Spring? and An Anniversary of Sorts

Star of Bethlehem

Ornithogalum umbellatum

Lily family (Liliaceae)

I show the above photo as a reminder to me that Spring was here, if only temporarily. The temperatures are supposed to drop below freezing tonight, and the lovely flower, a photo of which was taken in my back yard two days ago, may be brown mush tomorrow. Only the passage of the night will show if the the weatherman is correct. We've had strong winds today, but until around 6 p.m. there was a lot of sunshine. Then the clouds moved in. Both clouds and wind are to go away overnight, allowing the cold front to drop in here and do its dastardly deed. Our church children will probably have a chilly Easter Egg hunt on Sunday, too. This weather is supposed to hang around for a while.

If I've calculated correctly, today is my one-year blogging anniversary. Also, if correct, I've posted 177 times (this one included), giving me a somewhat dismal record of posting on only 48% of the intervening 365 days. Ah, well. The other 52% of the days were spent doing something else: reading other folks blogs, reading books, working at church, taking care of dogs, cats, and grandchildren (not necessarily in that order), and leading a quite ordinary life.

When I started blogging, my main intention was to record some of my remembrances while I still had the memory to do so. I've done a bit of that, yes, but much of what I want to record is as of yet unwritten. Some of my dredged up memories are a bit hard to deal with, and I'm not sure they will ever be recorded, at least in a blog.

I've participated in theme posting to some extent, although I've let some of that go by the wayside of late. I've become very much interested in photography this past year, have acquired a new digital camera and some nice lenses, and am taking a lot of pleasure in trying to improve my skills in that area. I've learned a lot, in theory at least, from some excellent photographer/bloggers (too many to mention here, but they are listed in my side bar) and it gives me great enjoyment to read their blogs and look their photos. Thanks to you all!

One of the greatest pleasures of being a member of the blog community, however, is the contact I've made with other bloggers around the world: England, Europe, South America, Australia, Japan, India, Africa, and many, many places in the United States. Thanks to the Internet, it's a small world, after all.

Off now, to get a blanket for the bed. I may have some hot cocoa before I turn in, too. Surely, real Spring can't be too far away.

Today's Flowers - April 5

A white daffodil/narcissus in my daughter's garden. She thought the variety was "Iceberg" but I couldn't find such online anywhere. I did find mention of an older variety called "Thalia" which description fit the appearance of this one. There are three flowers at the tip of each flower stalk, and they look like small orchids; very beautiful, with a slight fragrance. I love all the little violets in the background, too.

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.

ABC Wednesday "K"

"K" is for Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree

prunus serrulata 'Kwanzan'

The Kwanzan Flowering Cherry tree, also known as a Japanese flowering cherry tree, is one of the most popular cultivars of the flowering cherry trees. This deciduous tree rapidly grows to height of 20 to 30 feet. The blooms are a clear pink, double flower (multiple petals like a carnation). The blooms tend to last 3 weeks, yielding to a light green foliage with a red tinge.

I was visiting my "green thumb" daughter this afternoon with camera in hand. Her large yard is a riot of color, with all sorts of blooming plants, and I need to stock up on photos of such.

"I need a "K" photo," I said, "but that tree in the courtyard is beautiful; I'll get some shots of that while I'm here."

"Ha!" she replied. "There is your "K! That's a Kwanzan Flowering Cherry."

Ask, and ye shall receive.

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

A Belated "J"

"J" is for Japanese Maple

I was away from home all week last week and did not post my ABC Wednesday "J" image (nor anything else.) I left home for an unplanned absence on Sunday afternoon after the Stamp Camp was over. At that time, the Japanese Maple tree in my front yard had only leaf buds, and no flowers. I got back home on Friday night, but had so many things to take care of that I didn't look at the tree until Saturday; it was very much as you see it above, fully leafed out and flowering.


I love the Spring and Fall colors of this tree. Spring foliage is rust, tinged with green and maroon. The light in this photo, taken this morning, makes the leaves appear more rust than they actually are. In a few weeks, the leaves will be a uniform green which will last through the Summer months. Cooler weather turns the leaves a deep maroon.


The sun is shining today, after a night of light thunderstorms and rain. During my absence, the rain gauge in my back yard registered 3.5". I emptied it yesterday afternoon and there is another 1/2 inch right now. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow. I won't have to water the flower beds for quite a while.


I'm not only behind with posting, but reading and commenting on my favorite blogs. I shudder to think how many good posts I missed last week. If I've been a regular commentor on your blogs (and if you even noticed that I'd "gone missing,"), I've not abandoned you, it will just be a while before I can catch up.

I hope you're all having a great week!

ABC Wednesday - "I"

(photo may be enlarged by clicking on it)

"I" is for Icon

(photo may be enlarged by clicking on it)

In 1993, my daughter and her family were living on the island of Crete, Greece. I had the pleasure of spending 4 weeks with them and exploring the island -- and the shops, which offered many opportunities to spend my drachmas. Along with many other things, I bought the icon pictured above. According to the label affixed to the back: "Byzantine Icon This icon is handmade by the priest Refki, who learned the Agiography technik in Athos."

In addition to the Madonna and Child in the center, the icon features the archangel Michael on the left "door" and on the right, the archangel Raphael. (3/19/09 - correction: on the right is the archangel Gabriel. My sharp-eyed reader, rhymeswithplague, correctly interpreted the notation. It was all Greek to me.)

The icon is solid wood and has a stout hook on the top back to allow it to be hung on the wall, but since the base is quite sturdy, it sits on my bedroom dresser, as it has for almost 16 years.

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

Today's Flowers - March 15

Pussy Willow

I've always thought of pussy willow buds as being a sort of luminous gray-white, but a macro lens reveals a lovely variety of colors. I am enchanted by the softs pinks and greens.

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.

Bits and Pieces

Caught in the Wind

(click on photo to enlarge)

It's time for another Stamp Camp. I've been occupied this past week with designing cards and creating samples. This coming week, I'll be cutting card stock, decorative paper and ribbons and otherwise gathering all the materials needed for the participants. It's fun, but time-consuming, so my blogging and blog-reading has been and will be somewhat neglected.

A week ago, I was working in the yard, enjoying the sunshine and balmy weather. We had temps in the low 80's and I thought Spring had arrived. On Wednesday of this week, the icy cold descended upon us again, and temps have not been out of the 40's for the past several days. Thursday brought a bit of icy weather, but it didn't hang around long, but it has not warmed up very much, either. It's good that I have "indoor" sorts of things to keep me occupied.

I was walking my "back forty" a few days ago (before it turned so cold) when my eye caught something hung up on a limb of my fig tree. Closer examination revealed a delicate feather, which had been caught by the not-yet-budded out leaf. How it managed to stay there in the strong wind is a puzzlement.

That's about it for today. I'm off to take precise measurements in preparation for cutting card stock and paper.