Pamela J

Our pileated woodpecker visited yesterday.

2012-01-24T17:49:00.001-05:00

This goes beyond being a typo. (1/25/12 Update: "blue riband" is probably NOT a typo. See Anne's comment.)

2012-01-24T17:14:00.004-05:00

From The Rough Guide to Climate Change by Robert Henson.
I read a lot about climate change because I think it's just the most fascinating subject. It has it all: death, destruction, drama, debate, politics. Isn't this a great mistake?

Ha!

2012-01-24T17:02:00.001-05:00

Potato tutorial.

2012-01-22T10:51:00.004-05:00

For the past few years I've been successfully growing potatoes in my tiny veggie garden. I buy potatoes at the grocery store -- just your run-of-the-mill grocery store -- cut them into pieces, plant each piece, and wait. I always get potatoes. But I've always wondered if I was making a mistake by using industrial strength potatoes instead of, say, seeds or non-Big Ag potatoes. I don't know for sure that this adorable little girl helped me understand my potato-growing any better but isn't she fun to watch? And now I WILL spend a little time doing a little research. It won't necessarily change the way I plant potatoes but I might be a little more educated. The reason I won't necessarily change my ways is that I'm old... well old-ish, and I've been bombarded with carcinogens for all those years, and I'm just pessimistic enough to believe that nothing I do now, especially if it just involves potato-planting, will change any of that.

And thank you to this guy who alerted me to this video.

James Carville and I "would like to take a moment to revel."

2012-01-21T17:33:00.006-05:00

Gleeful words :

"Your new front-runner is one of your old front runners, Newt Gingrich. I would like to take a moment to revel: I cannot personally tell you how pleased I am to see old Newt rise to the top after listening to all of your nauseating, sickening lectures on the evils of government and the importance of family values."

Dwight Schrute! What are you doing there?

Free books anyone? I have more than 90 credits in my online book-swapping club and I want to get rid of them. Anyone want a free used book? Email me!

2012-01-21T11:23:00.012-05:00

See in the upper left corner? Where it says "credits"? That means I can request 92 books and they can be sent anywhere I want. Want a book? Nonfiction, fiction, hardback, paperback. If you search for the book you want here and see a blue "order this now" button on the right that means it's in the system. Send me your mailing address via email (pamelawinters@comcast.net) and I'll have the book shipped to you. Such a deal.

I wonder if Supreme Court justice Sam Alito will show up for next week's State of the Union speech.

2012-01-21T11:03:00.009-05:00

Two years ago when Pres. Obama wisely criticized the horrible Citizens United v. the FEC decision during his State of the Union speech, Justice Alito famously (infamously) mouthed "not true." So now we know that this decision led to the Super PACS which make me (and Stephen Colbert) sick. So will Alito show up at next week's SOTU? Will Obama look him in the eye and say, essentially, "see?! I told you so asshole." No, none of that will happen. Obama's too cool. But if Alito's there I'll be yelling it at the TV set.

A trip to Old Town Alexandria, VA.

2012-01-20T18:36:00.012-05:00

Anne of The Complaint Department and I went to Old Town yesterday. She wanted to buy some lamp shades and I went along for the ride. We had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant called Layla's (do the Lebanese worship Eric Clapton??) -- this was the sampler appetizer we shared.** And she wowed me by buying, seemingly impulsively, an enormous chest of drawers ... as a gift for her husband. It wasn't totally an impulse purchase. She had seen it just after Christmas and remembered it. I was just very impressed with the efficient, decisive, well-thought-out way she made the purchase. And then a gathering of store employees and free-lance workers-on-the-street helped load it into her car and off we went, back over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Maryland.

Old Town is a lovely place to visit and we're going back when the weather is better. I want to visit the Masonic Temple, which you can see way in the background on the left in the third picture from the top. I don't know why exactly, except that I'm always curious about these semi-secret societies.

**1/21/12 update: the restaurant was actually The Pita House not Layla's. Two Lebanese restaurants within a block or two of each other!

Fungus from my sister's neck of the woods. Not sure what they are but they sure are purty.

2012-01-20T17:38:00.004-05:00

What kind of fungus is this? I'll bet my sister knows.

2012-01-17T19:58:00.001-05:00

It was growing on a dead limb in the woods next to my house. So pretty on the bottom. But what is it?

Also running for President. Meet Vermin Supreme!

2012-01-07T18:41:00.002-05:00

If you manage to get through the whole 5 minutes you'll hear him reaffirm his campaign promise of a pony for every American! He's on the New Hampshire ballot so all you Hampshirians who can't find a suitable Republican can vote for this guy.

GrandCats Occupy Brooklyn.

2012-01-05T18:08:00.004-05:00

The boys are on top of the kitchen cabinets, where they are technically not supposed to be. Maybe they know they have appointments next Wednesday to have their manhoods altered.

Eye Oh Ah tonight.

2012-01-03T15:45:00.000-05:00

At long last the Eye Oh Ah caucuses are tonight. I'll be firmly planted in front of my small screen TV watching C-Span, which will cover not one but two of the cauci. It will be a bit like peering into someone's living room while standing in their dark, cold front yard. Could I be a bigger geek? Or am I a nerd? Or perhaps a masochist? I'm rooting for Santorum because I am eager to see his brown line soar to the top. After he soars, we only need Huntsman to soar and then it will mean that at one time nearly all the candidates soared.

Book Confessions, 2011.

2012-01-02T19:49:00.000-05:00

Hi, I'm Pam and I'm a junk-book-aholic. When I go into my local library and see this kind of trash on the shelf of new books I just can't help myself. Is this a waste of time? Not really. I feel like I learned a tiny bit about what it's like to be a teenager in Alaska. I'd like to say that it's a new year's resolution to stop reading self-serving, badly written memoirs but I can't. Speaking of resolutions, last year's attempt to improve my habits was a bust. I sort of managed to accomplish three of my 12 resolutions (I stopped buying soft drinks, I didn't start knitting any new scarfs, and I reduced by a tiny, tiny bit my yak-yak-yakking), but I'm not sure I'm even going to write up a list this year. Converting my room of horrors into a guest bedroom is my only resolution.

Candle-making! At last. I have more wax cappings to melt but first I need to buy lots of stockings. It takes a lot -- it's a messy business. But fun.

2012-01-01T21:03:00.012-05:00

I think these pictures pretty much tell the story of my maiden attempt at candle-making. I know I wasted some wax because I let too much of the stocking stuffed with the clean burr comb sink under the hot water. That caused a lot of the melted wax to stick to the stocking and it had to be thrown out.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T11:40:00.001-05:00

Dancing beluga whale. So sweet, although I'm sure she wishes she were back in the ocean. Maybe she's saying "get me out!" not "this is fun!"

2011-12-17T11:11:00.006-05:00

My winter harvest: sprouts.

2011-12-16T16:52:00.002-05:00

No muss, no fuss, and a few nutrients.

C. Hitchens: 1949-2011

2011-12-16T01:04:00.003-05:00

He was great. I'll miss him.

"There will never be another like Christopher. A man of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar," said Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. "Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls."

Tweet.

