Summer Bloom

I brought in the first cut flowers from  of my Summer garden's today.

I look forward all year long to these glorious celebrations of life.

Did it again: 8 '19

Well, I did it again.

 Last year I planted what I thought were medium height zinnias in my tiny pocket garden, and they grew over my head. So this year, while I did manage to plant the right height zinnias, it was the sunflowers turn to surprise me. I had sprinkled in some seeds of what I thought were medium height multi-colored sunflowers behind the zinnias. A few of the sunflowers plants' height met my expectations. The rest are giving the bees and hummingbirds acrophobia. The good news is that I am getting armloads of cut flowers from both this tiny space.

The plants above are the height the sunflowers I was expecting ( 4 to 5 feet).

This is what I got. ( Note the zinnias in front of them were the right height for my tiny pocket garden.

This one must be close to twelve feet tall.

The seed packet said the sunflowers would be shades of yellow to bronze. Most of them bloomed yellow. Next year, I will buy my seeds directly from the grower and try to limit the varieties to a few specialty colors, flower shapes, and heights.

The good news is that I ( and half the neighborhood)

  have had beautiful cut flowers all summer long.

Day 8 Road Trip: Atlantic City

We woke up to dry skies so decided to try going to the Atlantic City Board Walk again with two of the three of the grandchildren. (The oldest grandchild was at a cheerleading practice). The kids wanted to play a round of minigolf at one of the indoor courses on the boardwalk. That was a lot of fun or all of us. 

Then we bought some ice cream cones and were strolling along the boardwalk eating them when it started raining hard again which canceled all chance of doing any more walking. By the time we got to the car, we were all soaked to the skin.

The Flyer ( Her next move was to somersault down)

We went back to the house for a change of clothes then rushed off to see the oldest grand child's cheerleading performance. That was very cool. She is one of the 'flyers' on her high school varsity team. It is a high-energy and very high-risk position. Just watching her get tossed and flipped in the air made my heart stop. Both of us felt exhausted by the time we got back to the house.

Day 7 of Road Trip: Atlantic City wash out 8 '19

We tried to take the grandkids to the Atlantic City Boardwalk today but got rained out. That may be a good thing. Off and on Bruce was showing signs of irritability. I suspect that the mental and physical fatigue from being on the go for the past week is catching up with both of us.   Laura has put us up in their travel trailer. That is proving to be a really good arrangement as it is giving us a quiet and private place to rest and calm down. 

Day 5 Road Trip: Piscataway: Extended Family

Bruce and his extended family

This evening, we had dinner at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant with Pam's son ( Bruce's nephew) and her Daughter-in-law and their daughter (Bruce's great-niece). Overall this segment of the trip has been good, with lots of pleasant memories.

Day 4 Road Trip: East Jersey Olde Towne

Bruce and his sister, Pam.

Today was another perfect summer day for being out for doors. After a lite breakfast, Pam suggested we do some site seeing. Pam did all the driving for the next couple of days which reduced the stress of trying to navigate an unfamiliar area. After reviewing at the options, we settled on visiting East Jersey Old Town Villiage which is a living history museum of what life in Middlesex county was like in the 18th Century. It proved to be a perfect choice. The buildings were air-conditioned and most offered elevators so there were no worries about bruce getting overheated or falling on the shallow eighteenth-century stairs. and there was something for everyone on the grounds. docents dressed in costume explained how clothing was mad, stones were cut, and what it was like to be a blacksmith in the middle of summer. there were scientific, paleontologic, and agricultural exhibits. As well as fully restored buildings representing all aspects of Colonial life. CC's favorite was the Colonial herb and kitchen gardens (although Pam and I did have to move on quickly before Bruce got the urge to weed them).

'Yes, Bruce, it is a weed.' and 'No, you cannot pull it.'

Upon returning to Pam's house after dinner Bruce and Pam continued talking about family history, while I made a new Best Friend.

CC and her new BFF "Sophie'.

Day Two Road Trip: Richmond VA to Piscataway, NJ: 8 '19

Richmond to Piscataway: 310 miles, 5 hours

Driving through yesterday's thunderstorm left us really tired, so we made sure we got a full night's sleep, ate a good breakfast and drank a lot of coffee this morning. Before hitting the road today, we made sure we had food and drink close at hand, had funds in our easy pass account, and double-checked the routes we would be taking so there would not be guessing which direction to go when we came to a fork in the road. That kind of preparedness kept our blood sugar level even and reduced a lot of directional guesswork.

Fortunately, even though Bruce and I had started out apprehensive about whether we would remember our rush-hour freeway traffic skills, we have not. While we did encounter very heavy traffic on Richmond's, Baltimore's, and Piscataway's turnpikes, we made it without incident from Richmond to Piscataway.

Bruce's sister Pam wasn't home yet when we arrived.  We let ourselves in with the house key she had sent us, carted our luggage into the guest room, and spent the next hour sipping a refreshing glass of cool water on Pam's Patio and enjoying the fresh air and her beautiful garden.

We were both happy to arrive at our destination and get out of the car.

Beach Alternatives 7 '19

Today was a beautiful warm sunny day. Normally I would call it 'perfect beach weather'.  Unfortunately, it was just a little too sunny for Bruce's sun-sensitive skin,  but it was also far to pretty to be stuck indoors.  

