Look what was making herself at home by my front door....
These are called banana spiders. The North American banana spider (as opposed to the South American one, which can be deadly) is not aggressive. They build their large, intricate webs near my house all the time and sometimes we let them (depending on how close they are to our doors) and sometimes we remove the web with a broom, careful not to harm the spider.
Does anybody out there know the name of this plant? When my mother passed away (so sad to type that-it's 11 weeks today) I inherited all her plants. I have a black thumb (unlike her who was nicknamed Mother Nature) but I'm determined to not kill any of them (there's about 15 different ones). This one just bloomed and I'd love to know what it is so I can take care of it better.
I've previously blogged about all the beautiful birds I see around here and my quest to photograph them. I was walking to my car, parked in front of my house when I heard the familiar tapping of a woodpecker. I had tried once before to get his picture, but he flew away while I was getting the camera so I'm psyched I got it this time!
Later that day, I was on my way outside to clean and fill the bird bath but saw a crow on it. Shawna had just thrown some bread outside and it looks like Mr. Crow found it.
**update** Thanks to Susan and 'Q' for helping out with the name of this bird**
I'm not that familiar (yet) with the names of the different types of birds that visit our yard but I love watching them from our windows.
I finally got around to planting the romaine lettuce I bought last weekend. We have quite a few SWA (squirells with an attitude) around here, so Billy built a cage around the lettuce to keep them out. I'm not sure if it's going to work though. When we removed their favorite watering hole by screening in our pool last summer, they got back at us by biting and scratching through the screen to get in and have a drink. After we had it fixed, we had to leave water all around the screen room just so they wouldn't do it again. They're pretty smart those SWA. They got us to give them fresh water everyday. lol
I've posted before about my my black thumb. Well, it seems to be getting slightly greener. :-)
I have no idea how these kalanchoe have survived living in my yard. lol
I have such a black thumb. Plants have to have a strong will to live if they're going to be part of my garden. LOL
Like this azelea...it's a survivor and refuses to let me kill it. I just took this photo this morning (my first picture photo with my new Christmas gift!) and I think it's beautiful, if I do say so myself. :-) I've been really making an effort to keep up with it, especially after I killed all the herbs that was growing. :-(
June 20-23 is Summer Solstice. I've always enjoyed celebrating the seasons and it's something I love sharing with my children.
Here are some links and ideas for activites and rituals that can be used with your own children. If you know of any others, feel free to share in the comment section. :-)
Go outside:
Go outside and experience the summer. Watch some sunrises and sunsets together as a family. Make it a special event. Prepare a special meal for the occasion. It doesn't have to be fancy, perhaps just a special treat. While the kids may be on summer vacation, many of us still have to work. Nevertheless, try to take some time to spend a day under the sun at the beach or the park. Summer weather is the perfect time for outdoor activities. Help your children get in touch with nature. Look around you. What's different? What birds are in your area now that weren't there a few months ago? Which flowers are blooming? Go hiking, explore, and learn about your local wildlife. Visit a farmer's market and pick up some seasonal fruits.
Make solar images:
Bring the outside in and let creativity flow. Making round, golden shapes that mimic the sun is a wonderful, old tradition. You can help the kids make wreathes decorated with flowers and bright ribbons. Make little suns out of clay from your local craft store. Use toothpicks or chopsticks to make rays and happy faces. Make suns out of paper plates, construction paper, or paint wooden disks. The possibilities are endless and the only requirements are that they be round and that colors evoke the sun's radiant splendor. Hang them around the house afterwards.
Have a bonfire:
Midsummer celebrations have traditionally included bonfires to keep away bad spirits and to encourage fertility, purification, health, and love. Having a bonfire in the backyard makes for a great family evening. Play drums and other instruments, sing songs, and tell stories of the sun, the Gods, and heroes. Burn the remnants of your Yule tree or a Wicker Man that you've created out of dead branches tied together with cotton twine. If your fire in small and your children are big, they can leap over it for good luck.
Play with fairies:
Midsummer is a great time for fairy magic. Older children interested in divination might enjoy being introduced to a tarot deck with a fairy theme. Smaller children will get a kick out of building a fairy shelter. It's easy and fun. All you need is a small box that is open on one end (a shoebox will work). Paint it or decorate it with ribbons and whatever you can find in the yard -- sticks, feathers, flowers, leaves. Place it outside and leave out some milk or honey for the fairies. Little kids always get very excited to find the offerings gone and the fairy house turned upside down from their wild parties. You can also leave a small gift for your child as a thank you from the fairies -- a shell, a flower, a pretty rock, or perhaps a small trinket that had been "lost" around the house (everyone knows they faeries love to play tricks).
