Digital Camera

Cheese!
After wading through a plethora of information about digital cameras for over six months, trying to duplicate the capabilities of my SLR and stay within my budget, yesterday I finally just went to Sunny Schicks, an old-fashioned camera store in business over 90 years. A knowledgeable young man walked me through the options and gently led me to a decision -- Konica Minolta DiMage X50.

After playing with the camera (and reading the manuals), I know I made the right decision. The only thing I didn't get was the 10x zoom lens, but that added to the bulk and weight of the camera. I decided that it would be better to have a pocket camera with me rather than a loaded camera not with me. My purse is full enough already.

Once I am comfortable with the digital world and if I still want more capabilities, then I can add a more expensive digital SLR to my collection. Like the Canon Rebel!

How is my garden, you ask?

How is my garden, you ask?
Well, no one actually asked, but that never stopped me on this blog. These plants are in my garden or in the woods surrounding the house.

The early spring flowers and shrubs are a memory - forsythia, daffodils, crocus, scilla, bloodroot, iris reticulata, hyacinths, trout lilies.

The mid-spring plants are in bloom or just past their prime - tulips, redbuds, apple blossoms, fragrant viburnum, pulmonaria, trillium, violets, Greek Valerian, Virginia bluebells, sweet woodruff, cushion spurge, forget-me-nots, creeping or moss phlox, lilacs, May apples, bleeding heart, flowering almond and ajuga, plus some unidentified white flowers along the bank of Usually Not Creek. The columbines - double white, blue and red/yellow - are just starting to open. Until I searched for a link. I called the Greek Valerian by the name Jacob's Ladder. It was given to me at a plant exchange years ago, so I never had the botanical name. It has been a good year for tulips; in fact, several came up where I thought they had disappeared years ago. Several years ago I planted about a dozen redbuds along the drive, between the woods and meadow. They have matured enough to put on a good show.

I've started my container gardens, which has become a passion the last few years, but I'll leave that for another post as I have to fix a meal for a family from church.

Oriole Fight

Oriole Fight
As I was potting plants in my containers on the back deck, I saw two male orioles fighting. Steve put oranges in the feeder to encourage them. Perhaps we will have two oriole families this summer if they ever establish their territories.

Plant Booty

Plant Booty
The perennial party was delightful - good food, interesting women, an idyllic setting, beautiful weather and free plants! Most of my booty is in the ground: viburnum, boxwood and barberry starts, Gold Tiara Hosta, creeping phlox, variegated and Russian sedum (for my sedum bed), creeping jennie (in the shade garden), and sundrops (for the meadow). I still have the canna bulbs to plant, which I may put in large containers to make it easy to dig the tender rhizomes in the fall.

I don't actually have a sedum bed (yet) but have become enamored with the idea. There are so many varieties of sedum that I think it would be an interesting concept. A quick search resulted in this and this article, these images, and even a ten acre sedum roof.

Every Mother's Day, I am given free rein at Dewalds Garden Shop, a most delightful place with lots of unusual plants. I went on my buying spree last week, but they felt the need to give me something today, so I also have two new trellises, two copper ornamental gyrating water sprinklers plus sphagnum peat moss and composted manure. Now how many mothers received shit today and were pleased about it?

Getting My Toes Wet

Getting My Toes Wet
Last summer, before Mom moved back to Indiana, she created five gift bags, one for each child, filled with our old school papers, newspaper clippings and letters she had saved. Last week I glanced through my bag and found a letter I wrote her shortly after Dad died. In the letter, I quoted her as saying, "I feel like I'm just getting my toes wet in an ocean of grief." On this Mother's Day, despite the efforts of my husband and sons, more than my toes got wet. The waves were crashing over my head.

I became a mother when I was 45 years old so I spent many Mother's Days grieving because I was not a mother. For almost ten years, I celebrated the day as a mother and as a daughter. With time, I suspect I can celebrate it again because I had a mother worthy of celebrating, but the loss is too new this year.

Bouquets

Bouquets
I love bringing my garden indoors. Right now I have a sweet little bouquet of grape hyacinths and two large bouquets of lilacs. The house smells lovely.

Another mother sent me this picture of Ricky (on right) after they placed at a show choir tournament. His joy is obvious. 

Show Choir

Show Choir
One of Ricky's strengths is his emotional resilency. He auditioned for Minstrel Magic, the varsity show choir, and didn't make it. He found out Friday afternoon and was very upset. He was going to quit show choir altogether. Then by Monday evening, he decided that being the "experienced" person on the junior varsity choir would be even better than being the newby on the varsity choir. I'm just not sure yet if he had time to adjust his school schedule which was suppose to be set May 1.

Know Everything Son

Know Everything Son
At least once a week, Ron informs us that he does, indeed, know everything. How blessed we are to have this fount of knowledge in our home. No need to google anything anymore.

