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A to Z Challenge: “L”ilacs
The fragrance and the complex, beautiful color of the flower clusters are two of my favorite things about lilacs (Syringa vulgaris). We had a lilac bush outside my bedroom window at the house where I grew up, in Denver. Since we didn’t have air conditioning, I’d get a sweet spring breeze when I opened up my windows during the day, to smell the intensely fragrant air. Between the lilacs and the snowball bush, it was heavenly! At our home in Indiana, we have a resident pink lilac bush that has a very subtle fragrance also near our bedroom window. And, we purchase an old fashioned, deeper purple lilac bush which…
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A to Z Challenge: “I”nterspecies coexistence or how cats and dogs get along!
My husband and I have several cats (they were mine and he adopted them). We’d been married 10 years when I attended a Plants and Pets in the Park fundraiser for the Parke-Vermillion County Humane Society, to pick up a few spring plants. I found a few along with an 8-pound puppy that I couldn’t live without. A few weeks later, we adopted “Hershey” who they predicted would be about 45 pounds when full-grown. He is now 70+ pounds of pure love (it could be all the Cheez-Its and Twizzlers that my husband shares with him). A year after we adopted Hershey, my friend Sandy and I rescued a two-pound…
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A to Z Challenge: “H”orsing around
Horses are amazing creatures! I’ve ridden horses when I was younger in Colorado, while I was at Girl Scout camp or up in Estes Park with my aunt and cousins. I’ve mainly ridden them on trails in the mountains, which is a beautiful experience and very fulfilling, at least until the horse senses that he’s almost home and it’s feeding time. Then I usually lose all control and end up galloping to the barn, feeling lucky to stay atop said amazing creature! My fellow riding partners would be impressed with my equine prowess if it weren’t for the scared look on my face as I dismount. You may have heard…
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A to Z Challenge: “G”ood, good Father
Continuing a bit with yesterday’s post of “encouragement”, I had to share one of my favorite songs. I can be in the car, streaming WBGL at work or home and this song begins to play at the appropriate time. It warms my heart and soul. Chris Tomlin sings the version that I know but the song has a neat history behind it with its original writers. The song was written by Pat Barrett and Tony Brown. Tony grew up without a dad so the only person he’s ever called father is God. I had a very loving, warm, hard-working father who had an awesome sense of humor. He loved photography…
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A to Z Challenge: “F”orsythia
O forsythia, forsythia, wherefore art thou Forsythia? (I don’t know why but this plant’s name just seems to lend itself to Shakespeare!) Why are all the springtime blooms bright and cheery? I’d like to believe it’s to remind us that winter is on its way out, and that summer is coming! I talked about the daffodil in all its glory! Another bright yellow flowering shrub to quickly shake off the winter chill is the forsythia plant. Its slightly bell-shaped blooms can range from buttery yellow to warm gold. Did you know it’s part of the olive family? I had no idea. They were named after English horticulturist William Forsyth (1737-1804).…
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Blogging A to Z: April showers
Málaga airport by Bert Kaufmann, Creative Commons license. Flickr. “Caution, moving walkway is nearing its end.” April is a time to look forward. Sunshine stretches into longer days. Crocus and daffodils sprout and remind us that winter, as the moving walkway announcement at the airport warns, “is nearing its end.” I’m thinking about what flowers I’d like to plant, what festivals I’m looking forward to, and what photography possibilities await me. The birds are singing and the intermittent rain we receive is painting the grass green. Things are looking up! And, then I find out that in two and a half weeks, I am having knee replacement surgery. Whaaaat? I…
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St. Francis
I’ve always loved animals. When I was young, we had turtles, a Welsh Corgi and my parents raised and showed English Springer Spaniels. Today, my husband and I have one dog, Hershey (although he prefers to think of himself as a person), and four cats (three are rescues). I shared this love of animals with a good friend of mine, Becky, who passed away last year from lymphoma. She was with me when I spied Hershey as a puppy and was supportive of Joe and me adopting him. Did you know that St. Francis of Assisi, who lived from 1182-1126, felt he could communicate with animals and that he was…
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“E”arth
I love visiting the mountains and although I grew up and lived most of my life in Denver, I never spent enough time admiring nature. I was always working or traveling elsewhere. Trees in foreground, snow covered mountain in background “Long’s Peak from North, Rocky Mountain National Park,” Colo. The U.S. National Archives. My dad liked to go fishing with his work buddies or go camping with the Boy Scouts. Sometimes my brother and I would go along and hike the trail before the entire troop went camping overnight. Again, I wish I had spent more time in the mountains when I lived nearby. One of my first Colorado mountain…
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“C”amera
Bales of hay are common around the midwest. They do remind me of Tootsie Rolls. © 2013 by Diane Weidenbenner It seems like I’ve always had a camera. Of course my first was a Ricoh film camera. I traipsed around Europe with 28 rolls of film and swapped them out as they filled up with memories. I then had to save up money in order to get them developed after I returned to the States. When I did finally have the money, and the gumption to fill out all those film envelopes, six months later, it was exciting. Through those developed photos, I relived the highlights of my vacation all…
