Black Hearted Woman

The sand gnats are here... bummer. And got attacked by mosquitoes for the first time today @ dusk.

Oatland Island Nature Center

I've had countless recommendations to go over & check out Oatland Island - so, Monday I met a friend Rita & her children, Rachael & Ryan there - we made a full day of it. It's a bit of a drive - it's on the east side of Savannah, so about 25 miles from us. The kids enjoyed it - lots of native animal exhibits, a 'heritage homesite' with 1800's era cabins & out-buildings, and a farmyard with animals the kids could get their hands on. I liked that the exhibits were all worked into the existing wooded area = lots of shady walking trails.

baa-baa black sheep...

Levi loves owls = we had to go back to see the owls one last time before leaving.

checking out the pair of bison

9-banded armadillo

Just Waking Up

Friday is

all day in the sun
no naps, though a 3-year-old bedtime of 7:30
clothes drying in the sun, flapping in the breeze
planting a fig tree
building a new flower bed
reading my new Sun mag on the frontporch futon in the shade
hot in the middle of the day
sunhats
a trip to the park for a pick-up load of compost
homemade dandelion greens/mushroom calzones for supper
a morning turkey hunt
chatting with neighbors
grubs
fishing in the canal behind the house
vases of fresh cut azalea blooms
a flattering comment from a complete stranger
elephant ears weeded & mulched
a raked yard
orange juice/banana smoothies
quiet husband time sitting in a completely dark house
black/tan bottled beer
snoring dog
perfect sunset, listening to a new album
family, love, hope

Calls of the Wild

You know you're married to a biologist, when he comes bounding thru the door at day's end, giddy at his latest score: a borrowed copy of "Vocalizations of Georgia's Frogs" - just to brush up! :)

Weekend Project

We had a friend's daughter's 2-year-old birthday party today - I wanted to make something handmade & had this pattern tucked away in my memory = Oliver + S's free downloadable Popover Sundress pattern. It was my first Oliver + S pattern - I loved the way she designed all the seams to finish neatly with no raw edges on the finished dress (all enclosed or french seams). This was a quick sew - nice weekend project.

Vernal Equinox

I am alone with Levi for a few days. Watching the last bit of daylight dim away - a view of sunset from our dining room windows. It is 7:30pm and Levi is asleep in bed. Quite something considering the child has been awake as late as 10 or 11 some nights this past week. We enjoyed a very full day - the first day of spring - the equinox = the same amount of day/night.

The Bamboo Gardens had their Spring Festival today from 9-4; we were there for a large amount of that time. A perfect day for the event - 70's and blue skies - running into a dozen folks I knew & meeting up with a girlfriend and her child. Feeling part of the community at large.

Home for a napless afternoon basking in the sunshine. Snacking on homemade pita bread & hummus. A long wondering neighborhood walk finished the 3-year-old off. Home to his requested supper of 'hot oatmeal' (opposed to his choice snack of cold raw oatmeal), a hot shower, & now silence = bed.

Joe left Thursday & will return Monday. Turkey season is upon us. He killed a bird this afternoon at Reno = his beloved landscape, Papa's farm. Fried wild turkey breast on the menu for Tuesday night = a rare & wonderful treat.

Only the dimmest pink left in the sky. Salute! Spring!

Flower bulbs

Long ago before my natal family moved to Wildwood, a great aunt & uncle lived in the old homeplace = Aunt Ruth & Uncle Clyde. They were great lovers of flowers, and blooms continue to arise from bulbs they planted decades ago. I love bulbs and heirloom flowers myself - and I should, while it is on my mind, make contact with one of their children & probe deeper into the planting of these bulbs & their general history.

this is one of a dozen, or so, ancient yellow crocuses that Aunt Ruth planted near the house

a single clump of purple crocuses remain

cutting daffodils for the dinner table - into a favorite vase - did Aunt Ruth & Uncle Clyde plant the hundreds of these bulbs on the roadside bank together?

a find here at our 1940's-built home in Richmond Hill - more long ago planted bulbs - ones I did not recognize, something different - after a little research, they are: GRAVETYE GIANT SNOWFLAKES

Old House Gardens (www.oldhousegardens.com ), a favorite bulb source of mine, describes these as:
Animal-proof! Above daffodil-like foliage, dainty white, green-tipped bells dangle gracefully. 18-24 inches tall, ‘Gravetye ’ is the hardiest, most floriferous snowflake, other forms of which have been grown in gardens since 1596. It was introduced in 1924 from Gravetye Manor (say GRAVE-tie), home of William Robinson, “father of the English perennial border.”