Cars

Cars
Ron has become obsessed, as only an almost 16 year old boy can be, with cars. He picks up the free car advertising magazines and pours over them. He knows where every car or truck is parked by the road for sale. He knows what accessories he will add. Last night he told me a girl in his class came home from school this week to find a brand new Mustang convertible in her drive, a present from Daddy. Dream on, young man.

Perennial Party

Annual Perennial Party
"My" annual party is tomorrow morning, but a friend offered to host it this year. (I accepted her offer before I saw Jennifer's offer in my comments.) What a nice gift. I am still grieving and my house is filled with stuff I brought home from Mom's, so there was no way I could get ready in time. I have had fun today digging up plants for the exchange and making a fruit platter to contribute. I'm bringing starts of Siberian iris (dark purple), miniature Siberian iris, dropwort (filipendula vulgaris), very tall double white columbine, lady's mantle, several different daylilies, blue perennial salvia, fragrant yellow lilum and a large-leaved blue hosta. Want to come?

morels

Morels
On the way to run errands tonight, hubby called to me from the woods, "Do you have time to ID this mushroom?" Do I have time? There is nothing, absolutely nothing, like the taste of a morel mushrooms. They were still small so I will wait until Mother's Day to indulge myself. Perhaps the family will decide that I should have them all!

Update: Before I could launch my selfish plot to consume the morels myself, hubby suggested that we take them to his mother as a gift. Drats! I told him I would share them with his mother. After the party this morning, I'll scour the woods again to find more - more - more - just for me.

Thursday Three

Thursday Three Courtesy of Possumblog
1. What does your name mean?any connection to what you do or who you are?
My maiden name was Bishop. At one time I thought it was funny to tell strangers that my father was a Methodist Bishop...until this real cute guy said, "I'm a PK too." My given name, Martha, means lady. I hope it is connected to what I do and who I am.

2. Any problems with your name? Do you wish it (either your surname or given name) was changed ?
No problems now, but I hated the name Martha when I was an adolescent. I thought it sounded like someone's great aunt, who was both an old maid and a schoolteacher.

3. Were you named for someone? If so, whom?
No and that was one reason I was sure that I was not loved as much as my four siblings. All of them are named for someone and I got stuck with my name because my father thought it was beautiful.

Bonus Questions -4. Do you go by your first name, middle name, shortened form--(ex. Jim for James)--or by some made-up nickname?
I go by my first name now. In Junior High, I went by Marty for a while but that faded out in high school. My married name is Ferguson, so almost all of them are called Fergie by someone or other.

Orange Almond Cake

Tort Orzechowy
The picture and description of Nina's birthday cake, over on The Other Side of the Ocean, was so tempting that I asked her for the recipe. I made it last night and now have another favorite recipe.

According to Nina, Tort Orzechowy is literally nut cake. It is "infused with tons of orange juice to keep it moist." She substituted almonds for walnuts, which are ground and added with the flour mixture. She also indicated that Poles like buttercream frosting but she shared a recipe for a bittersweet chocolate frosting that she uses.

When I went shopping I wrote down the ingredients I needed, but not the amounts. I bought two 4 oz. bars of Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate and imagine my surprise when the frosting called for 16 ounces! This cake is literally coated with ONE POUND of chocolate.

Snow Tulips 

Crabapple blossoms in the snow 

Moves

Moves
Ron told me a story about a friend of his who took his girlfriend to the movies. When his friend tried to put his arm around the girl, he accidentally hit her in the face. Ron thought this was very funny. "Doesn't he know he is suppose to yawn and then put his arm around the girl as he brings his arms down?"

Digital Camera

Digital Camera
I'm having a hard time deciding what to buy for my first digital camera. I really want a digital SLR, but it blows my camera budget. Of those within my budget, I haven't found a camera yet that meets my criteria. The Canon Powershot S1 IS comes close, but it only stores in Jpeg and I'd like more megapixels. I'm also considering the Olympus 765, but don't like the battery and it appears there's no image stabilization. It has more macro capabilities than the Canon though. So I've been looking about six months and still using my old SLR camera. If there are any camera geeks reading this, have an opinion?

What was he thinking?

What was he thinking?
Ricky has had a rough week. So have his parents. Why can't that boy think before he acts? It has come to the point that when the phone rings, Steve and I look at each other, willing the other one to answer it. He had both an in-school and before-school detention last week for responding inappropriately when his act of kindness to a girl was cruelly rebuffed. Tonight the bus driver called and he has been suspended for two days from the bus and will have to ride in the front seat the rest of the school year for throwing a soft drink bottle out the window. I can't believe he did that. I was appalled at littering but the driver was more concerned that there were two cars following the bus and the bottle could have hit them. What was he thinking? Oh, he wasn't.

He did not make any excuses and sobbed his remorse into his pillow until he fell asleep. I have to wake him now or he won't go to bed tonight. He already lost access to electronics. What now?

Why Blog?

