Oops!

Recently, my camera got dropped into some water and didn't survive its dunking well. It is slowly drying out and I am hoping that it makes a full recovery. In the meantime, it is taking some pretty interesting pictures. 

If you want to play a little game, see if you can identify these objects among the wet camera pictures below.

afghan, Kleenex box, telephone, dining room chair, clothes basket, mug, book shelf, loaf of bread, fish-shaped napkin rings

Good luck!

A Second Look--Hedgeapples

A Second Look guest this week--Miss Landers.  Photo credits: Miss Landers

Miss Landers is introducing all kinds of things to me. First it was rutabagas and now it's hedgeapples which she found doing a Second Look around her vacation cabin.  Hedgeapples are something that I've heard about all of my life, but wasn't quite sure what they were.  Here are a few things I found out.

Hedgeapple

Hedgeapples are a bumpy fruit about the size of a grapefruit that grows on a thorny tree. They are a member of the mulberry family and have naturalized all over the United States although they are quite common in the prairies where rows of them were planted as wind breaks. Also, when they were allowed to grow together as a thorny hedge, the trees provided an effective fence for cattle. Hedgeapple trees were used extensively for cattle management until the invention of barbed wire. (Are you starting to get the idea of where the name "hedgeapple" came from?)

Although not toxic, they aren't as popular as you think they would be in the food world. The hulls are tough to get into which sends a lot of animals elsewhere. However, our friend, the squirrel, manages to chew to the inside to get to the tasty seeds.

Miss Landers found the ground littered with them.

We humans don't eat them either, but we do use the tree and its fruit for a few other things. Many people swear by the insect repellent properties of the hedgeapple, but as usual, the scientists don't see any real proof it helps. The wood of the tree is quite dense and is used to make bows. Many think it makes the best bows in the world.

This hedgeapple got caught between branches during its fall.

I know a little more about hedgeapples now. I can't wait to visit Miss Landers' vacation cabin and see the hedgeapples for myself.

(BTW:  Hedgeapples are also known as Osage oranges, horse apples, and bodarks.)

Want to know more?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera

http://hedgeapple.com/

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1997/10-10-1997/hedgeapple.html

Merry Christmas

 

^"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'"

"...And that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

 

 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 

A Second Look--December 21, 2011

Exploring the yard for Second Look posts this time of year is certainly getting me outside more than normal.  I don't like cold weather and tend to stay out of it whenever possible. However, I went out on a cold, damp, and windy day this week to explore the yard with Theodore. We found evidence of deer everywhere including  hoof prints, flattened grass and leaves where they have been laying, and droppings. I resisted one more time taking a picture of their droppings. You're welcome.

The red bellied woodpecker has returned to our feeder after a few weeks absence and the juncos are ever abundant as are all of the other little brown and gray birds that we can't seem to remember the names of no matter how many times Aunt Martha tells us what they are.

See what we found this week.

Red bellied woodpecker.

Weathered black walnut shell half

Green tinted fungus

Part of a shoe that looks like it has gone through a lawn mower.  This shoe did not belong to anyone here.

Black raspberry canes. Or are they blackberry canes? I will forever be confused between these two plants unless they have berries on them.

Trumpet lily (Lilium regal) seed pods

Grazing cattle behind us. It looks like they have a thicker winter coat now.

Weathered hydrangea blossom that was tumbling in the wind far from the hydrangea bush.

Junco on patio

Ponderings from Theodore-the Early Years

Theodore has always been a thinker--meaning long after I have moved on from a subject, he is still pondering it. Occasionally, we are going to visit some of his questions and observations from his earlier years. Some are serious and others are humorous.

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This is one of the things Theodore was trying to figure out about Christmas when he was younger.
  

                                   Elves
                       For almost all eternity

                       Santa's working elves,

                       Are making toys for girls and boys 

                       To put upon their shelves.

                       It strikes me a bit strange,

                       That no one's noticed yet,

                       If Santa never gets paid,

                       How are the elf wages set?

Food Waste Friday, December 16, 2011

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money.

Here it goes for this week.

Unfortunately, orange juice went down the drain this week. It hadn't gone bad, but it's a complicated story about a leaking carton, a mess on the counter, and sensitive tastes. It doesn't quite make sense, but my son assured me that his cup of OJ should be part of Food Waste Friday. 

Also, you may remember last week when I started cleaning my spice cabinet and found many OLD spices. This week I used some of the old cloves to make an orange pomander. Thanks to you all and Food Waste Friday for motivating me to do it.

A Second Look--December 14, 2011

This week I did a Second Look on a clear, crisp night and examined the Alberta Spruce by our front door. 

See what I found.

Christmas Ornaments

Every year when we decorate our Christmas tree, I get nostalgic as I remember where each ornament came from. Sometimes Ward and the boys are interested in the stories and sometimes they suddenly need to do something else when I start going down memory lane.

Below are a few of the ornaments that we have collected over the years. Their stories range from family heritage, handiwork of Wally and Theodore, gifts from friends, and the first Christmas that Ward and I spent together. If you want to know any of the stories, just ask. I love to tell them. However, if you suddenly need to do something else like Ward and the boys, I'll understand.

