Nature

Po’ Girl Shines Little Bits

A little piece of Calumet Michigan, wishing I was there! Love the Upper Peninsula!
Just a goof-off statement about pollution, that is a very serious matter!

Still missing my little baby Raizen, waiting for me to come home after work.

Can’t believe it is already September, and 2012 yet!  Didn’t even bother to buy any 2013 Calendars, how about you all?

Was featured again on Instructables.   I plan on having much more information on that site in the near future.  Food, sewing and crafts.  My latest featured was Drawstring purse with cubbies inside to put things in.  Again this step by step “how-to” can be found on instructables.com.  Hope to have more info soon on Po’ Girl hand made clothing and will let you know when the etsy store opens!

Coming soon to a forest or woods near you!
Drawstring Purse with Cubbies.
Crafted a fabric bowl with yarn and button trim years ago. Love throwing my jewelry into it after a hard day, then I can hang them back up where they belong When I have more time.

McCourtie Park, More Than Meets The Eye under Daily Prompt: Ghost

I took another way home from Hidden Lake Gardens in Tipton Michigan because I wanted to swing by Meckleys Flavor Fruit Farm which is packed with cider donuts and cider and everything else you can imagine. I think of it as a cider mill, but there is a petting zoo, gift shop and other things to see and do besides roasting hot dogs on sticks over fire pits.

Upon leaving I noticed the cutest bridge to my right as I drove back down S Jackson Rd to US12 from the farm.  I have been in this area before and had never noticed Bridge Park, or McCourtie Park it’s actual name.  It was created from what was left of “Aiden Lair,” the nickname of the estate owned by wealthy oil and cement tycoon William H L McCourtie.  The home itself no longer stands but the bridgework was renovated and turned into a park located on the NW corner of US12 just after S Jackson Rd in Somerset Center Michigan.


I am only now working with my fall pictures because I was not impressed by them earlier.  I had walked through the park quickly taking a few pictures of the rustic looking bridges all over, and evidently did not even see all of it.  I decided to use the internet to research these types of bridges in that area of the state for more information and found more than I was looking for regarding McCourtie park.

Two mexican artisans were commissioned to create 17 bridges as well as some other features such as 2 rather large artificial tree trunks coming from the ground that actually hid chimneys coming from a subterranean rathskeller where local big shots and elite would come and party and gamble the night away back in the 1930s. Henry Ford was supposedly among the regulars. This was during prohibition and there were rumors that the chimneys were deliberately designed this way as to blend in with nature and the surrounding trees so as to hide this supposed speakeasy. It is said there were underground tunnels from here that allowed for bootlegging and that it could have been part of the underground railroad.

Supposedly George Cardozo and Ralph Corona came from Texas to create the bridges sculpted of concrete to look like logs and other things such as rope or boards and braced with steel rods for support. They were designed in the El Trabijo Rustico design in the Mexican Folk Tradition. I think that I only saw about 7 or 8 of the bridges so I plan on going back later this fall to really explore and get more pictures of the bridges and the rathskeller. All the Michigan ghost sites claim that this park is also haunted by the lady in blue but it did not feel haunted to me. I think someone was drinking some of that leftover moonshine!

Blessed Rain

There was a storm last week and it was so great!  It was not bad in my area and we really needed the rain desperately.  I am still doing a rain dance in my head for the rest of America so the drought will go away.  Our economy is bad enough without the farmers having to share in this misery.  It is very scary to think that if this were to keep up and we really did not have enough rain soon that it will adversely effect all the food that is grown and that in turn effects everything!  The least of which is the cost of what food we do have going up, the most is more people actually starving.  I have not been able to grow any sustainable food in my garden this year, even with additional careful watering.  The animals are ravenous and even with my bird baths, the birds got every berry off my shrubs this year.  This has never happened even with my yard full of birds every year.  I went out once to check for ripeness and you should have heard the commotion.  First a few of them gathered squawking, then more kept flying over by me griping loudly.  I swear they were afraid I was going to pick some and I would have if any had been ripe at the time.

Scared the Turd Out of a Little Bird Today

I swear it screamed!  If birds can scream, this little bird actually screamed when it looked back and saw that I was right behind him.  That he actually let his guard down like that and could not sense “human inches away” must have freaked his little bird brain right out.  He was digging feverishly in the sun-scorched dry dirt for something, anything that even resembles a bug so it took him a few seconds and he let me walk up to him and stand for a few seconds before he looked back and with a very loud and shrill TWWEEEET, took off across the yard.

