flowers

Warm Weather and the Garden

Weeding was always my favorite garden chore.  My second is pruning.  What’s yours?  I always had tons to weed since I didn’t use herbicides of any kind.  Only Organic gardening for me.  Other than a few times where I did make up a Fels-Naptha soap and garlic wash or just hand-picked the insects off to dispose of them.

I said I enjoyed it, not that I was good at it. Carrots to the left, green beans to the right.

Some love their riding lawnmowers and I get that.  I used to use my mother-in-laws years ago.  She had a lot to mow so I would do it for her cause it was kind of like riding a go-cart.  Depending on how many acres or your physical condition, makes sense.  My mower of choice many years later was a manual lawnmower.  It worked out fine for me.

At this time of year, end of June, I would have planted everything by the end of May, I would have had some harvesting of perennial herbs, lettuce, peas, radishes.  I would have had strawberries if I planted them as well as Black and Red Raspberries.

I would be busy weeding, mowing, watering and daily walk through looking for signs of harvest or trouble.  I always had lots to do if I wanted to.  Sometimes I would mulch a lot to keep the weeds down, other times, I just pull weeds by hand or use the tool I had for the large single root like dandelions.  There was always something very fulfilling about “rooting” through my garden and improving the appearance like that.  Great exercise too.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Experimental Fun!

I love playing!  I only wish I had more money to waste on all the creative software out there.  I have not tried animation software but my Microsoft PhotoDraw has a very few animations on it at this time.  Once Microsoft stopped supporting it, the 3-D no longer operates with my newer Windows.

The following are various experimental graphics and animations with PhotoDraw.

Layered storm clouds, headstones and faded flowers called “Forgotten.”
One of my favorite stories from the Bible. It is quoted in a Charlie Brown’s Christmas describing the Birth of Christ. Bust of Angel surrounded by scripture with enhanced corners.
Luke 2:9-11
Used the same cropped flowers with softened edges on either side of another cropped lavender with bee photo over background with french text.
Had a picture of the cropped moon fade and scroll right across sunset for solar eclipse.
Animated “Forgotten.”

Daily Prompt: Willy-Nilly Kaleidodesigns

Sometimes I like to play with the various Kaleidoscope effects my software offers. One just splits the image and another does the actual Kaleidoscope design effect and allows you to place it where you want it in terms of color and shape, lots of options.  The split effect they call kaleidoscope splits 4 images at a time.  There is a plan to what I do eventually but my designing does begin willy-nilly.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Elemental Elements of Nature

Elemental Elements of Nature totally fascinate me.  When I was out in it yesterday, I was remembering how I spent most of my childhood outdoors, in my element for sure.  I love nature!  I have always been fascinated with the creations of God.  Flowers, trees & their fruits, birds, insects, frogs & tadpoles, ground rats (chipmunks), any kind of field or garden that I could spend hours in.

I would spend so much time just studying and looking for things.  If you looked close enough and long enough you could always find something awesome.  Can’t tell you what exactly, because it was different each time.  That was the excitement of it.

Super tomboys, my sister and I climbed trees and searched for tadpoles and snakes in the huge field up from Edward Hines Park in Nankin Township.  We found all kinds of things to eat as well.  Tons of hazelnuts grew wild there as well as berries.  We picked them and brought them home for us all to enjoy.  We ate the debatable Hawthorn berries that grew on the many trees in the park near our home.  You have to know how to eat them safely.

I miss those simpler times before media experts all over telling you every move to make and what you should and shouldn’t do.  I don’t even listen to the talking heads anymore.  I’m going back to my “second childhood” now.