2011-12-15T10:44:00.008-05:00

An alert and faithful reader reports that the writer Susan Orlean tweeted today that she was up:
“to all hours last night trying to sort out the plot of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Failed.”
My alert reader alerted me to this tweet because she knew it would make me feel absolutely OK with abandoning Salman Rushdie and his beautiful but way too complicated for me book Midnight's Children. Thank you alert reader.

And now I've seen one example of why Twitter is worth the effort. I have an account but I never check it and lord knows I've never tweeted.

Picture of sweet daughter and sweet future son-in-law at the pond next to our house the day after Thanksgiving. Don't they look like they're lost and a little uneasy? They're used to the streets of Brooklyn.

Don't let this happen to you.

2011-12-14T21:27:00.004-05:00

I try hard to be open-minded, especially in matters of taste and style and personal preferences. But can anyone think this looks good? It's only barely less hideous at night, and some days I think I like it better during the day when everything is puddle-like. If you have one or two of these items in your yard, maybe because you have small children who find it charming, then I'm happy for you. But if you live in the house across the street or next door, you have my sympathies.

Nope, Rushdie will have to wait for another day.

2011-12-11T19:38:00.009-05:00

I'd worked my way through 93 pages of Midnight's Children and this chart shows why I stopped at page 94. Way too much work. But I really do want to read something about Pakistan so I've got a couple of books on hold at the library, both nonfiction.

And I read this delightful little book about Starbucks today. Cleansed the palate. Thanks for the suggestion Shannon!

I've been Freecycling and the kitties are very happy.

2011-12-09T10:52:00.019-05:00

Don't they look content? Lucy (all white below the eyes) and Georgette (the other one) were very pleased with my acquisition. I got it from an interesting lady whose cats died 3 years ago but she's been unable, for sentimental reasons, to get rid of this used-but-sturdy piece of kitty furniture.

I decided to use Freecycle to find good homes for:

1. 36 copies of Fine Gardening magazine donated to me by Gardener Susan -- about 4 years ago. If I haven't read them in 4 years I'm never going to.

2. 24 small cans of cat food that my picky kitties wouldn't eat.

3. 11 containers of partially used cleaning products that my neighbor no longer wants in her house. Toxic! says she, and she's right. I told her that I could find a good home for the stuff on Freecycle. Then I had to wrestle with the following question: is it better to find a toxic waste dump for such stuff or just pass it along to someone else who will breathe in the fumes while cleaning? I went with the latter of course, mostly because* I don't really believe that there are SAFE toxic waste dumps. All that crap we put in so-called safe dumps eventually ends up in the soil anyway (in my not-so-humble but ever-so-skeptical opinion). If not, why is there so much ruckus about Yucca Mountain? Back to the subject at hand. (But if you're interested in a discussion of toxic gardening products check out the comments on this blog post. Most of these people are so optimistic and trustful of what we're told about disposing of toxic products. I wish I could be so optimistic and trustful. But not in this lifetime, baby. Maybe the next.)

4. a couple of 2-way radios that belonged to Marv. I still have boxes of his books around here that I told his daughter I would either sell or find good homes for. I found the radios in the bottom of one of the boxes. Which is a good sign. It means that I at least opened the box and took something out. I give my buddies Anne and Susan credit for that. They're both in major cleaning modes and that led me to be in a minor cleaning mode.

*A more honest reason? Lazy.

Nicotiana wants to bloom, even in December!

2011-12-06T11:39:00.008-05:00

I bought a couple of nicotiana plants in the spring and left them up close to the house, under an awning, where they were very happy. I do this every year. This plant doesn't like to have any direct sun, at least not under my care, and it blooms profusely all summer long. This year, the sweet little plant really thrived, and it's still green with buds trying so hard to open. I wonder if it would bloom if I set up grow lights on the front porch to give it a longer day?

I know this is a lame and boring post but I just had to remove that newt from the top of my posts.

Ugh. I know it's rude and will offend some people, maybe even people I know and love, but Ugh, Ugh. Ugh.

2011-12-05T19:27:00.004-05:00

Books are supposed to challenge us, right?

2011-12-04T15:37:00.012-05:00

You know you're in for a long ride when the novel you're reading has a Wikipedia entry for the characters alone. I've printed it out, along with two other study guides to the book, so reading is a physical challenge too -- keeping all those papers handy and flipping through them to find the exact piece of info you need to understand what's going on in the story. (Like whose sister married which brother of what main character?)

The characters' names aren't identifiably male or female, nor are they identifiably first or last names; a son's name doesn't always have anything in common with his father's or mother's names (ditto for daughters of course); married people don't always share a name. Plus the narrator moves back and forth between decades, talking about his grandfather as a young man (about 1919 in Kashmir and other places in India) in one paragraph and his father as a young man in the next (1940s India). I think. I'm determined to finish it, but I know I'm missing a lot.

The guides and cheat-sheets for the characters are helpful but even they are confusing. One of them tells the story and keeps referring to "Pakistan." But the main action takes place when there was no official Pakistan, which kind of sets my teeth on edge. Did you know that the name Pakistan was created in 1933? I didn't.

The name was coined by Cambridge student and Muslim nationalist Choudhary Rahmat Ali, and was published on January 28, 1933 in the pamphlet Now or Never. He saw it as an acronym formed from the names of the "homelands" of Muslims in northwest India — P for Punjab, A for the Afghan areas of the region, K for Kashmir, S for Sindh and tan for Balochistan, thus forming "Pakstan". An i was later added to the English rendition of the name to ease pronunciation, producing "Pakistan"

From YahooAnswers.

Ha!

2011-11-23T10:54:00.000-05:00

Florence + The Machine.

2011-11-21T17:45:00.004-05:00

I've got this song in my head and it won't go away. What a voice. When you get to about 1.25 minutes into the song she really let's it fly! She was on SNL last week and Letterman has had her on at least once, maybe twice. (Husband Doug likes her a lot too -- and it's not just about those legs, although I'm sure they don't bother him one little bit.)

Reading The Internets I have discovered that she likes her tequila. Hope she doesn't burn out too soon.

New Gibson guitar arrives! Son is happy, kitty is happy (boxes to play in), so I'm happy.

2011-11-17T09:52:00.008-05:00

It's called a Les Paul and it's really, really purty.

You meet the nicest people on blogs. I admired Kitt's columbine and she sent me some seeds. And what a beautiful card. Thanks Kitt!

2011-11-16T20:56:00.005-05:00

Here are Kitt's columbine seeds, some of which traveled from Denver to DC and I hope will be blooming in my garden next summer.

The eccentric artist up the street adds a new sculpture to his front yard. When the wind blows so does this art.

2011-11-10T17:48:00.006-05:00

Other shots from this house are here and here and here.

As suggested by an observant reader.

2011-11-10T17:20:00.009-05:00

Anne of The Complaint Department had a good suggestion about MY complaint about reading books on an eReader -- I bemoaned the absence of an attractive cover to keep me tied to the book I'm reading. So I'm trying out a quick and cheap method of adding book covers to the Kindle. If I just had a color printer it would be more effective, but this works for now. And quite by coincidence, last Sunday's NYT Book Review section had a good article about the subject of book cover art. Here.