We decided to seek an acceptable alternative activity by looking for spoonbills in the freshwater lagoons at Huntington Beach State Park.  As luck would have it, we went too late to see any wading birds. They had all ceased their foraging and taken refuge from the sun in the leafy shelter of the nearby maritime forest surrounding the lagoons.  The stop at HBSP did give us a chance to check out the beach conditions from the safety of the handicap boardwalk.  And Yep!. It was too sunny, and he was having too much difficulty walking, for us to venture out onto the sand.

Undeterred, we switched to Plan B: lunch in the shade of the umbrellas of the  Litchfield Cabana Cafe where we could take advantage of their beachfront dining without risk of being fried.  It was the perfect remedy for cabin fever!

Post holiday walk-about: 7 '19

Bruce and I managed to get in another walk about  around the block this morning. 

We've been keeping the treks short.  July is the start of our hurricane/rainy season and we don't want to get stuck out in the open in a lightening storm..

Luckily we made it home just  before it started pouring.

.

The Joy of Gardening: 8 ' 18

  

With all the rain we have had this summer my Zinnias are going crazy.

  The whole front yard is  aglow with their  brilliant colors.

One of the cactus- flowering  plants thinks it is a dahlia and keeps producing dinner plate size blooms.  Yesterday one of the flowers was over my head. I have to keep cutting back the plant so that it doesn't collapse under its own weight.

  

By mid morning, the flowerbed has become a nectar buffet bar feeding  hundreds of butterflies.  I can't wait to see the area next October when the butterfly migration is in full swing.

Wettest July on record 7'18

We got more rainfall this past month than we would get all year long in California, and we are not yet even into the wettest part of the rainy season.

IT'S FEELING VERY STEAMY: 7 '18

TALK ABOUT BEING IN HOT WATER

WATER TEMPS HIGHER THAN AIR TEMPS.

                               SURF TEMPERATURE:  87 F degrees

                              7 day Air Temperature

                              FRIDAY                86F           76F

                              SATURDAY         83F           73F

                             SUNDAY               84F           71F

                             MONDAY             83F           72F

                            TUESDAY             86F           73F

                            WEDNESDAY      88F           76F

                            THURSDAY         89F           78F

Low tide at Pawleys Island 7 ' 18

I love how the beach looks totally different  after each tidal change.

It's like getting to have a mini vacation in some totally new place each day.

Fun at Claw House: 6 ' 18

There's a new patio brew bar at the Claw House in Murrells Inlet

It's a fun place to watch  all the action  in the harbor

and on Goat Island

2018_ Sisters Vacay: 6 '18

 So much to do and see with so little time to do it in

Friday was spent getting a tour of  Bruce and Cece's home,

 exploring Pawleys Island and Huntington Beach State Park beaches,

and, of course,

Having a beach front lunch at  the Litchfield Inn.

Saturday,  we were all up for a a visit to BrookGreen Garden's  in Murrells Inlet.

The children's garden was a big hit and brought out the play in everyone.

Of course there were lots of photo ops

Brothers

for family groupings

Sisters

Aunt and Niece

Spouses

Jeannie and Bernard Baruch

and individual  shots

Dave and Don Quixote

After several hours of  walking the  beautiful but expansive gardens,

we were all ready for  a cooling drink in the shade of the old kitchen patio

But we couldn't tarry too long 

or we would have missed our river boat tour of the BrookGreen ricefields .

The hour long boat tour  through Brookgreen's tidal creeks was not only informative, but gave us a much needed chance to rest our legs.

And then we were off and running again to see a craft show,

 followed by spending the rest of the day at Pawleys Island Beach

Mom's Day at the Zoo: 5'18

To  celebrate Mother's Day  we took a short road trip to the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Riverbanks Zoo has the usual collection of  exotic animals 

both large  and small.

Out personal favorites were the birds  all of which looked healthy and happy.

The flamingos were so pink  and perfect they looked like animated statues,

and their King Vultures were so pleased with their habitat

that they posed for photos for their fans

But the attractions didn't stop at the wildlife exhibits.

There is really something for everyone here

For the little one there is a demonstration farm complete with a barn where the little ones can pet baby farm animals or take a pony ride 

For the middle school the is a rock climbing wall 

and a water park

And for seriously athletic big kids there is a tree high jungle gym ,

or a hiking trail that takes you across the Saluda River,

complete with historical markers posted along the way.

For  the culturally minded there is a  grassy slope which is perfect to picnic while listening to  an open air concert. 

CC's  personal favorite part of the Riverbanks Park is the Botanical Gardens

To get there you take a short tram ride a through a lush ravine along the Saluda River.  The main garden is divided into two portions:

On the right as you enter is a  cottage garden  filled with antique roses,

beautiful cut flowers,

And lots of nooks to sit back and enjoy the setting.

On the left  is a formal garden set out in a pattern of geometric plots

filled with colorful exotics.

We arrived at a time between seasons.   To keep the portions of the garden  visually interesting, while  waiting for the summer foliage to fill in, the staff utilizes a lot of colorful garden crafts,

and  lots and lots of bold foliage potted plants

In fact, art and craft  is used throughout the entire grounds of both the  zoo and gardens  to enhance  otherwise utilitarian  objects, like: 

 directional maps, and  signage,

 and as barriers to keep people from walking of the official path.

Arts, crafts, lots of exotic plants and animals.... it was CC's idea of the perfect  place to spend Mother's Day!