I do have bird baths and fountains so they are getting enough water and cooling off, but they are eating all of my black and red raspberries this year.  If I go out near the berries they start squawking and gathering all around by me like a scene from the birds.  They do not want me near their food supply.  I tried to get it on film, but when I go out with a video cam, almost no birds are in sight.  When I step out by myself they are doing all kinds of “fly” things.  One large robin was sitting in the middle of the berry bush, looked at me come towards her and just kept eating and ignoring me so I stood there resolute in the knowledge that I will not be getting anything from my garden this year.  Then if by chance they miss something, yeah me!

Squirrels and the Old Oak Tree

Soo disappointed that I did not have my video cam ready for some squirrels outside that were playing hide and go seek.  The one would crawl stealthily on his little belly low to the ground to try and peer over the edge of the plants, see one of the other squirrels and bolt!  As much as these things annoy me when they dig all through my garden looking for who knows what, they are funny to watch once in a while.  I have two little baby ones that come down to eat things in the yard now and they are very skittish.

squirrelgif

 

Creative Gardening

Artful Gardening Ideas from “living artfully” by Sandra Magsamen

  • Instead of potted plants, make little herb gardens to serve as dining table centerpieces.  Or use glass bell jars as terrariums.

  • Cut a heart shape in the lawn using a mower.

  • Plant a garden with butterfly bushes and enjoy the visits of hundreds of butterflies.

  • Make a garden pathway using stones you craft with cement.  Pour the cement in a box of the size of the desired stone and place objects, like shells, sea glass and mosaics in the wet thick mortar.  Carve your name with a stick or even stick in your bare foot to make an imprint before it dries.

  • Plant lots of red tulip bulbs in the shape of hearts in your garden so that in the spring, your garden will blossom with love.  Secretly plant a heart tulip bed in your neighbor’s garden.

  • Pick a handful of pansies from your garden and tie together with a velvety purple ribbon to give to a neighbor.

  • Hang several hummingbird feeders outside of a main window and watch as the birds joyously flit back and forth.

  • Build a koi pond and fill it with colorful fish.

  • Make feeding balls for birds.  Simply spread peanut butter on an orange and then roll it in birdseed.  Hang these beautiful balls from branches and watch as the birds enjoy the bounty.

  • Learn to build (or have built) a water garden and transform your yard into a babbling brook.

  • Add elegant and colorful pinwheels or figurines to your garden.

  • Plant a mini forest of large sunflowers and when their stalks grow tall, walk into the magical thicket.  Allow the flowers to dry in the sun and hang as bird feeders from the trees in the late fall.

Early Spring

As the blog writer, I am writing this disclaimer that I do not fully agree with some of these ideas, but printed them verbatim from the book.  I don’t think it a good idea to surprise any neighbor by planting things secretly in their yard, depending on the items and the neighbor.  You want to be careful mixing cement for the garden stones and wear proper equipment to protect skin, lungs and eyes, so I am not sure you want to put your bare feet into the cement, unless you wash off right away.  I am not a fan of ponds.  My home had one when I moved in and I would find small animals and birds drowned in it occasionally when I came home from work.  Found that too upsetting and had it dug out and replaced it with a small herb garden.

I also have a problem with the suggestion to walk into any thicket of sunflowers.  Bees and hornets love them!  As beautiful as they are, you may want to keep your distance, especially if you have allergies.  Unless I was planning to eat some of the sunflower seeds, I let them dry on the plant and the birds and squirrels help themselves.  I am not into super-cleaning up my garden at the end of the season.  There have been things written by so-called experts that this reduces plant disease.  This is not true unless you know you have diseased plants, in which case you will want to take care of them at the time you find this out.  Leaving the plants be at season’s end, makes your garden more attractive & interesting.  It also makes it bird and animal friendly.  They make use of all kinds of plant substances by eating it or using it for bedding or nesting.  Some left over plants make nice perches.  I usually do my major bed cleaning in early spring but make sure all plants and leaves are kept off the lawns and ground cover year round.

Parsley is also a shrub!