If you want to read the full NYT article but don't want to go through the paywall, you can click on the full story over on the right side of this blog -- see section called "Pam's Place for Items of Note." Click on The Art of the Novel.

Finally. I read my first full novel on my "new" Kindle.

2011-11-09T09:41:00.004-05:00

Last Christmas, so approximately 11 months ago, Doug gave me a Kindle. I'd been muttering about them since before they were actually available for purchase. Typical Pam muttering: I don't think I like this; what about real paper and glue books? what will happen to them? how could you really enjoy reading a book on a tablet? gee, I'd love to try it out; no way would I pay over $100 for an electronic reader! sacrilegious. You know the kind of muttering I mean. Sort of talking to myself but Doug heard it all. So I was thrilled to get the Kindle. But so far all I've done is download tons of free books -- classics mostly -- and tons of free samples.

But a few days ago I finished my first novel. I choose something short, light, and simple. Agatha Christie's The Secret Adversary, set in London just after World War I. Here's what I think so far: it was weird to not have an actual book with a cover. I never realized how much I connect with the covers of books. I read it very, very quickly, for me. I'm generally a slow reader because I still can't break the habit of reading as a copy-editor. It's a huge problem for me. I read many sentences twice: once to check on the grammar, style, and spelling, and a second time for the meaning. But with the Kindle, I seemed to do this much less often. I loved clicking the little button (one on the right, one on the left) to "turn" the pages. And the bottom of the screen tells you what percentage of the book you've finished, as well as how much you've read in each sitting. All of that data seemed to move me along much faster than is typical.

So the next test is to read something weighty. I've got plenty to choose from: novels that I should have read by this time in my life but haven't. Madame Bovary, Moby Dick, War and Peace, Anna Karenina.

To be continued...

Can you find the kitty in the picture?

2011-11-09T00:12:00.001-05:00

It's possible that this is a viral image and you've seen it dozens of times but I just found it and it took me a while to find the sweet kitty.

More from Brooklyn: James and his young parents.Does that girl love that kitty or what? Sean does too but he's engrossed. It's a familiar sight.

2011-11-04T17:11:00.015-04:00

A few details:
No one is sure exactly what purpose that flak jacket once served -- see mannequin behind Becca's head -- but it has lots of pockets: for ammo? for bandages? Came from an army surplus store.

See the white skinny pipe behind the mannequin? That's part of the old radiator system that, when it's working--which it wasn't the night we were there a week ago, is the source of heat for much of the apartment. A couple of Slavic repairmen came in the morning and fixed it. With those accents and chattiness and quick work, they were a little Seinfeldian (and I'm not even sure what I mean by that).

See that trunk under Sean's feet? My dad got that from an Ambassador Bruce, this fellow or his wife or his family. My dad was a painter, a house painter, in Washington, DC, in the 40s, 50s, and 60s and he got a lot of work in Bethesda and Northwest DC and Georgetown. Sometimes he came across the most interesting people and sometimes these people were tossing things out -- like that old trunk. My dad genetically and/or culturally passed along his tendency to say "you can't possibly throw that out; I'll take it to my house and find a good use for it." Most of these items are now either in my house or my sister's house, or with his three grandchildren, of whom Becca is the youngest.

Note to JGH: I saw your comment a few days ago noting that your old neighborhood was at Plaza and Vanderbilt in Brooklyn. This apartment is about 6 or 7 blocks away, near Bedford Avenue and Plaza Place. Which is so funny, because you might remember that last year my daughter was in a tiny apartment just around the corner from where you work! It's usually a big world -- but not always.

Robert in black, James in gray.

2011-11-04T14:12:00.001-04:00

New York, New York.

2011-11-01T10:58:00.008-04:00

We were in Manhattan and Brooklyn for only 27 hours over the weekend but I took in enough visual, auditory, and emotional data to feed me for months, maybe years.

The reason for the trip was quite sad--a memorial service that Doug describes very well right here. But along with all that sadness came some joy, since we got to spend the night with our daughter and her fiance Sean (see how I worked that in oh-so-casually?) in their "new" apartment in Brooklyn. Saturday was the day that massive and ultimately destructive snow storm moved up the east coast. The top shot was taken on the 65th Street Transverse Road as we cabbed across Central Park from the memorial service on the West Side to the reception on the East Side. Looks like rain but it was actually a nasty snow-sleet mix. Bottom two shots were taken the next day in Brooklyn (Prospect Heights) as we walked to the subway to get back into Manhattan before we headed back to DC.

Robert and James, my grandkittens, were even more sweet than Becca told us. I love my girls (Georgette and Lucy) but a lifetime of cats tells me that boy kitties are simply more lovey-dovey to their humans than girl kitties. What's up with that?

Good thoughts from an interesting writer. This was a quick read and full of head-nodding moments.

2011-10-28T17:32:00.002-04:00

The hero of Bradbury’s novel [Fahrenheit 451] is a municipal worker whose job is burning books.
While on the subject of burning books, I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength, their powerful political connections or great wealth, who, all over the country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and destroy records rather than have to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.
So the American I loved still exists, if not in the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representative, or the media. The America I loved still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.
And still on the subject of books: our daily news sources, newspapers and TV, are now so craven, so unvigilant on behalf of the American people, so uninformative, that only in books do we learn what’s really going on.
I will cite an example: House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger, published in early 2004, that humiliating, shameful, blood-soaked year.

and then there's this:

I had a good uncle, my late Uncle Alex. …He was well-read and wise. And his principal complaint about other human beings was that they so seldom noticed it when they were happy. So when we were drinking lemonade under an apple tree in the summer, say, and talking lazily about this and that, almost buzzing like honeybees, Uncle Alex would suddenly interrupt the agreeable blather to exclaim, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”
So I do the same now, and so do my kids and grandkids. And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”

Beeswax. For me to play with and maybe make candles with.

2011-10-15T11:41:00.008-04:00

When Steve, my beekeeping neighbor, took away my hive (sob) I vowed that I wouldn't give up all the beekeeping activities I had planned. Candle making was one of those activities, so I asked Steve if I could have the wax leftovers from his honey harvesting. Here they (it?) are (is?). What you see are one nice clean piece of cappings and a whole lot of wax mixed with bee parts, honey, and propolis. I'm going to follow the advice found in the book Plan Bee by Susan Brackney. I'll stuff bits of this into old pantyhose, put the stuffed pantyhose into a pot of water, heat the water until the wax rises to the top, wait for it to cool, and then lift off a disk of pure wax. That's the theory at least. Then I'll slowly melt that wax and pour it into candle molds that I bought back in the days when I dreamed of being a real beekeeper. Before I learned that I'm a wus about the whole thing.

Butternut squash: I always thought they were used mostly for decoration and nobody ever ate them. Wrong.

2011-10-09T20:30:00.010-04:00

A neighbor gave me some butternut squash and since everyone keeps saying that the yellow-orange vegetables are so full of vitamins and antioxidants I decided to look for a recipe. And I found a very easy one that was a hit in this house.

The hardest part is peeling the squash. Takes a good scraper and some muscle. And you gotta watch your fingers carefully.

