This and That

or Another Miscellaneous Post

I first learned the word miscellaneous and how to spell it in third grade. My teacher, Mrs. Conley, had a job chart, and one of the categories was Miscellaneous. I learned to spell it from the chart, and I was very proud that I could spell such a long word. 

We pick two ripe figs and two overly ripe
figs with promises of more to come. 

After that trip down memory lane, back to the here and now. The first figs have finally ripened. I have had this fig tree for five years, getting it first as a seedling a few inches high in a yogurt cup. For the first couple of years, all it produced was a few leaves. For the next couple of years, we got a few figs. But this year, it has finally come into its own. It has quadrupled its size and has figs formed on most branches. We check the tree daily to see if any of the figs are ripe. Figs don't ripen after they are picked, so there is a small window between when they are ripe and when they are rotten. After harvesting the first ripe fig (so we thought), we found that we were too late on some others because we found them rotten on the ground. I'm sure they are making some kind of bug or critter happy down there. At some point, we should have a lot of figs ripe at once if all goes well. I think we will try drying them. If truth be told, no one here is that big fan of figs unless they are in Fig Newtons. They're too sweet. But I hate to see anything go to waste. 

The fig tree is still in a pot, so it will have to be transplanted this fall. Figuring out the right location still eludes us. Our winters are too cold for most figs unless they have a well-established root system. Then they can recover from the winter freezes. They do best close to the house on a south-facing wall. We'll figure out something. 

The fig tree has outgrown its space.

We are waiting for these to ripen.

As I've mentioned before, the pears are ripening. We've put some in the freezer, had some for snacking, and made a pear crisp. We have others we are ripening. Pears are just the opposite of figs. You harvest them before they are ripe. Pears ripen from the inside out, so if they seem ripe on the outside, they may have a rotten core. When I think about pears, I always think about this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, "There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat." 

I finally planted a few things for the fall garden using leftover seeds from 2020. I have planted turnips, beets, and radishes, and a few of them have started to come up. Luckily, these vegetables are not nearly as finicky as pears and figs about when they are ready to eat. Sometimes you can leave turnips in the ground for months. In fact, they are supposed to get sweeter with a couple of frosts. 

Now to talk about more outdoor activity that doesn't involve food. Last weekend, Wally arranged an outing for us at a park halfway between our two houses. It was a new to us park, and we will definitely be returning. There were good hiking trails, picnicking areas, a nature center, and a lake, as well as tennis and basketball courts. Something for everyone, but we were primarily interested in the trails. 

Ward, Wally, and Theo hiking a new-to-us trail.

This didn't turn out to be quite as random as I thought it would since I seem to have an outdoor theme going. Of course, you can't talk about the outdoors without talking about the weather. It's still hot and muggy here, with not enough rain. I'm ready for some days in the 70s. 

Until next time...

Pretty Stuff

 or Nature just keeps giving

Just a quick note to say all is well here with a few pictures from around the yard.

Black-eyed Susan

Skipper Butterfly

.Clouded sulfur butterfly. Check out the green eyes.

Moss rose.

Remember the zinnia that the rabbits were munching on?

They made a comeback. However, there were others that didn't make it.

The pears are getting ripe.

And we actually have some apples this year! However, they aren't quite ripe yet.

Until next time...

And the Good News is...

 In my previous post, I talked about my annoyance with a mother who did little to control her toddler at an animal program. The toddler was either in the way or fussy--which were not the toddler's problems but her mother's. Her mother did little to remedy the situation, and that made it a bad experience for the rest of the crowd. However, I'm happy to say that I was in another program last night and had a very different experience.

The performers sang kid's songs to an audience that had parents who were aware of the others around them. That means that when their kids were being disruptive, they did something to change it. For example, there was a 3-year-old who was delighting in running in circles around the audience. When her mother finally caught her (the little girl was fast!), the girl had a tantrum. After a short while, when it was obvious that the child could not be redirected, the mother left with her. There was another toddler/baby who wandered around the back and sides of the audience under the watchful eye of her parents. When she was going a bit too far, they would redirect her. And at one point, they took her outside because she was getting a bit fussy. I don't think either set of parents wanted to leave the concert, but they knew that that's what you have to do sometimes-especially with young children.

