A Day in the Life of a Momma Turtle

Decorating for Valentine's Day

Hello Everyone, I haven't been blogging very often and since getting back to it, I see things have changed and I am finding it very hard to get this blog on the computer! Not that I am any kind of computer whiz or even a computer PERSON. I really dislike using the computer in lots of ways, but I am giving it a try! How do the rest of you feel about it? Sometimes I think I will just quit blogging, but then I have made so many blogging friends. Anyway, I will try again to get this going!
It is getting close to Valentine's day, which is one of my favorite holidays simply because I am a romantic and I love hearts, I love candy, I love flowers...what's not to love about Valentine's Day"
So every year,right after taking down the Christmas decorations, I put up Valentine's decorations. Actually the little feather tree below was left up and the decorations just changed. The Annalee dolls below the tree were gifts and they are adorable!







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Florida Fine Feathered Friends

Hi Everyone,

We have so many birds around now that it is cold all over much of the United States, and many birds spend those cold months in Florida. Of course, there are many here who live here all the time. Among them are Sea Gulls and Sand Hill Cranes.  I took my grandson to the "beach"  here, which is really sand around the Big Lake, and we fed the birds. We sat in the car with windows down and some of the gulls almost flew right in the windows, much to the excitement of my grandson! It was fun. Once we were there feeding the birds and a car of "Snow Birds" went by and slowed down. You know what "Snow Birds" are, don't you? You may be one! They are folks who come from other states to winter in the warm Florida weather. Most of them are lovely, sweet people and are helpful to Florida's economy, but there are a few hateful ones, just like from anywhere else. So the slowed down car had a hateful old man calling out, "Stop throwing rocks at the birds, little boy!" Well, he sounded so mean and it scared my grandson, so I called back that we were FEEDING the birds and he retorted, " I'll Bet!"  Then they drove on. Needless to say, I called after him to come back to talk, but of course they were off, probably saying how awful we were to throw rocks at birds. You know, people need to know the facts before opening their mouths!! And especially to little children.

Well, here are the lovely

Sand Hill Cranes back in our yard again. They are so elegant and always one will watch while one forages.

I hope they nest close by and bring a chick or two for us to see.

Paint rag

Hello Everyone,
It is the 4th of January already and the New Year has started out very busy for me, with unexpected things happening. Isn't that what makes life so interesting? Never a dull moment!
I told you about my gardening resolution and now I will discuss my painting resolution, too. Every year I make practically the same resolutions....you know, lose weight, get fit, paint that masterpeice. This year I am adding more attainable and interesting resolutions, such as appreciate my paint rags! If I can't paint every single day and I do an absolutely awful painting, then just take a moment and look at my paint rag. Here is one above. I mean, I could frame that! It looks like a garden of flowers. I love the movement, the color, the way it flows. It would probably look great at any angle, even upside down, if it even had an "upside". So when I am discouraged because I had no time to paint because life gets in the way, all I have to do is look at my paint rags. They are often better than my paintings! And they are modern. There is no subject matter, so you are free to "see" whatever you want in them. Your imagination can just soar!There is art hanging around my studio that I didn't even dream about. There are palettes with blobs of bright colors in interesting shapes, there are pots of slightly tinted paint water sparkling in the sunlight. And totally beautiful paint rags. It is a happy place. Wish you were here!

White Radishes

Hi Everyone,
Last night I went to a garden club meeting and received some lovely white radishes from our speaker, who is a Florida master gardener. I thought the radishes would be very hot because they are so big, but surprise, they aren't but a bit "peppery" and are quite delicious! He said they were just an "emergency" crop as his pumpkins got too much water and rotted, so he just threw in radish seeds and got a huge crop of large radishes really quickly.
I learned that the first thing one needs to do when starting a garden is to get the soil tested. You need to know  what the soil may need to make it better, and you may have to adjust the soil pH because it governs how available nutrients are to plants. I realize that my attempts at gardening have been at the hit and miss sort of category, so I am keen on learning a better way. So, after I find out what is in my soil, what it is lacking, I can move on to a plan. In Florida,vegetables can be grown year-round if attention is paid to the appropriate planting dates.Right now, in late December and early January, I am harvesting broccoli that I planted in October. My cabbages are beginning to form heads. In January, I can plant lettuces, onions, English peas, Southern peas, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, radishes, spinach, squash, both summer and winter, watermelon, bush beans, pole beans, lima beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, celery, carrots, cauliflower, collards, sweet corn, chinese cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, endive and kale.  Mercy! Would even my 5 acres hold all that!! So I will select a few and try them, but I must go by the Farmer's Almanac as to the correct plants days!
Have you heard of that before? You see, it is recommended by the state, that one plants according to the moon. There are certain times when your garden will do well and other times when it won't. My parents and grandparents always planted by the moon. O.K. So now I must get the soil tested, add what it needs, buy some seeds or plants, study the moons influence on planting, consult the almanac, prepare the soil and plan the garden. Then I can begin. Why do I want to do all this?
Well, vegetable gardening offers much. There is fresh air, sunshine, exercise, mental therapy, fights stress, plus nutritious, tasty and fresh veggies, even economic savings. So, as I make my New Year's resolutions, learning more about gardening is at the top!

            Happy New Year to everyone. May you have good health and happiness in 2014!!!

The Best Dessert.....Pavlova

Hello Everyone,
I hope your Christmas was extra special in every way! My family had a wonderful Christmas! We had some very special meals and lots of rich desserts. Our church had beautiful Advent services and a wonderful
Christmas Eve production. We had family come from afar and family from closer to home. Lots of laughter and fun filled every corner of the house! It is a great time of year and now we can look forward to the new year, make some resolutions to not keep, and look forward to days ahead. One of my very favorite desserts is Pavlova. You never see it here, but in Northern Ireland, I have had it numerous time, when visiting my daughter. Well, we decided to have it for Christmas, and I must say, it was truly spectacular! Egg white made into a meringue that was crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside, with a cream cheese topping, real whipped cream and then a strawberry/orange syrup with sliced berries. Oh My! A thousand Yums! It will be in my memory a long, long, time. I will make another one for Valentine's day.....maybe go on a diet until then.
Your comments on Pavlova are welcome!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!