--Peel one squash.
--Scoop out the seeds, etc, and chop into small cubes.
--Melt butter gently in a cast-iron skillet -- 2 or 3 tablespoons.
--Whisk in several tablespoons of freshly chopped thyme or dried thyme and stir for minute to mix.
--Toss in squash cubes and stir until they're covered with the butter-thyme mixture.
--Add salt and pepper to taste.
--Raise the heat a bit and spread the squash into a single layer, more or less.
--Cook for a few minutes until the squash is browned on one side.
--Flip squash over to brown the other side, more or less. Cook for a few minutes.
--Stir once more, cover skillet, and cook about 10 minutes or until squash is cooked through.

Low in calories, very high in vitamin A, high in fiber. And I guess you could use a healthier substitute for the butter but why? I can give up a lot of things but butter isn't one of them.

Fly like a bird (Cain), sink like a stone (Perry).

2011-10-07T13:48:00.002-04:00

It's hard to see but the rapidly falling dark blue line is Rick Perry; the rapidly rising red line is Herman (Herb, to Sarah Palin) Cain. Sink Perry, sink!

You've probably seen it a lot by now but just in case you haven't...The Onion, from today.

2011-10-06T16:32:00.003-04:00

Original here.

Guest worker visas, anyone?

2011-10-05T20:46:00.008-04:00

"Alabama's strict new immigration law was touted as a job creation bill, a way to force illegal workers out of jobs and open them up for legal residents. Early indications are the plan is backfiring.

"The law is driving away many construction workers, roofers and field hands who do backbreaking jobs Americans generally won't. So far, few legal residents have stepped in to fill any of the vacancies, creating an absence that will surely deal a blow to the state's economy and could slow the rebuilding of Tuscaloosa and other tornado-damaged cities."

From here.

"Georgia's new immigration law is scaring migrant workers away and costing south Georgia farmers big bucks.

"Experts say the labor shortage could shrink Georgia's economy by nearly $400-million.

"Many farmers say that Georgia's new immigration enforcement law is putting their crops at risk. they are asking the federal government to make it easier for foreign workers to get guest worker visas."

From here.

It's October and finally my dahlias are waking up.

2011-10-04T23:04:00.001-04:00

So so silly.

2011-10-03T12:26:00.003-04:00

Every year the Gonzo Scientist blog, associated with Science magazine, sponsors a dance video contest. Entrants must do an interpretive dance that is supposed to communicate their PhD topic. This year one of the entries is by a biology researcher doing his dissertation on robbing behavior in honeybees.

Guarding and Robbing Behavior in Social Insects from Michael Smith on Vimeo.

The story of my cantaloupe.

2011-10-02T16:35:00.008-04:00

I never plant cantaloupes or watermelons or any kind of squash because (a) they take up way, way too much gardening real estate, and (b) one or two will come up anyway, probably from the compost I use in my garden. This lope grew UP a fennel plant; that's the only support it had while it grew all summer. I finally picked it a few days ago and sliced it open. Voila! A perfect looking little baby cantaloupe. But alas it had absolutely positively no taste at all. So, I guess you get what you pay for.

Meanwhile, you've got to see the adorable little squash table that Kitt's husband built for one of her pumpkins. Here's what it looked like from the very start.

Itty bitty froglette. He's sitting on a pachysandra leaf so you can see how tiny he is. A peeper maybe?

2011-10-01T17:09:00.007-04:00

The big guy in the bottom picture lives in my little pond along with a bunch of his brothers and sisters. They seem huge now, especially compared to the guy in the top picture, who is about as long as the end of my pinky finger--wider than my finger but no longer. On the brown frog, see the nipple-like thing below his eye? It's his ear. I think people would look cool with ears like that.

A friend passed this along to me.

2011-10-01T17:08:00.001-04:00

My sister told me to stop fretting about global heating (yes, heating) and go find mushrooms. So I did.

2011-09-30T22:05:00.006-04:00

Impatiens seeds.

2011-09-30T20:23:00.003-04:00

I was reading someplace about harvesting seeds from impatiens. You look for the roughly football-shaped seed pod and they pop open when lightly touched to reveal the seeds. I guess the white seeds weren't quite ready but those light brown ones probably are. It's fun to feel the pods pop open!

Another, even easier no-knead bread.

2011-09-30T16:29:00.009-04:00

I thought the original no-knead bread was the recipe from heaven, but then my friend Stephanie told me about Mark Bittman's beer bread.

You turn on the oven to 350 degrees, dump the ingredients in a bowl, stir the dough quickly, pop it in a bread pan, and bake for 45-60 minutes. Done! No waiting for the dough to rise, no kneading, no remembering to start the bread 24 hours before you want to eat it.

And for any yeast-averse cooks out there, you don't need any dry or cake yeast. The beer provides the yeast. Today I shopped for exotic beers and the best I could do was this Guinness stout. But it does say "foreign extra" and "St. James's Gate Dublin" so that at least sounds exotic. And the label has that cute little harp on it.

For the loaf in this picture I used some cheapo beer called Icebox.

Another loaf coming up for dinner tonight, but this one should taste stouty.

Recipe (modified ever so slightly):

3 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 12-ounce bottle of beer

1. Heat the oven to 350. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with a little oil or butter. Whisk together the flours, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the oil or butter and beer, and stir just until everything is combined.

2. Pour into the loaf pan and bake until the loaf is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 45 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan and serving.

Carpenter bee, I think.

2011-09-27T18:09:00.002-04:00

All summer long I've been wowed by the huge bumblebees at my flowers. But I don't think they were bumblebees...carpenter bees is what I now think. Huge!

I'm so not in the blogging mood. I write blog posts in my head but never put them here.

They will soon be gone.

2011-09-17T13:30:00.007-04:00

The hummingbirds have been very active this summer, especially in late summer. I wonder if that's because they are passing through in great numbers as the summer wanes?

I found this somewhere on the big old Internet. Amazing little things.
Ruby-throat Hummingbirds, for example, may travel as many as 2,000 miles between Canada and Panama. The trip includes a non-stop, 500-mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico.

Hummingbirds by nature are tropical creatures. They have been programmed to move north in the spring to exploit the renewed food sources and nesting sites, while escaping the intense competition for the same in the tropics. It is believed that this process began with the end of the last ice age.

[I wish this were a better picture. Kitt has some beautiful pictures of her hummingbirds.]

What's this? you ask. It is my sister's mushroom harvest the first time (I think) she and Bro-in-Law went seriously fungi-hunting this year.

2011-09-17T13:07:00.004-04:00

I don't yet know the details of what they ate (if anything), what was poisonous (if any were), and how much more they've harvested since this picture was taken a week or so ago (if any have). Sister Kathy said she felt a mushroom obsession coming on, and she rarely fails to follow an obsession.

"Cats have a whole other thing going."*

2011-09-17T00:00:00.006-04:00

In a comment on the kitten pictures from earlier this week, JGH says "Cats pick the oddest places to sleep. You would think the magazine rack is the most comfortable spot in the house."

James' and Robert's Aunt Lucy likes to sleep on a roll-top desk. In a house that's knee-deep in quilts.

*Quote is from my husband Doug. He says it quite often.

Grandkittens James (top) and Robert (bottom).

2011-09-14T16:34:00.003-04:00

I said I wasn't going to do this* and I tried to avoid it, but I heard Bruce singing this today. Rise up,he said.