__________________________________________________________________________________

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On another topic, did anyone notice that the Queen Anne's Lace ornament didn't have a black spot in the middle?

Food Waste Friday--December 9, 2011

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money.

Here it goes for this week.

We did better than last week with no current waste and fewer times eating out. Hooray for us! 

Therefore, I decided to tackle the spice cabinet that has been annoying me for a while. I seem to get it all organized and then somehow the jars multiply to the point that when I'm reaching in for one another falls out. I don't cook with many spices, so I'm not sure how this happens unless I never get rid of any. I have a feeling that may be what is going on.

The whole cabinet was too overwhelming to tackle at once, so I started with eliminating spices that I knew were very old. Some of the containers didn't seem to have dates on them (a clue right there), so I did a bit of research. I had several tins of Astor spices and after a call to the company, I learned that they were a store brand for Winn Dixie. I haven't shopped in a Winn Dixie in over 20 years. A safe bet to eliminate all of them.

 

Next, I visited the McCormick site that discusses spice freshness. According to the McCormick chart for freshness, most spices have lost their effectiveness after 4 years or less. There I also learned that McCormick packaged spices in metal tins in the 70's and green lid bottles in the 60's and 90's. All of those dates make them pretty old so those containers are leaving too.

In addition, I found French's spices with a date of 1983--definitely past the 4 year limit. I think those may get incorporated into some holiday projects, but they are definitely leaving the cabinet.

The final clue that some of my spices are older than the hills is that I found them being sold on Ebay as vintage merchandise.

What would you do with all of these old spices?

Ponderings from Theodore-the Middle Years

Theodore has always been a thinker--meaning long after I have moved on from a subject, he is still pondering it. Occasionally, we are going to visit some of his questions and observations from his earlier years. Some are serious and thought provoking and others are humorous.
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December Snow

 I am listening to heavy rain that will soon be turning to snow --then all will be quiet. Here's what Theodore had to say about that subject when he was younger.

Snowflakes

Snowflakes falling from the sky,
Landing softly on the ground,
Often times I wonder why,
They never ever make a sound.

Landing softly on the ground,

Snowflakes white and glistening,

Nothing ever to be found,

For someone who is listening.

(Picture is from a December snowfall in 2009. It is looking out from our front stoop.)

A Second Look--December 7, 2011

The theme this week for a Second Look is the weather. It was a week of variable weather with cold, warm, sunny, cloudy, and breezy days. The only thing we didn't have was frozen precipitation. That's coming today. What is it they say about weather? "The only thing certain about the weather is that it will change."

Below, see what the weather was like this week while I was exploring and some of the things I found.

 COLD       Frost on wild strawberry

CLOUDY      Feather under bird feeder

SUNNY     Holly berries

SUNNY     Roots girdling one of our maple trees. So far, there is no obvious damage from this, but it can't be good.

CLOUDY     The Snow-on-the-Mountain (Bishop's Weed) has survived the frosts so far.

BREEZY     Coneflower seed heads (It took several tries before the picture didn't come out blurry because the seeds were blowing in the wind..)

RAINY     Deer watching me ready to flee.

SUNNY and WARM     Fungus on decomposing tree stump

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Just for the fun of it--a few other weather sayings

--Whether it's cold or whether it's hot, there's going to be weather, whether or not.
 
--Weather forecast for tonight:  dark.  ~George Carlin

--Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't 
    change once in a while.  ~Kin Hubbard
 
--There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.  ~Alfred Wainwright

Bird of Paradise

The first time I remember hearing about a bird of paradise was when I was little girl and heard a song on the radio called, May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose.*  It was the silliest song that I had ever heard, and it made me giggle. Even today when I hear about or see a bird of paradise (bird or flower), I am amused. 

Little did I know that it had other powers too. Recently, my friend gave me a bird of paradise flower that she brought back from California.  I carried it with me one day (protecting it from the cats) while I was doing my chores. As the silly flower watched over me while I was working, I actually didn't mind doing my work so much.

Some say" Many hands make light work," but I say, "Carrying a bird of paradise flower around with you makes light work."  (Falls right off the tongue, doesn't it?)

Chores and My Helper

The song that started it all.

*May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose

by Little Jimmy Dickens

One fine day as I was a-walkin' down the street

Spied a beggar man with rags upon his feet

Took a penny from my pocket

In his tin cup I did drop it

I heard him say as I made my retreat

CHORUS

"May the bird of paradise fly up your nose"

"May an elephant caress you with his toes"

"May your wife be plagued with runners in her hose"

"May the bird of paradise fly up your nose"

The laundry man is really on his toes

Found a hundred-dollar bill among my clothes

When he called me I came a-runnin'

Gave him back his dime for phonin'

I heard him sayin' as I turned to go

CHORUS

I was way behind one day to catch the train

Taxi driver said "We'll make it just the same"

The speed cop made it with us

And as he wrote out the ticket

I stood by politely a-waitin' for my change

CHORUS