5-31-2022 Koala and ISS and Running

Last night's free-hand sketch

while watching "Secrets of the Zoo"...

a koala...

And, we invited 3 housefuls of neighbors

over to our back deck last night

to see the International Space Station

fly over the "Driftless Zone"

of MN, WI, IA, IL...

Because we had cloudless skies

and a new moon (no moonlight)

it was perfect conditions!

I took video of it

but Blogger no longer allows me to post videos

like they used to...sigh.

Otherwise, I'd post it here.

Also, the QC is one of the 'running-est' cities I know!

Almost every single weekend

there is a 'run' for some cause or other.

DH and I used to run in the 3K-7 mile runs

in our previous decade.

Today we had a run come through our neighborhood

down our flag-lined street

while we sat comfortably on our front porch

drinking our morning coffee and taking pictures!

5-29-2022 Somewhere In Time

I tried a free-hand sketch of Christopher Reeve tonight

while watching his movie, "Somewhere in Time."

I know it's unrecognizable as him,

but it was good 'face drawing practice!'

5-28-2022 Nests

Apparently

the underside

of my back deck

is the perfect place

for nesting!

There is also one right above the swing...

5-27-2022 Corelle Dinnerware

Apparently the Corelle Dinnerware I've been using for decades

is full of lead and toxic metals and unsafe to use by today's standards!

Time to go shopping for new dishes?!?!?

I just ate my Bruschette off of one of the most toxic ones last night!

toxic dinnerware

5-26-2022 Lantana Camara and Heliotrope

Lantana Camara

are in the Verbena family

and considered a very adaptive invasive weed.

They have 4 petals in yellow, orange, and pink clusters

and are toxic to livestock and humans if eaten.

They are used medicinally in Inda because of the

antimicrobial, fungicidal, and insecticidal properties

to treat cancer, leprosy, chicken pix, measles, asthma and ulcers.

_________________________

Heliotrope

...is highly toxic to cats, dogs, livestock, and humans

causing severe liver damage when taken internally

but can be used externally in tinctures

to treat skin ailments, warts, calluses, wounds

and infections; can be used in massage oils.

...has a dense cluster of delicate, deep purple flowers

and a delicious vanilla cherry pie aroma.

are temperate perennials and northern annuals.

...are drought and heat tolerant.

...symbolize devotion and eternal love.

...name comes from the Greek words for sun, HELIOS, 

and TREPEIN, to turn, 

because of the flower's tendency 

to turn and face the sun throughout the day.

5-25-2022 Bachelor Buttons/Cornflowers

Bachelor Buttons/Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) 

have adorned European and American gardens for centuries, 

and they reseed freely. BBs come in the original blue color 

and nowadays, in pink, red, and white. 

They symbolize love, the passion of youth, healing, protection, 

delicacy, purity of feelings, and good fortune. 

They were John F, Kennedy's favorite flower, so much so

that he wore one on his lapel the day he married Jacqueline

...to pay tribute to her father. 

The flowers are edible and add a splash of color to salads, 

and can be dried to make tea blends more colorful. 

Due to their anti-inflammatory properties, t

hey can be used as mouth rinses for bleeding gums, 

UTI infections, as a poultice for aching muscles 

and on open wounds, 

and they help the digestive system 

with stomach ulcers and constipation.

5-24-2022 Trollius

Trollius...

family: Ranunculaceae (buttercups)

common name: Globe Flowers

Genus name, Trollius, comes from the German word 'troll'

meaning 'round in reference to the flower's

globular/spherical shape

symbolized: Gratitude

blooms: May-July

colors: yellow

...is a herbaceous perennial,

...is slightly bitter and poisonous when fresh to livestock,

...is used medicinally to treat respiratory infections and colds,

timpanitis, mouth sores and bleeding gums,

acute lymphangitis, and acute periostitis.

5-23-2022 Echinacea Coneflowers

Echinacea Coneflowers

are in the daily family

and are found in eastern and central North America,

where they grow in prairies and woodlands.

The genus name Echinacea

comes from the Greek word echino,

meaning hedgehog,

referring to its spiky brown cone

off which the petals grow

from June to August.

The flowers, leaves, stems, and roots

are all used for medicinal treatments

because of the anti-inflammatory properties

and immune system boosting properties.