2011-09-10T15:05:00.006-04:00

*"This" being allowing myself to join in this national weekend of mourning.

Ironically, Bruce wrote this song before 9/11/01.

"The song was written in November 2000, for an Asbury Park, New Jersey Christmas show benefit to help promote the revitalization of the city."

Apparently there's a big ruckus in the local sports world about the U of MD's new uniforms. I love them. And they won their first game so....

2011-09-07T16:42:00.005-04:00

Check out those shoes! And who couldn't love those uniforms. Inspired obviously by the Maryland state flag, the most beautiful of all the state flags by a mile.
Top photo by Rob Carr/Gerry Images. Bottom photo by Patrick Semanksy/AP.

Ma-REE-ah! Ma-REE-ah! Ma-REE-ah! I just met a girl named Ma-REE-ah.

2011-09-07T16:21:00.006-04:00

Katia will miss our coast, thanks to Tropical Depression Lee, who is dumping many inches of water on us now. But here comes Ma-REE-ah! And by the way, what ever happened to Richard Beymer who sang Maria in West Side Story? These days you can't ask those questions because of Wikipedia, the best website ever. Richard Beymer performed in a few other movies, and most notably (to me) had a role in Twin Peaks -- I loved Twin Peaks, bring back Twin Peaks! bring back Twin Peaks! -- and he even wrote a book called Impostor: Or Whatever Happened to Richard Beymer?
So there you go: that's what happened to the guy singing Ma-REE-ah! Oh, and he wasn't even singing. That was someone named Jimmy Bryant. And if you're interested in what happened to him you'll have to check Wikipedia yourself.

I don't want to remember 9/11. Does that make me a bad person?

2011-09-06T10:49:00.002-04:00

I've been remembering 9/11 every single day for nearly 10 years. I've read dozens of books and countless articles about that day, bin Laden, Afghanistan, Islam, and terrorism in general. I live just outside DC and have family and friends in New York. The 9/11 attacks are almost as chilling to me today as they were 10 years ago, maybe more. I'm sorry, but on Sunday I'm putting my head in the sand and trying to avoid the "commemoration." I don't judge those who either planned all this hoopla nor do I judge those who will actively participate in it. But I'll not be among them.

Excellent move. (Predicted move, that is.)

2011-09-05T10:37:00.002-04:00

It's not been a great year for my vegetable garden.

2011-09-03T20:15:00.005-04:00

These sad tomatoes, plus two from last week that looked equally sad, are the total sum (or is it "sum total"?) of my harvest this year. There are a bunch of small green fruits out there but whatever has been eating at these (stinkbugs maybe?) will surely get them too. Maybe I'll pick them while they're still green and just make fried green tomatoes. The potatoes are the total harvest from two healthy looking plants. Is it me? Or my soil? Or the barely 5 hours of sun the garden gets? Maybe next year will be better.

Ahem.

2011-09-03T12:08:00.006-04:00

As Anne at The Complaint Department says:

Katia, I'm looking at you. And, just so you know, I'm well aware that "Katia" is just an alias . . . Katrina! Oh, yes. I remember you from the rotation six years ago. So, now they've given you a new name and shunted "Katrina" off into some kind of witness protection program.

Christopher Hitchens: Love this book, love those bookshelves, hate that booze and those cigs that are taking him away.

2011-09-02T17:07:00.007-04:00

He's such a great writer. He makes me laugh, he makes me think. I agree with him only on certain issues. I want to quote so many lines from the book but there are simply too many. He's especially effective when he's talking about his love for the United States and his reasons for becoming an American citizen.

I take the attitude that even though his father died of esophageal cancer, and he obviously knew that all that drinking (man, does he enjoy his drinking) and smoking would mix badly with those genes, it was his god-given (ha!) right to keep on doing both. And now he's dying of esophageal cancer. I think he may have stopped the cigs, but I don't know about the booze. I highly recommend the book if you like grumpy oddballs with a great command of the English language.

And yes, those are book shelves in the middle picture. At first, I thought "oh wow! Hitchens keeps his books in huge piles like I keep mine!" But on closer inspection I think they are shelves.

Should we be marching in the streets?

2011-08-31T23:18:00.013-04:00

I'm not one to spend any time reading about the Securities and Exchange Commission. What I know about it is what I pick up on the radio half-listening to people wringing their hands, for good reason, over The Economy. But I did read Matt Taibbi's recent article about the agency in Rolling Stone. If even half of his reporting is accurate, why aren't more people outraged? One senator has asked the SEC to explain itself, but why isn't everyone on Capitol Hill, and in the White House, also on this?

Pictures are of Baltimore's Berger Chocolate Cremes, possibly the best cookies on the planet. Back in early August, I was, unfortunately, reminded of them by the helpful Ms. Complaint Department on her blog Fat Chat (she is decidedly not fat but you know how we all define "fat" differently) and I have not stopped eating them ever since.

And check out her report from yesterday about how she survived Hurricane Irene.

Relationship between Berger cookies and SEC? None, I just couldn't find a blog-worthy picture of the SEC.

Root Boy!

2011-08-26T19:10:00.005-04:00

San Francisco Margo (AKA Margaret) sent me this picture. On the left you see the late great Root Boy Slim, one of life's more eccentric performers. I don't know who the guy is on his left. Root Boy played at the long-gone Psychedeli in Bethesda where Doug and I (and Margo) saw The Root many times. We also saw him at the Warner Theater downtown near the White House, and at the University of Maryland. He was a hoot, was The Root. He had many memorable songs, but Boogie Till You Puke was one of my favorites. I also liked Christmas at K-Mart, and the Rootettes were wonderful. It was a long, long time ago -- late 70s -- but amazingly the memories are still fresh. And we did. Boogie till we puked that is (or at least I puked). TMI?

Now if I can just find my Root Boy glasses I'll post a picture of them too.

James, my grandkitty, and his racing stripes.

2011-08-26T13:45:00.002-04:00

Hey! Wake up. In one week we've had an earthquake, a tornado (to the east), and now a hurricane is coming. Not to worry, they say.

2011-08-26T11:33:00.002-04:00

Hosta Hospital.

2011-08-26T11:26:00.007-04:00

Next door neighbor's deer-mauled hostas. Bottom picture taken 8/19; top picture taken 8/26. I asked her if I could dig up her hostas that were nothing more than stubs to see if I could nurse them back to health before the end of summer. Two are doing very well, two are at least off the critical list, but one is still in intensive care. My suggestion is that she put these pots on her very high deck so that next year the deer won't get them unless they learn to climb stairs.

My only damage from yesterday's earthquake: my Keith Richards bobble head doll fell off his perch. But no injuries.

2011-08-24T10:53:00.005-04:00

The last time I posted about my Keith bobble head doll (can you tell how much I love him?) someone offered me 100 bucks for it. Let's see if the bidding has gone up in the interim.

Maybe I should tidy up that perch of Keith's. If there's a flat empty surface in my home it quickly becomes un-empty.

Buckeye butterfly (thanks Anonymous) on Russian sage. Or should it be russian sage? Link to God's Blog.

