Monday, September 29, 2008

Forgotten, but Not Gone - Post 87

To my Dear and Faithful Readers: I have not abandoned my blogging, but other than to participate in the recurring theme posts (Sky Watch, Today's Flowers, Camera Critters), I haven't been doing general blogging (or visiting many blogs) lately because I'm up to my eyeballs in making cards -- again. The "Stamper" part of my blog name is getting a real work out!

A couple of weeks ago, in a period of about 6 working days, I put together two hundred fifty (250) handmade cards of various types (thank you, birthday, thinking of you, Christmas, all-occasion) for the Cards for the Troops project in which one of my stamping clubs is involved. All told, our club created 695 cards (photo below). One other member exceeded my contribution -- she brought 276 cards! Our club participates in this most worthwhile project with stamping groups around the country. We send our cards to a stamp club in Oregon, the O.R.C.A.S. The Oregon folks actually do the packaging and distribution of the cards. To date, they have gathered and sent out over 72,000 cards.





Cards gathered at Stamp Club meeting



The cards are sent to U.S. military bases all over the world, but are not to individual service men or women, but rather for them. The cards are blank inside so that they can use them to send their own messages to their loved ones. As we understand the situation, greeting cards are not easy to obtain in many areas, and this is one little thing we can do to help.

That particular effort was wrapped up on Wednesday of this past week, and I immediately started planning for the next major card-making effort (and I haven't even begun to think about my personal Christmas cards, yet.). My chief stamping partner and I have designed and are putting together materials (paper, ink, embellishments, envelopes) for 288 cards (36 each of 8 designs) for World Card Making Day, this coming Saturday, October 4. Twelve to fifteen ladies will gather at the home of another stamping friend (she has a large home) to make cards -- all of which will be donated; one-half to the local Ronald McDonald House, and the other half for our own Cards for the Troops efforts. The latter will go to the 39th Arkansas National Guard units which are currently serving in Iraq.

So... if you haven't heard much from me lately, please don't think I'm ignoring you. This particular episode of card-making fever will be over by late Saturday afternoon; perhaps I can get my blogging life back on track after that. Maybe I'll even have some pictures to share.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Today's Flowers - Post 86



Hibiscus

When I visited a local library last weekend, my attention was drawn to the flower bed ouside the front door; specifically to this bright yellow blossom. I believe it to be a 'tender' hibiscus; that is, one that does not survive the cold of our winter here. To have blooms of this sort the following year, you have to put in new plants, or find a way to over-winter the plant in a greenhouse.

Today's Flowers is a weekly Meme created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. and may be found
here. Please visit to see others' lovely flower photos. If you have a flower photo of your own to share, please join us.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Camera Critters - Post 85



Butterfly on Abelia

I think this is a Black Swallowtail butterfly, but am not sure. Information from anyone who knows is welcome! The only photo I could get was of its underside; the upper side of the wings are more colorful.

Camera Critters is the creation of Misty Dawn. To see others' photos for this week, visit here.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Sky Watch - Post 84

Nothing but blue skies do I see!
 
A hint of fall is in the air here in Arkansas, with temps falling into the 50's at night. A bit of color is showing in the leaves of the crepe myrtle in my yard; I thought it made a nice contrast to the uninterrupted blue of the sky today.
Sky Watch was created by Dot and is now brought to you by our friends Imac, Klaus, Sandy and Tom. Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Today's Flowers - Post 83

Rose "John F. Kennedy"

A rose in my garden. The bush is currently blooming for the third time this year.
Today's Flowers is a weekly Meme created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. and may be found here. Please visit to see others' lovely flower photos. If you have a flower photo of your own to share, please join us.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Camera Critters - Post 82


Come Into My Parlor
Said the Spider to the Fly.
(click to enlarge)

I discovered this Orb Spider (9/24/08 correction: not an Orb Spider, but an Argiope aurantia, commonly known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Writing Spider or Corn Spider) lurking among the leaves of my day lilies, waiting for some tasty (to her) little bug to wander into her "parlor." She stayed here for several days, until the rain from Hurricane Ike destroyed her web. I've not been out to the garden yet to see if she's rebuilt it.
Camera Critters is the creation of Misty Dawn. To see others' photos for this week, visit here.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sky Watch - Post 81


Not a cloud to be seen anywhere today! Hooray!

We've had quite enough rain lately, thank you, so it's nice to look out my front door this morning and see clear, blue skies. To keep you from having to look at a totally blue photo, I included a couple of trees in my shot. Thanks to cooler weather, the maple tree across the street is beginning to get a few tinges of fall color. For some interesting information on what causes changes in foliage color, visit Jeannelle's post today on her blog Midlife by Farmlight .