Because of this, Echinacea Coneflowers

symbolize strength and health.

Native Americans used it to treat swelling, burns, and pain

and chewed it as a ritual during sweatlodge ceremonies

and for Sundances.

They named it 'elk root'

because they observed wounded elk 

seeking them out as medicine.

And here's how my GDs sweet flower garden looks today:

5-22-2022 Lilacs

Several years ago I bought a lilac bush 

and planted it in my back yard, 

because I absolutely LOVE lilacs...

their colors, their fragrance, their abundant floral blooms! 

It died within 2 years. 

Then I bought a rose bush last spring 

and planted it in my garden 

with lots of good soil around its root ball. 

It never came back this spring...dead as a door nail. 

Today I'm trying again...planting yet another Lilac bush 

at the corner of the house, in hopes that 

it will survive in this location. 

Fingers crossed!

So, we removed the lavender clump

(because I have another one elsewhere

so this one is redundant)

and moved the daylily that is closest to the corner of the house

into the lavender clump's hole,

then we DH put the new lilac bush

into the daylily hole at the corner of the house.

Fingers crossed it will survive and grow

in this location!

Before...

After...

5-21-2022 Foxglove Digitalis

 Foxglove Digitalis,

also called fairy gloves, or lady's gloves,

have blooms of purple, white, yellow, and pink, and often they have spots within the flower.

They grow in woodland clearings, mountainsides, and now in my flower garden.

It is considered an invasive weed. (Great!)

Each plant produces 1-2 million sees to reseed itself! (OMGoodness! I'm going to have to keep an eye on this one!)

Compounds in the plant have been used medicinally...poisonous cardiac glycosides. Foxglove is cultivated commercially as a source of the heart-stimulating drug 'digitalis.' The drug is obtained from the dried leaves.

In Victorian flower language, a fight of foxglove would carry the symbolic meaning of "I am ambitious for you, rather than for myself." Foxglove is also associated with insincerity, pride, intuition, creativity, and energy.

5-20-2022 Celosia

Celosia,

commonly known as 'woolflowers'

are members of the amaranth family, zone 9 & 10 perennials, and are edible ornamentals (the leaves tast like spinach when young) with booms colored purple, red, orange, yellow, white, pink, and maroon.

The name 'Celosia' orinignates from the Greek word meaning 'burning' due to the flome-shaped flower heads. They are a symbol of boldness, courage, burning strength and reliance, and a romantic gift for that someone special. It is considered a good omen, especially for pregnant women! 

Medicinally it is used to treat eye disease, intestinal worms, mouth sores, blood diseases, as a diuretic, and as a poultice for sores and boils.

5-19-2022 Snapdragons

Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus)

are sometimes us as a charm against falsehood. They represent strength, as they are able to grow in rocky mountainous uninhabitable areas. They also symbolize deviousness and grace. The name is derived from the Greek word "antirrhinum" which means "nose-like." The Greeks also had a second name for this plant: " kynokephelon " meaning "dog-headed." In Victorian times, Snapdragons symbolized truth-telling.

They are short-lived perennials with ance-shaped leaves, tubular flowers with a closed liplike youth that can be forced open by bee pollinators (and human fingers!). Blossoms can be white, yellow, red, orange, pink lavender, and any combination of these colors. Herbalists use snapdragons as a diuretic, for treatment of scurvy, for liver disorders, as resolvents, stimulants, and poultices for tumors and ulcers. You can eat the leaves and stems but they are bitter. Snapdragon blooms are completely edible as well, but they are a bit of an acquired taste. The seeds are also edible, tho not tasty. "Madame Butterfly" snapdragons have the nicest flavors.

5-18-2022 FAIRY BELLS

FAIRY BELLS (Campanula Persicifolia_ are also called Fairy Bellflowers, Peach Bells, Petticoat Bellflowers, Venus Looking Glass, and Peach-Leaved Bellflowers.

They are most common in the Alps and mountains of Europe and are an English cottage garden classic. The clump-forming perennial herbaceous plant produces flowers with 5 violet-blue fused petals. "Campanula" means "bell-like." In flower language, they represent attraction, vanity, constancy support, romance, maturity, gratitude, humility, everlasting love, and even death. In Victorian days they were usually given to friends as gifts of gratitude.