2011-08-23T18:13:00.005-04:00

I like to read the comments to blog posts just as much as I like to read the original posts. This writer did a great job of capturing the nuttiness of blog comments.

Kittens! Robert in black, James in gray.

2011-08-18T21:46:00.007-04:00

You may have to go to a full screen to see these videos.

These little guys were born on Long Island in mid-June and are happily living now in Brooklyn in my daughter's almost fully unpacked apartment. School starts soon for her so she won't have as much time to take videos of them.

I want to bee this lady and wear this outfit.

2011-08-14T12:15:00.001-04:00

Credit: Bill Cunningham, The New York Times, August 14, 2011.

My frogs. I spend a lot of time creeping up on them. They seem quite content. Not as exciting as keeping bees but I love them just as much.

2011-08-13T21:43:00.004-04:00

There are at least four in my little pond. All different sizes. I think they are known as green frogs (Lithobates clamitans).

All 'I Love Lucy' lovers should check out the Lucy fashion show over at The Complaint Department. It will make you smile.

2011-08-13T21:33:00.008-04:00

Here's the Lucy Fashion show.
These pictures show what remains of a book my daughter once owned and apparently used quite a lot. It's missing a chunk at the back but I've never been able to throw it out. She would, in a New York minute (ha).

I love finding a box in the mail. Especially when it has local honey in it.

2011-08-13T21:21:00.008-04:00

Thanks to the hard work, and generosity, of Kathy at No Rhyme or Reason I have this beautiful and delicious honey. Here's her very interesting post on her honey harvesting this year. If I can't or won't have my own home-harvested honey, I know I can depend on the kindness of bloggers. My plan is to use it on toast. But first I have to find some other daily food or meal to give up because once I start eating this honey on toast I'll overdo it, as is my foodie way.
Thanks again Kathy!

The Red Elephant on New Hampshire Avenue. And his owner.

2011-08-07T11:34:00.004-04:00

I noticed the other day that this house near me (on NH Avenue extended) has some new features. So I stopped to take some pictures and the owner strolled out to greet me. He was a friendly guy, didn't act or look peculiar, but let's face it: he has a giant red elephant, a giant tricycle, part of a catamaran maybe (?), and a giant frog (see roof) in front of his house, which otherwise looks abandoned. He created a beautiful metal gate out of ... stuff. I complimented him on his fascinating house, but I was too embarrassed and surprised by his presence to ask really pertinent questions: why do you do this? do you live inside that house? what are you making/growing in that big building behind your house? (A few years ago someone who works at a plant nursery across the street told me that the big building behind the elephant house is a factory but he didn't know what kind.) Note hand-written sign on house: "Industrial Art." Eccentric people rule!

One of my froggies. He lives in the pond that my bees used as their personal water fountain last year. And a note about the Denver County Fair.

2011-08-06T13:29:00.012-04:00

A few days ago Kitt from Denver reported on the Denver County Fair. Here's a second review from the New York Times. Kitt out-reports The Times because she mentioned the fried Fruit Loops and the performance by Devo.

This time last year I was gearing up to work at the Montgomery County Fair, where I co-manned/personed a bee demonstration booth for a 4-hour shift (or was it 3 hrs but felt like 4?). It was hot as blazes, I knew very little, and although I'm glad I did it, I decided not to do it again this year. Maybe next year. I still think of myself as a beekeeper. Yesterday I was strafed a couple of times by buzzing insects that were either bumblebees or other bee-like creatures. I was unfazed, as usual, but if it had happened last year I would have assumed it was one of my honey bees and that she was angry about something and that I needed to find out why she wasn't happy and do something about it. Now. [Sort of like an over-protective mother. I should know.]

I'm making a tee shirt quilt for Stargazer, who lives way, way on the other side of the US.

2011-08-06T12:38:00.009-04:00

After reading her post about, among other things, an outworn tee shirt, I offered impulsively to turn the shirt (along with some others of hers) into a quilt. I'm so glad I did. This will be a test to see how long it takes me. I'm guessing 6 weeks. It will be a tied quilt, not a quilted quilt. Quilted quilts take me years to finish. But a tied quilt that involves only minimal piecing shouldn't take long at all. One rule: I never sew until after 8 or 9 at night, often later. Something about not being able to sew during day-light hours .... If I was willing (able?) to sew during the day I bet I could finish it in a couple of weeks. We'll never know.

And after I finish her quilt, maybe I'll finally finish my own tee shirt quilt that I started years ago and just found. (I've GOT to clean out my quilting closet.)

Love the tee shirt from Minnesota (bad picture at top).

My answer to the question posed by this beekeeper is "yes."

2011-08-02T16:35:00.006-04:00

I'm still reading all the emails from my local beekeeping group. This popped up yesterday. I apologize to all the successful beekeepers out there who may read this, because I am definitely still pro-bee even though my two most recent posts about bees were kinda negative. But I do think this lady should re-consider. I'm not sure if she's a physician or not. She needs an editor, but who doesn't? I know that she loves her bees. And may be a bit of a risk-taker.

"My sting reactions have been getting progressively worse ...and yesterday I was hospitalized shortly, not because of anaphylaxis, but because my diaphragm went into spasms, interrupting my breathing about 10 minutes after a second sting while top feeding (the stings WERE my fault and I have not been very good at wearing protective gear). I was fine after all the usual treatments, but told that the next time I get multiple stings I may not make to the ER even with an Epipen.

"... I have put a lot of time, effort and love (not to mention $) into my 2 hives and they are doing very well. I hate to give them up and was looking for some feedback from beekeepers. I am well aware that physicians do their best to strike fear into one's heart, and as a physician know that they do speak some truth, but may not understand bees or their upkeep.

"I will be starting immuntolerance therapy and am ordering more serious protective gear. Am I crazy for wanting to keep this up?"

Photos: two of the very, very few nasturtiums I got this year. I love them (modest, edible, and totally deer-proof) but am not very successful with them. Too little water? Too few (or too many) nutrients? Too little (or too much) sun? My ignorance about them is huge.

A quick summary, from an almost sane friend (her choice of words, not mine), about the Debt Ceiling "Crisis."

2011-08-01T19:56:00.006-04:00

First it was Obama's penis that was in the limelight.
Then Boehner challenged Obama to a penis duel.
Then Harry Reid says, "I TOO have a PENIS"
To which Schumer says, "I have a penis, too, albeit a smaller one, perhaps."
Then Eric Cantor said, "My penis is bigger than Boehner's penis,"
Then Boehner says, "Not so fast, Cantor."
And now today, Mitch McConnell emerges and says, "My penis is the biggest of all."
And he calls Obama and says, "Do you sir not have a penis?"
(Note that Nancy Pelosi has no penis. We presume so at any rate.)
Whose penis will prevail? We must have confidence that everything will be OK because in the end they will all get up at the microphone and say . . . "Aren't our penises wonderful!"
Gabby Giffords had the last laugh saying "Put your penises away. You won't be needing them because I'm in the house tonight!"

The authoress's name will be omitted to protect her impending security clearance. It's a tricky world out there these days.

Gabby Giffords returned to the Congress today, which brings tears to my eyes. Our gun laws are ridiculous and I don't care who I piss off by saying so.

A friend notes that Princess Anne's ensemble from the April royal wedding was called 'coleslaw.'