Sky Watch was created by Dot and is now brought to you by our friends Imac, Klaus, Sandy and Tom. Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursday

Thank you, Luiz Ramos! - Post 80

I am honored to have received a blog award from Luiz Ramos, the author of Natural Shot Photos which originates in Brazil. Luiz and I cross paths on several weekly memes, and I greatly enjoy his photographs of beautiful flowers from his garden, and sights around the Rio de Janiero area. Pay him a visit; I think you'll enjoy it, too. Thanks, again, Luiz!


Tuesday, September 16, 2008

ABC Wednesday - Round 3 - "I" - Post 79


INCREDIBLE
photo by O.J.Moser

I've outlived my threescore years and ten, and have seen a lot of things. One thing that I had not seen until Monday of this week was this: a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar in the actual process of changing from a squiggly, voracious worm into a jade-green chrysalis which will protect it as it metamorphoses into a beautiful butterfly. My daughter, whose photo of the pupating event is shown, has about 20-25 chrysalides in her home, along with another dozen or more Monarch Butterfly caterpillars. She's sort of a nature nut, and her children are fascinated by all this (as is her mother.) I hope to be present when the butterflies emerge; I haven't witnessed that before, either.

While watching this transformation, all I could say was "incredible, just incredible." With this in mind, my ABC Wednesday's "I" post was created.

ABC Wednesday was created by Mrs. Nesbitt. Please visit the ABC Wednesday site to view others' interpretations of this week's letter, "I."

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Today's Flowers - Post 78



Last week, my Today's Flowers post was a single "Spider Lily" that was growing outside my front door. It was the only one that bloomed in my yard. This photo is of a section of my daughter's flower garden. She has hundreds of "Spider Lilies" growing amidst her other flowers.

Today's Flowers is a weekly Meme created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. and may be found here. Please visit to see others' lovely flower photos. If you have a flower photo of your own to share, please join us.

Camera Critters - Post 77


Butterfly on Buddleia

Camera Critters is the creation of Misty Dawn. To see others' photos for this week, visit here.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Today's Flowers - Post 76




Genus: Lycoris
Species: radiata
Information from http://davesgarden.com

Earlier last week, when I looked out my front door, this flower wasn't there. Thursday night, it was! Actually, from the time I first spied the stem until the bloom was open as you see it took two days. These red "Spider Lilies" seem to spring up over night. I don't know exactly how fast the stems grow, but from nothing to about 16" - 18" overnight is not unusual.

The strange thing about the ones in my yard is that some years I have dozens of them, other years I do not see a single one. And, sometimes, they don't come up in the same places I saw them last. This is the first time one of these has bloomed in this particular location.


Although they are not the variety known as "Surprise Lilies," they are always a surprise. I love them!

Today's Flowers is a weekly Meme created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. and may be found here. Please visit to see others' lovely flower photos. If you have a flower photo of your own to share, please join us.


Saturday, September 6, 2008

Camera Critters - Post 75



Some Mighty Fine BBQ Served Here, Ma'am!


My favorite local BBQ place has had this piggy sitting in the window for who knows how long. It was there when I became a customer, some years ago. The trophies seen at the piggy's feet were awarded during area BBQ cook-offs. If you're ever in my area, owners Gary and Pat Green cordially invite you to visit The Shack BBQ. Good eats!

Camera Critters is the creation of Misty Dawn. To see others' photos for this week, visit here.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Sky Watch - Post 74



August 23, 2008

Straight from the camera, with only a bit of cropping.

Sky Watch was created by Dot and is now brought to you by our friends Imac, Klaus, Sandy and Tom. Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursday.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Wordless Wednesday - Backyard Rain Gauge - 24 Hours - Post 73



To see other Wordless Wednesday photos, visit here.

No Kidding! - Post 72


The National Weather Service wasn't blowing hot air when they issued Flash Flood Warnings earlier this week. Tropical Depression Gustav has dumped a lot of rain on central Arkansas. My new rain gauge, installed in the garden yesterday around 1 p.m., is currently more than half full. Looking at it from my kitchen window, I estimate we've received 5" of rain, or more, in less than 24 hours. I'll look at it again, and empty it when the 24-hour period is up.

The photo above is of the street in front of my house about an hour ago, and it's still raining -- alternating between downpours and a drizzle. The drainage system in our neighborhood is currently overwhelmed and the water has no place to go. I'm counting my blessings, though! In some places affected by Gustav, the water is probably this deep, or deeper, inside people's homes.

Someone in the vicinity has lost their car-top luggage carrier; it just washed away from wherever they had placed it. After I took this photo, it floated up even higher into the yard and is currently between the right side of the tree and the edge of the photo.

There's nothing quite like a lot of rain to show you where the low spots (or high spots) are in your yard. Looks like I have some work to do.