Decorate the altar:
Cover your altar with flowers and other greens. Roses are symbols of the Goddess at this time of year. Add fruits of the season, images of the suns, sunflowers, and other symbols of the summer.
Let go:
Letting go of things and people is never easy and it doesn't have to mean you're getting rid of something. It's another step towards change and growth. If you've been putting off your spring cleaning, now is a good time to do it. Give away the items that you and your children have outgrown -- toys, clothing, books. Give them to friends or donate them to charity. Just as the Sun King begins to lose his strength, the summer solstice reminds us that nothing last forever. We are part of a constant cycle of life and death. It is the Wheel of the Year.
A solar summer solstice project
Celebrating the sun
Solstice ideas
Scroll down for recipes and crafts
Related Tags: summer, summer solstice
We have our own bird restaurant. :-)
This past Christmas, we decided we need a bigger tree for next year. When we dismantled our tree (6' artifical), instead of throwing it out, Billy dug a hole and put it in the dirt in our back yard.
The kids strung popcorn, using a needle and thread, and we placed it all around the tree. Then, my husband screwed hooks in some very large pine cones and we tied ribbons to them. Then we put peanut butter on, rolled them around in birdseed and hung them by the ribbons.
The birds love it! :-) We have beautiful blue jays and cardinals here.
They don't tip very well though. :-)
We have such beautiful butterflies near us and I've been wanting to create a butterfly garden for a while but haven't been able to make the time to, not only start it, but maintain it. I've started slowly this past month.
So far, I've been able to create several permanent puddles for them to drink from because they cannot drink from open or deep water. I sunk three plastic containers in the dirt and filled them with small rocks (I've read sand is good but I didn't have any) and water. The rocks give them a place to perch while they drink. I also have a tea cup saucer filled with small rocks, pebbles and water. I've read that they like stale beer or sweet drinks and overripe fruit, allowed to sit for a few days. Also someone suggested mushing a banana a little, poking a few holes, pouring in a little watermelon Gatorade and putting it in a hanging bird feeder.
One of the reasons I started with the puddles first is that when we had the pool screened in, it cut off the butterflies from being able to drink from the poolside puddles, which they would do often. I felt bad that I took that away from them so as soon as I started seeing them come back this year, I got to work. I have a picture from last year, of a butterfly drinking by our pool...as soon as I scan it, I'll post it here.
I haven't been able to plant anything for them yet. Both times I went shopping, they were out of the plants I wanted. I came across this list of Florida plants and I printed it out and took it with me to the store. I'm going to try and put most of the plants in a hanging basket, in full sun instead of in the ground.
FLORIDA PLANTS AND FLOWERS FOR BUTTERFLIES
Adult nectar sources (N) - attract and nourish adult butterflies.
Larval host plants (H) - food source for developing larvae.
•Cape Sable Whiteweed, Ageratum iittoraie N
•Climbing Aster, Aster carolinianus N
•Browne's Blechum, Blechum pyramidatum H
•False Nettle, Boehmeria cylindrica H
•American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana N
•Partridge Pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata H
•Florida Fiddlewood, Citharexylum spinosum N
•Blue Mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum N
•Curacao Bush, Cordia globosa H
•Golden Dewdrops, Duranta erecta N
•Coastal Mock Vervain, Glandularia maritima N
•Firebush, Hamelia patens N
•Railroad Vine, Ipomoea pes-caprae N
•Shrub Verbena, Lantana depressa N
•Buttonsage, Lantana involucrata N
•Southern Bayberry (Wax Myrtle), Myrica cerifera H
•Corkystemed Passionflower, Passiflora suberasa H
•Pentas, Pentas lanceolata N
•Red Bay, Persea borbonia H
•Florida Keys Blackbead, Pitheceliobium keyense H
•Doctorbush (White Plumbago), P1umbago scandens N
•Wild Coffee, Psychotria nervosa N
•Live Oak, Quercus virginiana H
•White Indigoberry, Randia aculeata H
•Fogfruit (Capeweed), Rhyla nodiflora N
•Cabbage Palm (Sabal Palm), Sabal palmatto N
•Privet Wild Sensitive Plant, Senna ligustrina H
•Chapman's Wild Sensitive Plant, Senna mexicana H
•Yellow Necklacepod, Sophora tomentosa H
•Nettleleaf Velvetberry (Porterweed), Stachytarpheta urticifolia N
•Wild Lime, Zanthoxylum fagara H