2011-07-31T23:55:00.007-04:00

Project Runway style guru Tim Gunn said of Princess Anne's little number: "...She looked like ...coleslaw." Project R. is a show I watched once 2 years ago under pressure from my daughter and have never seen since -- I am essentially unaware of fashion. But I do appreciate the mostly harmless snarkiness of royal-watching.

And I guess Anne's dress DOES look like coleslaw.

Silly but better.

2011-07-30T18:35:00.003-04:00

Another royal wedding today. Beatrice decided against wearing her toilet seat hat again. I believe it was my sister who coined that phrase for Beatrice's April hat. So fitting. It's not just the shape of the April hat that brings to mind a toilet seat. It's the color too.

These hats are called fascinators and they are.

Andrew Sullivan may be right. I hope he's not, but I think he is.

2011-07-30T12:38:00.006-04:00

From Sullivan's blog The Daily Dish, published by The Daily Beast.

Are They Aiming For Impeachment?

They did the last Democratic president; and they feel even more strongly that this one is illegitimate, depite his thumping majority in the last election. Here's the scenario. The House GOP pushes for completely unserious Boehner plan (including a balanced budget amendment) that they know will be vetoed; they then filibuster the Reid plan in the Senate, forcing Obama to invoke a 14th Amendment executive prerogative, which they will then turn around and impeach him for.

Far-fetched? I hope so. But every time you think you have reached the end of Republican extremism, they manage to move further out of the solar system. But it will take a huge effort by the propaganda machine on the right to make Obama's decision not to default his fault, rather than the GOP's. At this point, if the Reid plan cannot make it through the Senate on time or through the House at all, I'm beginning to believe that Obama should invoke this controversial power, given the extreme danger the stalemate is creating for both the US and the global economy, and challenge the courts to reverse it.

I suspect it would be popular among Independents. And allow Obama to regain the initiative over events dictated by a single faction in one party in one chamber whose fanaticism is only matched by their irresponsibility.

Cartoon by Liza Donnelly of The New Yorker.

Many male actors of a certain age (40s) look exactly alike to me. Tell me that these two guys don't look like twins. (Added Mark Wahlberg per JGH.)

2011-07-24T13:58:00.009-04:00

Maybe I've developed prosopagnosia? I never used to have this problem. Maybe it's just aging. I know these two guys have different names -- Brad Pitt and Matt Damon -- but without a label I can't tell you which is which.

Postscript: It's good to hoard old New Yorkers -- or almost-old New Yorkers. I found this Oliver Sacks article on face blindness. He has it! Now I'll re-read the article to see if I should worry.

"50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice" by Geoffrey K. Pullum

2011-07-24T13:13:00.009-04:00

A friend (Stephanie) who knows me well sent this 2-year-old article in order to mess with my mind. It was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, a publication with a very good reputation.

I toiled for decades as an editor, and loved every minute of it (the editing part, not the toiling part). I kept copies of Strunk and White (that's a picture of my 1972 edition, showing lots of wear and tear) and Fowler's Modern English Usage close at hand, and referred to them weekly, if not daily. Now I learn that S & W have fallen on hard times, at least with some academics. I've read the Chronicle article twice and had one slightly contentious "discussion" about it with another smartypants (besides me) who thinks he knows what's up in the grammar world.

Now that I don't edit for a living I don't care quite so much that people are criticizing S & W, but I care a little.

Conclusions? None so far. Research continues though.

Beekeeper Steve, who inherited my aggressive hive in May, reports the following event in his back yard, less than 3 miles from my house.

2011-07-23T11:06:00.006-04:00

"...I went to another location around 4:15 (it was 100 degrees) to feed a … hive. The goal was to open the outer cover, remove the screened inner cover, pry the floats from the hive top feeder, feed, reassemble & go. I removed the outer cover & all was well. The feeder and inner cover was covered and packed with bees. I sprayed them with sugar syrup and pried the inner cover off and gently set it on the outer cover...they were agitated by this and started bumping me so I walked about 100 yards away & they stopped pursuit. I gave myself a moment and went back to release the floats & pour in 2 gallons of syrup. When I arrived back they were still agitated so I decided just to pour the syrup into the feeder & call it a day....well I got 1/4 into 1 gallon and I was covered by bees (literally) I walked away....I walked 1/4 mile (seriously) away from the hive before they were no longer stinging & bumping me....I gave myself another minute but decided to finish the job....I went back....poured the remainder of the 2 gallons, put it back together and was stung countless times....I had to walked over 1/4 mile away from the hive & there were still stragglers stinging & bumping....I counted over 120 stings in my suit and had about 20 stings that found their way into my skin....

"Since this hive built its way up to 3 mediums it has been more aggressive than my others but I have never experienced such a thing. It was like what you see on TV. I felt like I was on an episode of "I survived" and started to re-think all of the poor decisions that got me to this point - I'm guessing time of day, extreme heat & dearth contributed but dang! I have no plans of going back into that hive until September!"

The bee mailbox isn't mine -- it's in my neighborhood and awfully cute but I don't dare get one. It's such a great target for roaming teens with baseball bats. Not that I ever see such beings on my street but late into the night I know some drive down this way occasionally.

While I'm sure the above story is true, I kinda doubt that Steve had to walk 1/4 mile from his home. That's a long way, but I do believe it FELT like 1/4 of a mile under those circumstances.

I miss my bees, but this experience is precisely why I gave them away. I want to be a beekeeper but I'm simply not brave enough (or strong enough).

104 in Silver Spring at 4 PM.

2011-07-22T15:59:00.002-04:00

I like woolly thyme and it likes the exposure on this patio. But it grows OVER, not just between, the flagstones, Should I trim it back?

2011-07-19T00:10:00.017-04:00

For now, I'm leaving it alone. But if I'm lucky enough to get thyme to grow between most of the stones, then maybe I will try trimming it back.

My potatoes.

2011-07-17T22:28:00.009-04:00

These made a nice medium bowl of great German potato salad. No mayo, just a little oil and vinegar and chives and salt and pepper. And maybe some mustard? I've had this post in draft for a week or so. I hesitated to post it because I knew I'd have to post a video of "My Sharona" at the same time. Whenever my brain says "my potatoes" an earworm makes my brain play the song "My Sharona." It was a hit in 1979 and maybe I listened to it on the car radio a lot. Not sure, but it's in my head and apparently it will be there till the end. (After all these years I still like it.)

And I just checked on the status of The Knack. Bit of a sad story. Lead singer Doug Fieger died of brain and lung cancer in 2010 at age 57. Cancer sucks. But he left behind this song and that's good.

My coffee-stained napkin. Maybe it's a sign of peace to come.

2011-07-17T14:37:00.001-04:00

But don't count on it.

My first garlic and shallots.

2011-07-17T11:39:00.002-04:00

I didn't know you had to let them dry out before using. I guess my old hand-me-up (from my son) shoe isn't the best place to do that but I wanted to show the size of my first-ever garlic bulbs.

Deer. Love/hate relationship.