The robins have been having a field day on the high spot. I think some worms may have been flooded out of their holes. Some benefit, at least for the birds, comes from everything, it appears.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

ABC Wednesday - Round 3 - "G"- Post 71


Garlic Chives Blooms


Growing in my garden are Garlic Chives, which are now in bloom. I photographed this flower head yesterday after I had done the mowing to get ahead of the rain from Tropical Depression Gustav.

ABC Wednesday was created by Mrs. Nesbitt. Please visit the ABC Wednesday site to view others' interpretations of this week's letter, "G."

Labor Day - Post 70

Art from EdHelp.com
Since it was Labor Day yesterday, I decided I would labor, something I really don't do daily. How much physical energy I am able to exert on any given day depends on the weather and a whole list of conditions too tedious to post here. I usually work in the church office on Monday morning, but declared myself a holiday after checking my to-do list while at church on Sunday.

The stars must have been in some sort of favorable alignment yesterday, as I woke up 'wide-eyed and bushy tailed,' as it were, and ready to get with the program.

After a cursory glance at my favorite Internet sites and reading a few e-mail messages, I evicted myself from my office and got busy. First on my agenda was to clear out of my house the small mountain of stuff I've recently accumulated for recycling -- paper of all sorts, cardboard, metal cans, plastic containers, etc., most of which was (neatly) piled up in a corner of my kitchen. Why I let it accumulate in the house is easy for me to answer: sloth, one of the seven deadly sins, I believe.

I blush in shame to think that for years, I just put all this sort of stuff into the trash, and it ended up at the landfill (Mount Trashmore, about 4 miles south of town.) My landfill contribution is now down to about two medium sized garbage bags a month, plus used kitty litter, for which I've found no other solution.

I sorted, boxed and bagged and hauled it out to the bed and back seat of the pickup truck (which I'm using courtesy of my daughter, who couldn't take it to Okinawa with her) for a journey to the recycling center. It's still sitting there, of course; the center was closed yesterday and I am procrastinating about making the 5 mile trip. I probably have another truck load still lurking in nooks and crannies. Unfortunately, I am a pack rat when it comes to paper; I have an unreasonable(?) fear that if I throw something away I'm going to need it, desperately, within 24 hours, even if it's 10 years old! I need a refresher course in Records Retention.

Anyway; once that chore was done, it was time for general housework. After that, I took a break and went back to the computer (I'm addicted). While online, I checked the weather and learned that Tropical Depression Gustav was due to dump from three to five inches of rain on us during the next few days. Oh, no! That meant I must mow the lawn (front and back) NOW, or there would be hay-making conditions out there by the time it dried out enough to get the mower to it. So, out into the heat I went, sweat band around my brow (94 degrees, but overcast, and with a pretty good breeze, courtesy of Gustav.) Even in mid-day, I could see Gustav-related clouds beginning to gather.

Gustav is a-coming in!


I got all the yard work done in just under two hours. I had to take a few breathers along the way to re-hydrate, but the lawn is currently under control, and is getting a good watering today; it's been raining since before dawn.

In the right hand corner of my back yard, an area about 15 feet square, there is a veritable jungle growing! I used to have a compost pile there, next to the back fence, and from all appearances, it's very fertile soil. Blowing weed seeds, bird contributions, etc., have sprouted there and grown with a vengeance. I let that space get completely out of control the year I fractured my spine, and have just trimmed around the edges of it to keep the vines (blackberry and dewberry, and some unknown creepy thing) from taking over the entire yard. It needs a good dose of Round Up, methinks, or in the spring some pre-emergence herbicide (do they make that for home yards?)

My imagination sometimes runs amok. As I was mowing around the edges of the jungle, this photo op caught my eye:
Roman ruins! Right here in my own back yard!

I'll have to get my trusty excavation team (daughter and grandson) to help me move it. I think it would make a wonderful base for a bird bath, don't you? All I need is birdbath top to make it complete.

As I was constructing this post, my doorbell rang. Outside in the drizzle was my almost 4 year old granddaughter, with her parents. In her hands was a package, and on her face a gorgeous smile. "I have a present for you, Grandma!" My birthday is later this week, but daughter couldn't wait to gift me. At the urging of my dear granddaughter, I opened my gift -- a rain gauge and a thermometer combined on one post! A rain gauge is something I've wanted for some time but had not yet purchased, so I was delighted. My daughter and I put it in the garden in a position that will enable me to read it from my kitchen window (with a little help from my trusty mini-binoculars, if necessary). I even took my old camera out and snapped a picture; see the rain on it already?

That's more than enough for today! I'm ready to rest from my laborious Labor Day. I think I'll finish the Nevada Barr mystery I'm reading, Hard Truth.