Why Blog?
Over the years, I've read several essays on why someone blogs. The conclusion was usually fame (not fortune); in other words, increase traffic, move up the ecosystem, become a big dog in the blogosphere (or big blog in the dogosphere). Of course, most of these essays were written by people who had lots of readers. I knew this reason wasn't true for me, but I couldn't determine what motivated me to post for three years. Now I know.

I blogged for a specific audience and that audience was personified by my mother. Now these essays usually made fun of bloggers who were only read by their mother. That is rather sad, from my perspective as a mother who hopes her sons will honor her and as a daughter who had a mother worthy of honor.

Now that Mom is no longer waiting for my next post (and reminding me when it had been a while), I'm not posting as often. Oh sure, I put up some pictures, but this hasn't been a photoblog. I will compose posts in my head during my day, but never get around to writing it. Perhaps it is still part of the grieving process when it is hard to do anything that isn't absolutely required (pay taxes, pay bills, feed family, and always laundry). Perhaps it is the increased activity of a free lance job and working on Mom's apartment. Perhaps it is spring fever. Perhaps I need to put another face to my audience.

By the way, I'm a flippery fish, one step ahead of the slimy mollusks but below crawly amphibians.

How do you make an outhouse inviting? Paint the door purple and plant flowers around it. Hubby let twins (then seven) pick out the paint for The Property outhouse door and picnic tables.  

Daffodils by the kayak/canoe landing at The Property. I planted about 200 bulbs during the Bishop Fall River Party while the rest of the family (except Mom, my sister and infant niece) were shooting at The Highlands.

Trout lilies carpet the beech woods next to the river at the Highlands. These should be blooming in about a week.

Highlands bud. The Highlands is our tree farm in Dakalb County. 

A sample of the daffofils in the woods in front of our house. 

Woodcock eggs the moment after the mother flew off the nest faking a broken wing.  

American Woodcock

Timberdoodle Scare
As I was scouring our woods for the invasive (and sometimes evasive) garlic mustard (about which I posted 4 times last spring), I was startled by a Timberdoodle taking flight. I looked down where it flew from and eventually discovered the nest resting on a mound of moss with four shiny, brown spotted eggs.

So what looks like a shore bird (three inch bill) but nests on the ground in an emerging second-growth forest? Sometimes it is difficult to key out a bird, but with the long beak, unusual flight profile and ground nest with unusual eggs, this one was easy.

The more common term for Timberdoodle is American Woodcock. As I typed this, I realized that the same jokes could be made about both names. An internet search produced other common names: bog sucker, bog or wood snipe, and woody. I also learned that its brain actually lies upside down in its skull and its ears are in front of its eyes.

I also found a nest of garter snakes. They were wrapped around each other and I counted four heads. I thought it was some type of perverted reptilian activity or a Medusa in the making but hubby said they were keeping warm.

Toadapalooza 2005

My friend Renee sent this picture which she took "a few minutes ago of a male toad arriving on the scene of Toadapalooza 2005, apparently wondering how to get through the blue heron screen. When you only get to party once a year, it doesn't pay to arrive fashionably late!" Every year she sends pictoral updates of the annual toad mating ritual in her garden pond.

Fungus or Algae?

Fungus or Algae?
As a Master Garden volunteer, I answer horticultural requests phoned into the local extension office. I worked the phones today. There is usually a trend in the questions depending on the time of year. Now the questions are moles, voles, when to plant and moss. One man complained that he had a fungus or algae in his lawn. Want to bet it was moss? He's bringing in a sample.

Spring

13 Years
My first daffodils are blooming! They are in a zone 6 microclimate in my zone 5 garden. This bed faces southeast and is next to the pond so it gets reflected heat from the water. Most of the other daffodils just have fat buds.

The crocus are nearly gone, but in 1992 they were in full bloom on this date.

I've been pulling garlic mustard again. Our neighbor works for Nature Conservancy and is testing a biological agent that is suppose to attack only garlic mustard. That would be nice but I'm leery of such things as so many introduced items are now pests. I'll keep trying to hand dig the mustard so they don't have time to seed.

It is spring break for the boys. Ricky left this morning for a four day trip to Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky with my youngest brother. Brother is part of the Fort Wayne Fire Rescue squad and they have an annual wilderness camp with rappelling, rock climbing and caving. This is the third year for Ricky to join them in the adventure. I went the first year (the only woman) and still remember the night hike to Chimney Rock where one man played the bagpipes that echoed across the valley. It was the most beautiful rendition I've heard of Amazing Grace. There is a ginger-infused, caffeinated ginger ale sold only in Kentucky named Ale81, but called A Late One. We instructed Ricky to bring us back a few bottles.

Ron has to attend baseball practice at the high school all week, but has managed to talk his grandfather into taking him to see a Detroit Tigers game. This is the favorite team of both.

And thirteen years ago today, on a beautiful spring day, I married the most wonderful man.