edge of the woods below the road.

But why were some of the birds spreading their wings? Turns out it is a strategy to regulate their body heat–though sometimes it can also be to dry wet wings.

“Spread-wing postures appear to serve for both thermoregulation and drying in Turkey Vultures. These birds maintain their body temperature at a lower level at night than in the daytime. Morning wing-spreading should provide a means of absorbing solar energy and passively raising their temperature to the daytime level.” https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Spread-Wing_Postures.html#:~:text=Spread%2Dwing%20postures%20appear%20to,temperature%20to%20the%20daytime%20level.

Some of the birds flew as we got closer. I blew up this pic so you could see better.

The birds were still there the next day when I walked–and were much less nervous about people walking by them.

Most, but not all, of them did fly as I got closer.

On the way back, the birds didn’t really retreat from me very much. This one let me get quite close. These are big birds with a big wing span. Underneath the wings the feathers are ash grey or white. And note the white feet.

These birds were actually doing a good job of cleaning up this poor dead animal. In another day or two, there will be nothing but bones.

And that is how nature works.

But it was interesting to think about the deer and the buzzards a bit on Easter weekend, if you know what I mean. The dead deer was providing life for a LOT of buzzards (25 or so). The deer was, in essence, a bonanza for the buzzards.

Now some days later, someone from the town or county pulled the carcass into the woods, and there is nothing left to see but bones.

Wisteria In The Woods

Wisteria is so beautiful in the spring. It can and does escape confinement in formal plantings (where it makes a nice shrub or vine on some part of a house or trellis)–and when it does escape, it decorates the woods in the spring.

Here it is along the walk I take every day. This particular vine is just one among three or four that are running through the woods and are blooming now.

Here’s more of the wisteria in the woods.

There are at least three types of vines here that can get loose in the woods that I know about. One is the Yellow Jasmine, which is the South Carolina state flower. While beautiful and so cheerful in the spring, every part of this vine is poisonous and can cause skin irritation if touched.

Here’s some information on Carolina Jasmine from Clemson University.

Carolina Jessamine

The other vine is Kudzu, which in my mind is like “the little shop of horrors” plants. It can take over whole woods and totally cover whole swaths of trees.

Here’s some information and pictures on Kudzu–from an article entitled “Kudzu: The Invasive Vine that Ate the South.”

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/indiana/stories-in-indiana/kudzu-invasive-species

Oh my!