itallstarted

Planted this spring with hopes of a bountiful crop. Two days ago I noticed a visitor to my parsley. It is the caterpillar of the black swallowtail butterfly. And this is what is left after one days feeding.

Dragonflies have been around for 325 million years. They are characterized by two sets of wings which lay perpendicular to the body of the insect. They are powerful fliers and voracious carnivores eating

I have been quite ill these last two weeks but am now on the mend. I realized things were improving about a week into taking medication when I no longer curled into a fetal ball and held my ribs to cough.

My neighbor is into halloween big time and this was several days before the event, he added much more. I thought I would add a "scary" picture for my story but it's just to distract you. I've

Not even my memory or even my mother's but that of my grandparents. Yeah, I'm old too. They were excited for the royal visit if only to see the train they rode in pass by. A historical picture if nothing

Wild parsnip grows abundantly along many of the ditches and also around the storm water pond which I like to visit. In the photo it is the plant with the umbrella like head with yellow flowers. It came

My stargazer lily is showing off it's lovely flowers right on time. They tend to bloom later than the Asiatic lilies but early for the Oriental type. Most years it produces a solitary flower but this year

I did this drawing three years ago and never had the opportunity to finish it. It was lost in the fire that gutted my house. Seeing it makes me want to recreate it and bring it to life again this time

A picture of the school my grandmother attended as a child. I don't really know much about the school but apparently it is still in operation after the passage of years. It is Selsted Church of England

This is only since I started using my fitness tracker. I bought it in March of 2016 and slacked off a great deal last winter. I'm back into getting my exercise again. Now if I walk another 23,301.55 miles

After being spoiled with pleasant weather and long walks outdoors Mother Nature has decided to play with the thermostat again. It is just too hot to walk outside. Rather than miss out on my exercise I

While on my walk yesterday I came across this shrub that I have passed oh so many times without it registering on my conscious mind. I stopped and realized that I did not know what it was. The flower struck

Max is my walking buddy. He's currently out of commission for long walks as he sprained the ligaments in his right shoulder. The most we do is a half mile a day at a slow pace. Ligaments take a long time

The lilac tree has been unhealthy and declining for several years now and these were it's final flowers. I posted earlier about this tree and my plan to tend to it this year. Sadly it turns out after having

In a previous post I mentioned my sleep walking proclivities. Last night I walked again. My fitness tracker tells me I did a full half mile sometime in the wee hours. If only I did not have a tendency

Lady was a spaniel mix my father got as a pup with the intention that she should be my oldest brother's dog. My brother was only 8 or 10 at the time and so the majority of the caring and training fell

Pig in a poke. Maybe not the greatest drawing of a pig but I think you can tell it's supposed to be a pig. Buying something without knowing or finding out it's true value. The expression came about in

Lasius niger or the common black ant is one of nature's most abundant clean up crews. Who hasn't come across an ant hill or nest in their yard at some point. Each nest holding usually 3000 to 4,000 workers.

It's Canada Day and the temperatures have risen to 47C with the humidex. Humidex is a measure of how hot we feel. It is an equivalent scale intended for the general public to express the combined effects

Felix was always part of my young life. I believe were we born in the same year. His mother had shouldered aside a screen in our basement to find a safe place to have her kittens. My parents ever the animal