Flying Things

On a recent Saturday we loaded up into the van and drove to the small airport we sometimes visit for a few hours to relax and watch the little planes take off and land, and the gliders being towed into the sky and soaring overhead until finally they sail softly to land in the grass next to the tarmac runway.  It was one of those rare summer weekends where the humidity was low, the sun was bright in a deep blue cotton ball cloud dotted sky with a gentle breeze whispering through the tall pines.  It was a restful afternoon made even better by table service from the airport luncheonette and a plethora of other flying things to observe when there was a lull in aircraft action.

It began near the beginning of our journey when as we passed through a small town a couple miles from our home a katydid landed on the radio antenna as we sat at a red light. It was a pretty sizeable insect as you can see from the pictures below and we expected that once we were out of the town and picked up speed it would fly away.  We were wrong and amazed to see that the tenacious creature clung to the antenna, it's little bottom legs straight out in the wind, perhaps for balance, all the way to the airport.  I took a proper picture of it when I exited the van as it was still there, but by the time we left a few hours later it had flown away, perhaps to explore the vegetation in its new home.  I hope a bird didn't swoop down and make a snack of it.

The luncheonette has a garden outside the kitchen and we watched bright yellow and black butterflies enjoying the nectar in the flowers there as we munched on hot dogs and fries.  There are hummingbird feeders and windchimes hung under the eaves and the tiny birds flew from the pine trees (where I assume they built their tiny nests) to the feeders and back again to their home all afternoon.  There were sparrows playing in the shade under the empty picnic tables and on the post and rail fence, and the occasional honey bee on the clover which grew along with the grass under our feet.  We also noticed some young people flying a toy plane over by the rental office for the gliders. 

There were many sights and sounds that day as we spent a lazy afternoon under the pines before loading back into the van and returning home.  It was a perfect summer weekend afternoon. 

Sparrow under  a picnic table.

The little yellow spot on the middle left of this picture is the tow plane and to the right you can see the glider it was pulling into the atmosphere.  There a plane in the center waiting to cross the runway and a white one on the right tied down waiting for its owner to come fly it away.

      The katydid on the antenna when we got parked and I was out of the van---it's so big!

This is the katydid as we were driving, see it's little back legs extended as we drove along?  It almost looks like someone parasailing.  Perhaps that's what it felt like to the little guy.

There's a little yellow bird in among the yellow flowers that grow at a farm market we buy local corn from.

                                                         No explanation needed!

 

Long Time Absent

 I was surprised to see that the last time I posted here was the end of May!  I had some health issues and all my energy went to keeping things running here as smoothly as possible, which I did successfully!  Now that I'm feeling more normal I will be able to post more regularly.  I was, however, taking pictures and writing my little ditties on them as I was able to manage.  So this is a 'catching up' post.  I hope you enjoy my pictures from June and July which is ending this weekend already!

My patio often draws me outside in the morning.  The chairs are old and worn looking, but it is a peaceful place to start the day.

This is a picture of my husband and our girls taken on the beach at Seaside Heights, NJ many years ago on a springtime weekend away.

These are zucchini blossoms and we have successfully harvested a few small yellow ones from our front porch potted garden.  It's the first year all the plants have yielded well, we also have cherry tomatoes, patio tomatoes, eggplant, and green peppers.

The clematis are also doing quite well this year, growing along the ramp on the front porch.

This year the deer left my lilies alone and we had many blooms in the space between our driveway and the neighbor's.  Ours were the last to bloom on our street, I'm not sure why unless we get just a tiny bit less sun than they do down the hill.  It was lovely while it lasted!

Spring Has Sprung 2!

 

Lately we've been having foggy, misty mornings which turn into warm, sunny days.  I don't know if it's our proximity to the lake or our elevation, or just extra humidity but it makes for some hazardous driving and difficulty waking up. This weekend we're expecting July high temperatures and high humidity and just yesterday we were all feeling a bit chilly. It makes it hard to know how to dress one day to the next!  Oh well, at least it's never boring.  The flowers seem pretty happy with it so far, and I do love to see them blooming away.

When I see the mist it reminds me of being at my sister-in-law's house in the Adirondaks.  She ha a brook running through her land and in the early mornings in the summer you can follow how the brook runs through the forest by the mist which rises from it above the trees.  Nature is an amazing thing  There is something quieting about the fresh smell of moist pine trees in the early morning and sitting outside sipping a cup of hot tea that I feel nowhere else. I look forward to our yearly trip there, and she is a gracious hostess.  In the meantime I find things at home to quiet my mind and enjoy in nature.

The Azaleas are beautiful this year. I bought them perhaps 25 years ago at a supermarket in 4" pots.

I love these little petunia like flowers and get some every year in hanging baskets. The bees seem to really enjoy them, sometimes we get hummingbirds at them as well.

More Azaleas and a wind chime I hung this year on a broken but still useful hook on the inside corner of the deck.

A basket of mixed color petunia like flowers. It's so hard to choose just one color! So I like to get them all mixed together in one basket. 

I think the lighting in this picture of an Azalea is quite dramatic considering I took it with my phone. Soon the petals will fall off the flowers and it will just be green. Still nice, but not as showy as it is now.

Mother's Day and Outside Pictures

 

Mother's Day was nice, spent quietly with my husband and both my girls and my eldest's boyfriend. the guys did some yard work and my oldest helped me with a couple things inside, then we watched a ballgame on TV and ordered burgers for dinner. I love spending time with my girls!

I only got one bloom on the lilac this year,  perhaps the colder weather had something to do with it.  It's still pretty, but not fragrant. That seems odd, but I guess nature does what it does!

 For Mother's Day I get flowers and also a lawn ornament or wind chime. I love putting them around the edge of the patio. The first one and bottom one are wind spinners, the top one like a pinwheel and the bottom one, which is the newest, spins each level separately in the wind. I love how the top looks like an angel.  The middle one was a solar light, but it hasn't lighted up in years. I like it anyway, it reminds me of a black and white photograph.

 

MAYDAY!MAYDAY!

 MAYDAY! MAYDAY!  This is not the best picture of me, but it is my current condition. On a recent Sunday late afternoon, after a very nice day spent outside hanging windchimes and planting seeds I tripped over a box I put down and then forgot about. On the way to the floor I caught my arm on the computer chair and wrenched my shoulder out of joint. We called my daughter to drive me to the emergency room and my husband stayed with Hillary. Eight hours, several doses of strong pain killers, one nerve bock, and four attempts later my shoulder was back together and we were on the way home. I still don't know if surgery is needed, but no bones appear to be broken. I expect lots of physical therapy to be in my future at the very least. It's always something!  

The background picture was taken about a week before the leaves started budding in earnest.

This picture was taken from the middle of the board walk at Lake George at Schooley's Mountain County Park, looking toward the falls.

This one is from the same spot facing the opposite direction where a couple streams feed the lake. I went with my sister in law about a week before I injured myself. We had a great time hiking and talking and ended with going for a lunch of omelets at a diner in a nearby town. It was sunny, but cold and windy that day so the coffee we had at the diner with our eggs hit the spot!

Primroses I planted many years ago that have thrived in spite of weeds covering them most of the time in the past. I love their sunny yellow color.

Some violets growing wild along the driveway. This is the first year we've had them.