Left-overs

   These photos just did not get included in my past posts but they are some of my favorites.  Some are from cranberry bogs, gardens and others from Columbus Auction.

Hatched!!

  The bluebirds have to get busy now and they have help.  There is a power line above the nest box and they perch there to scope things out.  So today I saw three bluebirds on the line.  I have read that the young from the first nest of the season help raise the young of the second nest.  So I am guessing that this is the second nest for the bluebirds.  I am so nervous about disturbing them I can't get good photos but at least you can see that male bird has a worm. Yum!

  Also my cleomes are blooming.  They re-seed each year and help fill in my garden along with the four o'clocks.  I first saw these cleomes or spider flowers at Leamings Run Gardens down in Swainton, Middle Township.   On a tour, Jack Aprill, described the cost cutting practices they used in their spectacular gardens. He also promoted his views against using hummingbird feeders.  I guess from his perspective when you have twenty some acres and the ability to grow favored plants for hummingbirds, who needs to mess with sugar water feeders.  His family may have taken over the gardens as he was up in age.

http://www.leamingsrungardens.com/Hummingbirds.asp

   I took a four inch snippet of this plant from a friend and just threw it into my handbag.  When I took the shoot out to plant it, I found it to be badly battered and bruised.  I knew that it still had an excellent chance to root because the plant is related to the plant called a "wandering jew".  They will root so easily. Anythime you break a piece off and it falls to the ground, you will have a new plant started.  That happens with my prickly pear catus, also. When I get too close with the mower and a piece gets hacked off and then thrown a bit --you have got yourself a new plant.  So three weeks later the plant is thriving.

http://www.wanderingjewplant.net/

 Just researched the weed growing by my front door.  The leaves looked a little like watermelon leaves but this is no close relative and the recommendation is to get rid of this poisonous plant. This is the matching online photo. 

                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_rostratum

This is the one by my door.  I read that Darwin was very much interested in this weed or specifically the flower of the weed.  I am going out right now to cut it down because the plant is poisonous, harms animals and produces burrs.  I thought I was going to see some tiny little watermelons.

And a REAL watermelon plant:

Kool Koi

   Just took some photos of Koi in my friend's ponds.  She has two ponds.  Earlier picture taking wasn't the best because there is the net that protects the fish from hungry herons and recently the fish let loose the spawn and made the water very milky.  But I got these shots of her rather large specimens.

Here the one that looks like abstract art:

RCA Building....

  The RCA building is in Camden, New Jersey.  My father worked for RCA or the Radio Corporation of America for most of his life servicing televisions and then eventually co-owning a store that sold televisions and appliances.  On our recent trip to the Susquehanna Bank Center I got some shots of the RCA building. It was only after viewing the photos on the computer that I saw some missing windows. Also the beautiful "Nipper" stained glass window was revealed.  I just was unaware that the building was so beautiful.  Nipper was the iconic logo for the corporation. The dog was listening to its master's voice on a Victrola.   Just researched a bit and it seems that there are luxury apartments in the old building but I am not convinced that this is a flourishing venture.

 

Fourth of July in Pitman, New Jersey

I wasn't there but I got these photos from my son who is a photojournalist.

Anticipation of the Parade in Pitman, New Jersey

  My son lives in Pitman, New Jersey.  I just love the town.  The homes are not extravagant but most are well maintained with unique little gardens every where.  No cookie-cutter homes here and you can't even pick a particular era when the homes were built.   My son's house is probably 100 years old.   By the time the Fourth of July rolls around, the town is at its best with gardens blooming, neat lawns, greenery and colorful hanging baskets.  I wasn't there for the Fourth but I had a chance to take photos on July 3rd.  They have a tradition of staking out a little piece of property by the sidewalk.  The people place their lawn chairs by the road prior to the Fourth and no one will disturb them.  This heightens the anticipation of the big parade.

 Cold Drinks for Sale

Family Fun

Ready for the Fourth

More from the Courier:

http://www.courierpostonline.com/videonetwork/1036651233001/Chairs-Line-the-Way-for-the-Pitman-4th-of-July-Parade

Recycling a Concrete Planter--Saved $150 bucks!!

  I should keep a camera handy at all times because this story would be much more interesting if I had all the the details documented by a photo.  So I just have to tell you that I took a walk on the gravel terrace behind my house.  Yeah, they are promising 300 homes will be built in the pine lands near my home that is still in a rather woodsy area.  Will my taxes go down or hold steady because of this development?    They are promising great things for our community--don't let me get started on what I think about that!

   So---I was walking and in the woods I found a pile of broken paver stones, some bricks and a cracked concrete planter.  The half inch crack went from the top down to near the bottom.  So my first instinct was to crack it further into pieces with the intention of using the pieces in the rock garden.  I couldn't break the thing so I went home and got the car and rolled it down the little hill to my car door where I only had to lift it about five inches to put it in the car.  When I got home, I rolled the thing to the front of my garage and then hit it with a hammer and it still was too strong to break.  Then it dawned on me to get the cement grout in a tub and repair the crack and so I did and then spray painted it white.  It is a classic design so I went on Google and searched for "concrete planter grapes" and to my surprise this must be a classic design because identical images came up and the first one that I checked out had a price of $152 before tax and shipping! Happy Fourth of July to all those
penny-pinchers out there.  By the way I will go back and get those bricks and broken pavers, too.