Monday, July 29, 2024

T Stands for Some Random Photos

 Hi everyone. And a special hello to the folks who stop by at Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog  for T Day.

For this T day I’ll be sharing some random photos from around my little spot on the planet. FYI-this is a photo heavy post today.


I not only captured this cabbage white butterfly on my starting to bloom oregano, but I also got the bumblebee at the top too. I didn't even notice the bee until  I looked at the photo.
And I'm not great at dragonfly identification, but I think this is a blue darner on my bee balm.


A busy lady (honey bee) on this sunflower.


I'm pretty happy with my woods little garden. The sweet woodruff took off like crazy this year, and I recently picked up some coral bells to fill spots. (The greenhouse near me is now closed, but for a couple of weeks before closing for the year they have buy 1 get 1 free to unload all their plants.) I'm waiting for my Vinca to start spreading a bit more though.


I'm not too happy about these elephant ears bulbs though. I bought a big shade garden collection of them from Costco. Some went into a couple of pots and some went into the ground. There's nothing wrong with the ones in the pots, but the *+!@* chipmunks ate all the ones I put in the ground, which was most of them. Live and learn I guess. 


But these 3 year old zinnia seeds grew great and look nice in my rusting old  bucket.


And this plant started growing on the edge of the grass. I wasn't sure what it was, until now. It's a huge goldenrod. It doesn't look good the way it is all flopped over, but I know the bees and other insects really rely on it in August. And FYI- golden rod is NOT ragweed, which some people are allergic to.


A terrible photo, but I'm finally getting some little cucumbers in my garden.. 👍


  I made a blueberry with some cherries pie last week. I've never made crust in a food processor before, but it made a very good crust.


You may have seen the photos about my visit to Star Island that I posted about last week. (Here's the post Star Island if you are interested). We went into the hotel on the island to use the bathroom, and we explored it just a bit too. Here's a few photos. You can see how not modern it is. I bet it didn't look very different when it was built in 1876, except maybe these electric lights were actually gas lamps.





In the Pink Parlor  they had a small display about a famous historical local named Celia Thaxter. She was born in Portsmouth (New Hampshire), and then grew up on  one of the Isles of Shoals. It was a small island and the family was the only ones on it because her father was the lighthouse keeper.  The lighthouse was the only thing on the island. Thaxter became a relatively famous poet and writer. She  hosted writers on Star Island during the summers that included some big names in American literature such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Greenleaf Whittier and Sarah Orne Jewett. And to connect this to my T day post, Celia Thaxter also  liked to paint dinnerware too.


Here's some examples of her dinnerware that were on display in the pink parlor. She did a lovely job. 


You might notice a cup in the bottom left, and there's a couple of drink pitchers at the top left. Those are my tickets to T this week.

They also had one of her handwritten poems  framed and hanging on the wall.


I think that is enough for me today. I hope everyone has a great T day and week ahead.









17 comments:

Mae Travels said...

Your garden flowers, your one little cuke, and your pie are all neat. I used to make pie crust in the food processor all the time. (Now I just don’t bake any more, but if I did that would be my method.)
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Tom said...

...I bought two elephant ear bulbs at Costco and they were slow to start growing, but they are HUGE now!

Angie's Recipes said...

I didn't notice the bee until I read what you wrote...I love that berry/cherry tart!

Hels said...

What are elephant ears bulbs and why would chipmunks eat plant bulbs?

Iris Flavia said...

Yes, lessons learned here, too, yesterday I found a lonely strawberry on my balcony and munched it up right away! Ha!
Cucumber and pie look great!
The Pink Parlor looks kinda cool. To a happy T-Day, hugs

Valerie-Jael said...

Your garden is beautiful, and you got some great photos. I LOVE how your blueberry pie looks, yummy, wish I had a slice on my plate right now! Happy T Day, hugs!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Now I know what that little white butterfly is I see every morning n my garden. Thanks. Great close-up.

Does your bee balm overwinter outside? Mine is in a pot, so I was planning to overwinter it indoors.

LOVE the elephant ears that survived. I was given some and they died before I could take them in for the winter.

I've never owned a food processor, but your crust looks good.

What amazing photos of Star Island. I especially liked the Pink Parlor. And I DID notice the cup and pitchers. Thanks for sharing your garden, Star Island, and your drink reference with us for T this Tuesday, dear Erika. BTW, I started this about three hours ago and had to stop to take some Advil and let it kick in.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Your garden is looking terrific and a variety of insects agree. That’s the highest affirmation you can have! Well done! All the best - David

CJ Kennedy said...

You garden is just lovely. So good to see the butterflies and bees. Had to laugh at the chipmunks. They love all the good plants. I told you last week of my friend who goes to Star Island every year. I'm so glad I got to glimpse the hotel. The heat is back. Stay cool.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous photos and tganks for sharing the character of Star Island -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com

Let's Art Journal said...

Loving your garden flowers and the butterfly, cabbage whites are the only butterflies that I've seen in our garden this year and I believe it's been a hard year for insects in general, here in the UK, this year. Loving that yummy pie. I'd love a piece with my cuppa today 😊. Wishing you a very Happy T Day! Hugs, Jo x

jinxxxygirl said...

Gardens teach i think... You have a beautiful garden and every year it will get better and thrive from lessons learned... Gardens are always a work in progress... Happy Tday day! Hugs! deb

Lisca said...

Yes, I do short crust pastry in the food processor because the butter needs to be really cold and it mixes into ‘breadcrumb consistency ‘ in no time. Your pie looks delicious.
The old hotel looks really interesting as do all the poetess ephemera.
A belated happy T-Day,
Lisca

*Vicki* said...

Oh my those garden flowers look amazing Erika! That pie looks so yummy too! What a lovely photo post! TFS!

Jeanie said...

Lovely photos all, Erika. the hotel looks lovely inside. It would be fun to stay at a place like that. Love your pie. You're such an amazing baker!

mvmaithai said...

I've seen several butterflies in my Florida garden, but not the cabbage white. It's very pretty. As are your zinnias. I grew them for the first time from seeds I got at the $store. So surprised they are so easy to grow, and such prolific bloomers!

Divers and Sundry said...

Pretty butterfly. The blue darner on the bee balm makes me feel right at home😊 Your garden is attracting the insects, hoorah!

That tour looks interesting. I would enjoy it, I can tell.