After the show, I had an interesting conversation with the performers. They do kid's shows for a living and many concerts every year at schools and libraries. In fact, we were their third one of the day. That means they have a lot more experience with crowds than I do. They said, by and large, the behavior of the kids and the adults at their performances have gotten much better over the last several years. I was surprised and happy to hear it. 

So that's the good news, and I will try to remember it when I get annoyed at someone in the crowd. They are the exception and not the rule.

I Don't Understand

Sometimes I understand why people do what they do. And sometimes I don't. 

Case in point. I was in a children's program recently where the presenter talked about and showed live animals (turtles and snakes). There were lines marked on the floor where the children should sit with instructions to stay within the lines and leave room for her to walk around so everyone could see. Some enthusiastic kids had to be reminded once or twice of the rules, and one or two went to sit with their parents when the temptation to get closer to the animals was too much. And then there was the toddler who didn't want to be there.

During the program, we learned that male box turtles
have bright orange eyes while females have
duller yellow-brown eyes.
(photo from Marylandbiodiversity.com)

She came into the meeting room fussing and crying. It was obvious she was tired, and it was hard for her to hold it together. She was there with her mother, an older sister, and another family. Perhaps the little girl was out during nap time so her sister could see the show. I don't know. However, the only way she would be quiet was if she were allowed to roam freely about the room. Which meant that she went to the front and stood beside the presenter, clearly in the no-go zone and in the way. I didn't expect the toddler to understand, but I expected her mother to understand. The mother would let her daughter stand in the front for a while, then join her, blocking the view of several kids. Eventually, mom would literally drag the toddler to the side, and a tantrum would ensue. Rinse, lather, repeat. So the toddler and the mother were either in the way of the presenter or making enough noise that you couldn't hear the presenter. Finally, the fussy toddler and mother were asked to go outside and invited to come back when the toddler was ready. I understand that the mother probably didn't want to leave her older daughter in the program while she stepped outside into the hallway, but they were there with another family, so the older daughter (7 or 8) had adults watching her. 

So why didn't the mother consider how her child's behavior affected the other 90 people in the room? All of the other grownups handled their kids when they were disturbing others. Some stepped outside with babies who were crying. The toddler's mom could have done the same before she was asked. Was she so used to a fussy child that she didn't think anyone noticed? Was it a cultural thing where more is tolerated from children than it is in our society? Was she just one of those people who doesn't read social cues very well? I don't really know, but I do know that I don't understand. 

Note: When Ward read this, he said that I should say that I was annoyed and frustrated with the situation because of how much I complained about it when I got home. He's right. I was really annoyed.

(Actually, there are many more behaviors that I don't understand these days, but they are much too serious to discuss here.)

Learning

I have several new electronics that are filled with more functions than I will ever need, but I'm trying to learn some of them because they are useful. But motivation is a problem because I'm old enough to have known a world before a computer was attached to everything (and it was quite a fine world, at that), so I'm not driven to be tech savvy. However, I've been trying to get out of my lazy comfort zone and embrace the new possibilities that are before me. And that's a whole lot of words to say: I tried out the camera on my new cell phone this weekend on another visit to Carroll Creek Park. More study and practice are needed, but below are a few pictures of our walk.

One end of the park is filled with kinetic sculptures that all move with the wind. This one is "The Tree of Life". 

If you look closely, you can see how it got its name.

"Rotary Lotus" The petal levels of this one turn in different directions.

"Three Little Birds" If you look closely among the leaves, you will see two flying birds on the ends of the top cross arm. The third one is perched on the lowest branch.

"Together as One"

"Water Lily with Dragon Fly"

"Murmuration"

"An Elusive Kinetic Portrait" When the angle is correct, you can see the portrait of Theophilus Thompson in the middle, the earliest documented African American chess expert. He wrote a book on chess published in 1873.

 There were many more beautiful things to see along the waterway, but I'll leave you today with just the kinetic sculptures. 

Until next time...