pig parts

Large economy sized jars of pig parts --found in the local wal mart super store.
I think I may have tasted pigs' feet in my youth--the jars were often perched on the counters of small neighborhood grocery stores and bars in New Orleans, and pieces were fished out to be eaten on butcher paper as snacks or with beer.

What I probably didn't know about were all the artificial ingredients, preservatives and colors that had been added. Perhaps it wasn't so bad 50 years ago.

fungi fantasy

What's this? a rock with a yellow fuzzy growing on it?--not sure what kind of fungus grows on rocks. I know that lichens do, so I guess it's possible that fungi will too.

update: I googled the yellow fungus, and it is a slime mold with the popular name of "dog vomit".
 

In the second photo...
a cannon ball in the road? No, it's a puffball and soon it will burst releasing a cloud of spores.
Up close it has a fascinating pattern on its surface.

I think the third is also a puffball with an interesting white stripe around its middle--looks like an oreo cookie or chocolate cake with creme filling.

It's hard to move down the road with so many oddities at my feet.

on the walk

Walking in the morning is such a joy, and in Louisiana if you don't do it early you probably won't go at all. The humidity and heat are rising, making the mid-days difficult for outdoor work.

I am fortunate that I live at the end of a road and have some fields that I can walk through. As I go, I listen for birdsong and tick off what I am hearing.
One problem of having a camera in your pocket (my iphone) is that I can't go far without stopping to examine something and take a photo of it.

First photo is the pond where the green heron flies up every morning and gives its "tuck" call--there is a nest there somewhere, and this morning a female mallard flew in as I passed.

The next is our drive. One morning this week there appeared an arc that rose up into the sky from beyond the drive---a fog bow? or dust bow?  It arched across the sky and made a perfect arc--not sure if it will show up on various computers though.

The fields are so green and inviting----my neighbor is late making hay this year so things look overgrown.

As I passed by the pond again later, the sun had risen higher and the willow glowed with neon intensity that was hard to ignore.

daddy

My dad..gone for a long time now....nearly 40 years, but my memories of him are fresh and vivid. He made me a lot of what I am--loving nature and the outdoors, and hating inactivity.

He took us on long walks, and we investigated everything we found--turtles, tadpoles, flowers, snakes--it was always a great adventure. We brought things home and watched them grow, started collections of rocks and shells, and watched stars at night.

Nothing seemed too broken for him to fix--dolls, cars, appliances, and things we found on trash piles that he took home to renovate. During WW2, when it was difficult to buy new items, he refurbished a baby buggy for me and a small toy car for my brother.
It was he who taught me to embroider and sew things, for my mom didn't have much patience.
He could make fishing nets, carve whistles, slingshots, and pop guns. He was always busy--repairing things or making something for the house or garden.

There was always music while he worked for he had a good voice and loved to sing. He had also taught himself to play the piano, harmonica, the trumpet and the violin.


Remembering my dad on Father's Day.

from the garden

cherry tomatoes
yellow plums
various squash and cucumbers

We ate the blueberries before I took a photo. ;)

A stormy morning

space cadet

Some might call me a space cadet. Every spring I would bring my students to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for a field trip. It was here that the rocket engines were tested for the moon projects and then later for the space shuttles.

I have always had great enthusiasm for space exploration and astronomy, and loved sharing it with my classes.


On one of our trips I was able to try on a space suit that was used for training the astronauts.
What a thrill!


scanning old photos again........

ladies' tresses

Tiny, fragrant flowers, spiraling up the stalk...a ladies' tresses orchid made a welcome return to the edge of the pond.

It's been many years since I've seen one on the place.

no more peach ice cream

The utensils are clean and neatly stored. There is no sweet fragrance of vanilla and fresh peaches wafting in the air.
All is quiet and still.
Where's the lady that made the best peach ice cream I ever tasted? Alas, she has found a job at the bank and doesn't need to do cooking any more. I understand, cooking is a hard job.
But I will miss my trips to the peach farm to buy peaches and ice cream for a treat on a hot, Texas summer day.

Mowing around flowers

Sometimes you just have to mow around flowers..........

Mother's Day

Remembering my mom today--that's her holding me in my first photo. She was wonderful in so many ways, but could be fierce in others that are best forgotten.
She was an exceptional cook and homemaker, and outstanding nurse whenever we were ill.
I think of her everyday and appreciate the nurturing that got me through a sickly childhood.

The second is me and my two sons. What a great journey it has been ...motherhood!
So much learning for us all.

a last bit of spring

The great rush of spring is about over. A very heavy rain event yesterday beat the roses to pieces. It was needed though because it had been 3 weeks since we had a shower of any kind.

Things are very green and jungley now. Vines are hanging from the trees and the grass is growing rapidly. Migration of birds has slowed, though I did see a  yellow warbler today as he picked through the pecan blooms. Other song birds are feeding babies, and I didn't get a martin colony again this year. I think raccoons frightened them off one night. So I will lower the houses and tape the entrances to keep out the starlings and sparrows.

A few photos collected as spring unfolded:

a wild Louisiana iris
a wild pink primrose
my favorite geranium
the roses as they peaked
and the red bud tree as it reached full bloom

a visit with jaws

An obligatory photo op with jaws. It didn't hurt much.

the orchid

Loving the bloom on this orchid. Especially since I bought it at the supermarked last year,  nursed through the winter and coaxed it to bloom again.

a few Texas birds

A few days in Texas gave me an opportunity to add more birds to the year list.

male turkeys
ladder backed woodpecker
male lesser goldfinch
lark sparrow
blue winged teal
female ring necked duck
and the last two of a Lincoln's sparrow

I saw others, but didn't get photos--one was the roadrunner-- he was out there in a flash, beep, beep!

watching for manatees

Back to my favorite lake edge--it was a perfect spring day--no wind, no clouds, lots of sun, but, alas, not many birds either.

I was delighted to find the manatee area signs tacked up on all the posts. Someone must have sighted them. They are often reported in the warm brackish waters of the marshes around the lake in winter. Sadly, I didn't see one, but I introduced my grandson to gull watching and talked to him about how wonderful it would be to see manatees!

looking for birds

I went birding from the car since I still have the persistent cough and not sleeping at night.

It was midday and the sun was high overhead, not a good time for taking photos, but I added a few birds to my list. The pectoral sandpipers are a life bird.

The tides were low. Mudflats and exposed grass offered opportunities for waders and shorebirds, but there were very few present. The barn swallows are the first for the year,

plum blossom clouds

Wafting incense to heaven

first ruby-throated hummingbird arrived!

3 in 1

It still amazes me every spring! The camellia, Betty Sheffield, manages to produce a rainbow of blooms on the same bush. It is not grafted. These are sports often coming out on the same branch.