Category: Interesting Information

Information I want to share in a non-essay form

Bits and Pieces

Yesterday while waiting for son Mike, DIL Tami, and granddaughter Mina to pick me up for an outing to see the building lot they have purchased south of Charleston, on the Kiawah River, I saw this strange and awkward insect on front porch wall.

It is a Crane Fly and is said to be a very timid little insect.

https://citybugs.tamu.edu/2016/03/15/crane-flies/

There is a farm on the greater property where the new building lot is located. We stopped in to visit the farm animals: laying chickens, milk goats, donkeys, and “Oreo” cows (Belted Galloways).

The chickens come right up to everyone’s feet, illustrating how very social chickens are.

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The goats, too, love to be petted and come to the fence seeking attention:

Some goats have two “wattles” on their throat. These appendages apparently serve no apparent purpose. It is thought that perhaps they once served a purpose, but one that goats no longer need.

We had a picnic in one of the development’s club house areas, all of which are right on the river.

It was a lovely outing, and I could see what is drawing Mike and Tami in this direction. Their Isle of Palms current house is now for sale. It is a big, wonderful house and has served them well. But their children are fast fledging from the nest, so this is a good time to downsize.

I cooked “pink” grits the other day–from the Marsh Hen Mill brand of grits, a farm on Edisto Island. The pinkness comes from the type of corn used. They cooked faster than the Anson Mills rough cut grits, but they were also much milder. And, not organic. (Organic corn is a hard act to raise, actually.) Marsh Hen Mill has several types of grits and also raises the Carolina Gold rice so special to this Low Country area.

Here, leftover grilled flank steak, roasted sweet peppers/carrots, spinach and garlic sautéed in butter, and the “pink” grits:

Marsh Hen ships their products if you are interested. Here’s a screen shot from their web site:

Enjoy this holiday Monday!

When One is Endlessly Curious

I walk a mile a day out on the road just outside our subdivision. I listen to music, often singing along, and note what is going on around me.

This little plant is blooming now in the dry ground alongside the walking path. What is it.

Thanks to the plant identity app on my phone, I can take a picture and when I get home, see what it might be. It is a “Cutleaf Evening Primrose,” oenothera laciniata Hill. A primrose…how cool is that?

This plant is growing in the drainage ditch next to the path–the Low Country has lots and lots of little retention ponds and drainage ditches. The red leaves are from the Loropetalum bushes that line parts of the path, and I wrote about those a while back. They are spectacular right now, btw. But what is this plant?

It’s “Lizard’s Tail,” Saururus cernuus. What a cool name. I had wondered if it was something in the loosestrife family, given the bent white flower part.

Loropetalum

The Pickerel Rush is also blooming in the ditches–its purple spikes and pretty leaves are distinctive. In Maine, along the wet edges of ponds, the Pickerel Rush forms a mass that was purple with its lush blooms. Here it grows in the wetlands and ditches.

Pickerel Rush: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontederia_cordata

And here is a tall plant I’ve been watching grow tall, and duh! Could it be a cattail? It is in the bottom of a drainage ditch that fills with water easily when it rains.

Yes, it could. The distinctive “cattail” top means it is a cattail and not a “Bulrush.” This plant is probably a hybrid of two types of cattails and is called a “hybrid cattail,” Typha x glauca Godr, for Type and Glauca Godr.

Native Americans used this plant in all kinds of ways, from weaving things with it to eating parts of it to using it medicinally, and so on. I first read about native use of cattails in the native scholar Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book BRAIDING SWEETGRASS, which is a delightful and instructive read.

But here’s a link to a quick read about the uses of cattails if you are interested:

https://patch.com/connecticut/woodbury-middlebury/cattails-native-american-culture.

https://www.britannica.com/plant/cattail

And…the above is what happens when one is endlessly curious. Rabbit holes happen.

Stuffed Peppers, South Carolina Heirloom Gold Rice, and A Specimen Magnolia Tree

I got hungry for stuffed peppers. So, six for me now and six for the freezer.

That’s one pound of organic beef hamburger and a package (not sure how big) of local grass-fed beef hamburger mixed with liver, heart, and gizzards. That’s a great way to eat these important organ meats that can be strong tasting.

This meatloaf type batch has a handful of rolled oats, an egg, some grated mozzarella cheese, some chopped onion, a grated zucchini (adds moisture), a splash of milk, some saved lamb fat, and some dried herbs and salt. I topped each stuffed pepper with some ketchup, which is about the closest I can get to tomato.

I cooked a batch of the Anson Mill’s organic Gold rice–only I didn’t do their method of boiling it, draining it, and drying it in the oven on a parchment covered cookie tin. This rice is naturally starchy, but this boiling/drying method takes away from the flavor of the rice in my opinion. I just cooked it and let it steam a bit.

I roasted some fresh green beans with added garlic and had some “asset” roasted sweet peppers and carrots.

On Sunday, I watched a granddaughter’s tennis match and saw this glorious magnolia tree.

The trunk was especially interesting–a child’s invitation climb up in the branches. And sure enough, when I got back to my car, there were children nestled along the limbs.

It’s a rainy day today, so I’m doing rainy-day home events.

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!