The entire plant is edible and nutritious. Its roots can be eaten raw or cooked, the leaves are rich in vitamin C, and young shoots in spring can be balanced and cooked like asparagus.

5-17-2022. Salvia

Salvia is one of the most common, versatile, and beautiful plants in the world. Salvia are any of the large genus of herbs and shrubs of the mint/sage family having 2-lipped open calyx and 2 antlers. It holds the symbolic meaning of longevity, wisdom, esteem and good health. The flowers are attractive to pollinators and bloom in late spring/early summer, and again in the Fall if faded blooms are pruned off. Salvia is derived from the Latin word 'salsa' which means 'healthy.'  Cooks use fresh or dried Salvia leaves as a seasoning. Because of the highly hallucinogenic effects of Salvia divinorum, it has been used for centuries in religious rites and ceremonies to trigger (temporary...about 30 minute) visions, smudging to create spiritual peace and block negative energies, and divination as a source of knowledge and connection to the divine source. Ancient Greeks considered Salvia to be a sacred herb and dedicated it to Zeus. Herbal Healers administer Salvia tea, or encourage patients to chew Salvia leaves to threat seizures, diarrhea, ulcers, gout, rheumatism, inflammation, dizziness, tremors, paralysis, high blood sugar, heartburn, bloating, excessive perspiration, cognitive disorders, and skin and throat inflammations. Modern day research suggests Salvia may have anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, pain-blocking, and cholesterol-lowering effects.

5-16-2022 Alyssum

This first flower planted in my garden was Alysum, 

picked out by D.

She loved that the flowers were purple, and so small and dainty.

I've seen them around all my life...short and low to the ground...

perfect for ground cover and garden borders...

and I know the name, Alyssum,

and that it comes in a variety of colors,

but not much beyond that.

A little research on the www taught me these new things:

In Victorian flowers language, Alyssum symbolized 

"Worth beyond beauty" and "sweetness of soul."

It was used to deflect unfriendly spells, cultivate calmness, and avoid anger.

It has small blossoms and is considered an annual shrub 

that comes in a huge range of colors.

It reseeds itself, and smells lovely...some say, like honey.

It first blooms in late May-early June and continues blooming until Fall's first frost.

Besides being an ornamental plant, it serves a role in the kitchen, and as a natural pest deterrent. It is in the same family as mustards, cruciferous vegetables, collards, chard, kale, and other greens, and is a great addition to stir-fries and salads. It is non-toxic to cats, dogs, livestock, and people. Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, flies, and ladybugs (which eat Aphids!) are drawn to its sweet smell and bright colors.

Its genus is in the Brassicaceae family. The name 'Alyssum' stems from the Latin 'alysson' and also the Greek 'alusson' (a=without, lussa=rabies). It was used as an anti-rabies treatment back in the days before modern medicine! Herbal Medicine practitioners also use it to treat edema, scurvy and for pain relief. Today, a-lussa is translated 'without madness.' Its modern genus name is Lobularia for 'small pod.' The most common species is Maritima because of its preference for sea air. It is especially prolific around the Mediterranean Sea.

5-15-2022 The Full Planting Moon

Tonight is the Full 'Planting' Moon...

in full eclipse tonight...

in Scorpio...

in Mercury Retrograde

in opposition to the Sun in Taurus!

This one packs a punch!

But having said all that,

I probably won't get to see it

because we currently have cloudy skies

raining upon us!

Anyhoo...

since we are back from our spring vacation

and will be home the rest of the summer

I thought it would be the perfect day (and full moon)

to plant my flower garden

with all the lovely flowers

that my granddaughters picked out for me on Friday!

I can't wait to see how they look

when they are all 'grown up.'

I saved the tags for each one

and plan to learn a bit about each one.

Stay tuned!

5-14-2022 Tent Camping

The girls are giving 'tent camping' a try at the park with daddy...

the youngest went home with mommy at 8 p.m.

for a shower to wash off all the bug spray, 

and for a warm, soft bed for the night.

I can't say as I blame them!

5-7-2022. First Kitty

GD's got their first kitty today...

J named her "Gypsy"

because cats are wanderers.

Pretty exciting day

for the granddaughters...

and the kitty!