2011-07-17T11:24:00.003-04:00

Look at those poor hollow-stomached deer in my neighbor's front bedding area. They're chewing on the last little bits of her hostas, which I wish she'd just move out of there. And another pack of three was departing my front yard. Look at those adorable little fawns. Can I really hate them? No. I just wish they could find enough food in the HUGE park next door. From time to time, jurisdictions around the DC area ponder having controlled kills in the parks just to thin the herds. I think "they" do send out sharp-shooters from time to time but "they" don't publicize it.

PS: I really hate that little stone kitty staring at my house. I don't think my neighbor knows about this blog so I'm talking behind her back but she'll never know. She's a wonderful neighbor whose taste in gardening differs from mine significantly. I'll bet she hates the ratty-looking vegetable garden she sees when she looks out her window at my house.

I headed for the comfy couch, book in hand, but it was not to be. Lucy on the left, Georgette on the right.

2011-07-15T23:17:00.005-04:00

Would YOU have made them move? Not I, but I was tempted.

An Io moth in Gormania. Found by my brother-in-law Bernie a couple of months ago.

2011-07-15T20:48:00.006-04:00

I have other pictures from my visit with my sister and her family. To be published later, when I get my photo act together. Everything about this moth is beautiful but I especially like the subtle pattern on the wings. Like frog foot prints.

Daughter and surprise grand-kittens.

2011-07-13T16:29:00.005-04:00

Yeah, they're cute as all get out, but I'm not so sure I'm happy about this. The list of reasons why she shouldn't have taken in these tiny strays while she was at the beach (Quogue, Long Island) is long. She was there for just 3 days, and when she called me the first day and reported that some adorable kittens had adopted her I knew trouble was ahead. The second day she called and reported that she was bringing them back with her to Manhattan (on the bus from LI and the subway once in the city), where she would take them to a no-kill shelter. Her lease is up in 2 weeks and she's looking for a new apartment (see what I mean?), and her thought was that after she gets into the new apartment (the one she hasn't found yet) she would go back to the shelter to see if the babies were still there. By the third and last day of her visit, her phone call was a timid and very polite suggestion that we take in the kittens. Just until she gets settled, at which point they would ride back up to NY with her boyfriend. (Still with me? It's not a very interesting story.) For once, I said no. Our girls are just a year old, I don't know what the little ones may have, and of course I would have to take them to a vet, etc etc. It all worked out because my daughter's boyfriend's parents, who live in No. Virginia, agreed to take them. But I'm still not sure it's such a good idea. And I must remember to offer to help with the vet bills. After all, it's my daughter who caused all this in the first place.

I think this entire little story just means that she's ready (mentally, psychologically, emotionally) to have babies. My brain won't go there. Too scary.

[I don't think my daughter reads my blog, I'm not even sure she knows it exists, but just in case: love you sweetie and when you have human babies I'll love them just as much.]

An ikebana workshop and a meet-up with a friend.

2011-07-12T12:29:00.010-04:00

On Sunday I met my blogging buddy Anne at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery on the Mall for a workshop on ikebana, Japanese flower arranging. We also had a short tour of some Japanese screens and pottery, which was very interesting. Anne did a great job of summing up our very fun day so go there for more details.

I learned something interesting about Anne just at the very end of the workshop. We were each given a handy little box to carry home our two floral arrangements. Anne decided that lugging the box to her car and driving home with it wasn't for her. Too much hassle. She didn't need the recycled wine bottle that held one arrangement nor did she need the little glass bowl holding the second arrangement. Me? Even though I was going home on the Metro and had to change subway lines at the extremely busy Metro Center (DC is still in high tourist season AND the very popular Folklife Festival was being held on the Mall), I was determined to bring home my "loot" -- aforementioned recycled wine bottle and cheap glass bowl. Don't ever believe her if she says she hoards things. A true hoarder would have done what I did.

Isn't Anne adorable? Soon there will be another Anne-Pam adventure to report on! To be continued...

No bees this summer -- at least not honey bees -- but plenty of bunnies.

2011-07-09T20:37:00.007-04:00

I still read all the emails I get as a member of the MCBA listserv -- the Montgomery County Beekeepers Association. Here's an example of how interesting (and complicated) beekeeping can be. I think a lot of the appeal of beekeeping is about having to come up with conclusions-theories-diagnoses for any bee behavior that isn't ideal. I miss my bees daily, but every day I also grow more and more convinced that it was right to give them away. Here's a typical email:

I have a follow up question in light of yesterday's lively discussion on bee temperament this time of year. For the most part, I have been extremely pleased with the temperament of my bees. I have only been stung four times since early May and each time was on the hands since I have tried to be a gloveless beekeeper.

I recall Jim F---- saying in the Short Course that you should leave your bees alone in July and August. I have continued to feed my bees with sugar syrup and have 4 eight frame medium boxes on the hives now. I just added the fourth one last Saturday. Both hives seem to be "strong" and are real comb building machines and I am seeing vigorous orientation flights just about every day in the late afternoon. Besides the occasional hive beetle, say two or three at a time, and a few ants, I have not noticed any pests yet either.

Any time I have looked at the lower/brood boxes, I have seen no evidence of queen cells of any type.

I have lately noticed the bees being slightly more irritable, but not enough to cause me alarm, but enough to make me consider using gloves in July and August. Here's my question --
Besides going in the clean out my top hive feeder every week or so, is there any reason to intrude on the rest of the hive during these hot months when the bees are known to be more sensitive and as long as there are no apparent changes in the bee temperament that might signal a real issue? I know there are probably many different views on this issue, but I would like to hear what the experienced beekeepers think on this issue.

Best Regards,

Don T----

This big expensive thing may be launched off the Earth in the next hour and my son will see it!

2011-07-08T10:51:00.006-04:00

I'm not a fan of the space program (for billions and billions of reasons) but I'm my son's best fan. He and three other guys drove impulsively to Titusville, FL, yesterday so they could witness this so-called "last" launch of an American space shuttle. And because my son is there, I've got all my fingers and toes crossed that the launch will take place. Don't ask why I'm opposed to the space program because I have no rational reasons for my position. I've just always thought those dollars were not well spent. I know, I know. Lots of jobs created (including my husband's for a while) and lots of scientific stuff learned, but was it worth all of that money? I would rather see that money poured (ha!) into studies of how we can keep water clean and available on this planet.

Photo credit: Reuters.

The Atlantic shoreline in Delaware and one pretty fantastic sunset.

2011-06-30T15:52:00.006-04:00

We spent a week at Delaware's Bethany Beach and it was great as always. The surf was rough most days, but the last night we were there it got pretty calm. That's Doug walking pensively along the shore.

I was brave and swam most days. It didn't used to take bravery but it takes strength to go out (and get back in) these days. Delaware does "beach replenishment" quite often. Sand is dredged up from offshore and deposited on the beaches to keep them built up enough for human use. It seems like such a losing (and expensive) battle but I'd be a complete hypocrite to complain about it since we visit this beach every year. One opinion holds that all that digging and dumping has changed the character of the shoreline. Years ago, before dredging, the shoreline tapered out more into the ocean. There were breakers far out, and you could walk quite a way out before the water got deep. You know, a natural mid-Atlantic coastline. Now, you can only walk out several yards before there's a sudden drop off and you can't touch the ocean floor. That change in the slope also makes the waves big (I think).