this is a test

I lost my camera.
I've looked for it everywhere, but so far I haven't found it. So, I pulled out my old camera. It has one problem, I can't keep the battery in the camera because it discharges within an hour. My brother, the electrical engineer, told me that carrying a battery loose in your pocketbook can cause a fire. So I think I need to carry a fire extinguisher too.
I hope my pocketbook doesn't spontaneously combust!

Here are some pictures from my old, new camera.

honey bees

Scientists are very concerned about the plight of the honey bee, so I was very happy to find lots of them enjoying sedum blooming in the backyard.

you never know

I came home to find a sailboat in my backyard. Yup, a sailboat. I don't have a lot of water in the backyard, maybe a couple quarts in the birdbath.

powwow

Last weekend was the 62nd Shinnecock powwow. It's always held on Labor Day weekend. I love the powwow and look forward to it every year. The weather was beautiful, toasty-warm and sunny. I sat in a sling chair under a wide brim hat enjoying the dancing and the music, eating wild salmon and blue fish hash, Indian tacos and sassafras tea. Pure contentment! But the pow wow means that summer is coming to an end. I have yet to learn to accept winter as the time nature rests, not the time that everything dies. I'm still working on that.

if it's September

it's time for school!

wandering

I went to the paint store last Sunday. Now, I should have listened to my friend, who said he thought it might be closed on Sundays. He was right, but I remembered that there was another paint store in the next town. That paint store was open. Pleased with my success in finding the paint store, I decided to walk down the street to see if I could find the coffee shop I passed last week. On the way I came across this house right on Main Street!
It reminded me of Tara after the Civil War.
The house was on this corner. This was tempting. I decided to walk down this street.
Look what I found!
But the sun was getting low and the paint was waiting so I headed back to my car.
On the way back I found the coffee shop.
Hum, a little coffee now would be nice.

I can't open the door, no handles! There was probably another way in, but with my weakness for weird signs, I decided to just walk on.

When I got back to my car there was a concert going on across the street.
What a great afternoon. Now I need to get home and paint!

view from my bathroom floor

I've been threatening to paint my bathroom ceiling for a long time. Friends and family looked at me a little oddly when I told them about my idea. Maybe my school break was a little too long...

signs

I've noticed some signs that just make no sense to me.

I don't think I would want to use these bathrooms with or without a roof.

I don't understand signs with directional arrows pointed down. Should I bring a shovel to visit the manor house?

a day at the beach

The day was warm and bright. The beach was calling.

catching up

My brother left for a bike trip last month. I asked him to send me pictures that I could post. He sent me this. Yuck!


I decided to ride my bike to my local Starbucks. It's close and set in a pretty location near a pond and a fountain. I thought it would be a good place to do some studying. I even decided to fill up a Starbuck's card so I could leave it in my side pack. Then I found out that this was one of the locations that was closing. July 27 was their last day. I will still ride my bike to this spot, but I'll have to bring my own coffee. Do you think they will leave the tables and chairs behind?

I had to decide whether to go to my book club's June meeting or go on a free one-day trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.








Can you blame me?

not yet!

I was walking along, minding my own business when I came across this.

I walked past, then turned around. Yes, it was a leaf and no, it was not green. It was orange! In the middle of August! Yesterday I saw a woolly bear. According to folklore (and my father) these caterpillars predict the severity of the coming winter. They usually appear at the end of September, not the middle of August! I know, I'm over reacting, but I am still enjoying summer and I don't want it to end. I guess that's life!

signs of summer?

I found the first daylily in my garden! But daylilies remind me of summer, not spring. Since the premise of my blog was to find signs of spring, I guess my job is done. My blog started as a school project. I continued it after the semester was over because I really enjoy creating it and friends have told me they enjoy reading it. So, now what? I think I'll just change the title to signs of the season!

big bird

On Saturday my sister and I went to Short Beach on Long Island's north shore. We saw this bird sitting on her nest. I think she is an osprey. She's huge!

an afternoon at the beach

Yesterday was a beautiful day, not too hot and not too humid. My mother and I decided to take a ride to Captree State Park. We had a great time eating fried fish sandwiches and ice cream and watching the boats come and go.

go yankees!

Last Friday my friend took me to see the Yankees. It was my first time at the stadium. I had no idea how big it was or how high up our seats were! I was very proud that I got to my seat without spilling my food into someone's lap. Then I realized that I would have to go back down! And there were no seat belts! I had a great time. Thanks Traci!

garden news

My father planted this dogwood when I first moved into my house (in 1994). This is the first year it has bloomed.This is mock orange, one of my favorite flowers

And blackberry! I think its going to be a good crop this year. I'm collecting recipes!

attack on the cat

This blue jay is tormenting my cat. He dive bombs him and pecks at his head. I know he is protecting his nest, but my cat is a pacifist. He has given up hunting and knows that the birds at the feeders are our guests.


Dottie trying to take cover.

babies

Baby birds are making their first outings. These are starling babies. They are driving their parents crazy! At this point they are larger than their parents and are able to fly, but don't seem to want to feed themselves. They make quite a fuss.

rhododendrons

The tandem is off to the arboretum. I'm sure we will find beautiful rhododendrons there!We did!
This is Westbrook, built in 1886 for the Cutting family. Pretty nice summer cottage, don't you think?

the rhododendrons are blooming!

The rhododendrons in my neighborhood are spectacular this year. Unfortunately mine are not, but I enjoy them anyway. I think I'm going to go to the arboretum tomorrow. I'm sure their rhododendrons will be beautiful!
Another scene from the nomow zone. These irises appeared three years ago and have been spreading since then.