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Here I am, celebrating another birthday in Uruguay. It's just the two of us today, so we escaped to one of the restaurants overlooking the port in Punta del Este. We sat by the window and birds kept coming up to beg for bread crumbs! I am not a close-up bird lover. I like the feathered creatures to stay in their spots up in the sky and up in trees, but NOT close to me. I finally settled down and took the opportunity to snap some photos instead of being a scaredy-cat.
My husband had no qualms about feeding them and even got one to eat out of his hand. Traitor!
I had the polenta with shrimp and it was delicious!! Hubby had the lamb chops (pictured), which were ever so good too. Sometimes quiet birthdays are the best - spent with birds and boats.
My husband had no qualms about feeding them and even got one to eat out of his hand. Traitor!
I had the polenta with shrimp and it was delicious!! Hubby had the lamb chops (pictured), which were ever so good too. Sometimes quiet birthdays are the best - spent with birds and boats.
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Above - the mature stinkers; Below the babies - Either way I want no part of them!
Ugh!!! BUGS! I don't mind a spider, after all I've read Charlotte's Web a zillion times to my third grade students and cried every single time that Charlotte died. (Sorry - no spoiler alert!) However, I draw the line at some destructive garden bugs - like these aptly named leafy-footed stinkers. They have a gelatinous glow as orange and black babies, then grow into an evil looking monster.
Yes - monster. I'm not mean-spirited, but these insects are like vampires to your tomatoes. They suck the life right out of a tomato and you don't even know it until you cut the tomato open. Yuck! I'm not sure why they're called "stinkers" as I've killed my fair share and never smelled a thing.
The only way I've found to murder them is to spray vinegar on them and their nests. Eventually they die. However, they do lay eggs in the soil and will come back the next year if you don't treat the soil while it's resting (i.e. no plants or the vinegar will kill them).
Next time you want to give someone a nightmare, show them these photos...then run!
Yes - monster. I'm not mean-spirited, but these insects are like vampires to your tomatoes. They suck the life right out of a tomato and you don't even know it until you cut the tomato open. Yuck! I'm not sure why they're called "stinkers" as I've killed my fair share and never smelled a thing.
The only way I've found to murder them is to spray vinegar on them and their nests. Eventually they die. However, they do lay eggs in the soil and will come back the next year if you don't treat the soil while it's resting (i.e. no plants or the vinegar will kill them).
Next time you want to give someone a nightmare, show them these photos...then run!
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Our new raised garden beds are fantastic! I highly recommend the extra effort and expense. We have tomatoes of all sorts, cucumbers, squash, arugula (blossoms in 1st pic), spinach, basil, carrots, and onions. Every day is a garden adventure and not a chore at all; look at that view!
Sam, our red Border Collie, and Benny, our only male cat, love to garden with me. They keep me good company and hopefully chase away any slithery critters that may be lurking.
Sam, our red Border Collie, and Benny, our only male cat, love to garden with me. They keep me good company and hopefully chase away any slithery critters that may be lurking.
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"There are nights when the wolves are silent, and only the Moon howls." - George Carlin
I've never stayed up for a lunar eclipse. It's high time!
So here I am at 3:00 a.m. with a tripod, a camera, and and audience of two dogs and four cats. I'm going to get some moon shots. The eclipse seems to go on and on, because of course, I am so sleepy. The hardest part is trying to keep the dogs from knocking over the camera and the cats from knocking over me.
I have to do this again, but I'm so not a fan of getting up in the middle of the night!
For those who are fellow photographer junkies - my old camera was on a tripod with an elderly, but good 400mm lens, a remote shutter release, and my settings were f/8, ISO 100, shutter speed 1/200.
So here I am at 3:00 a.m. with a tripod, a camera, and and audience of two dogs and four cats. I'm going to get some moon shots. The eclipse seems to go on and on, because of course, I am so sleepy. The hardest part is trying to keep the dogs from knocking over the camera and the cats from knocking over me.
I have to do this again, but I'm so not a fan of getting up in the middle of the night!
For those who are fellow photographer junkies - my old camera was on a tripod with an elderly, but good 400mm lens, a remote shutter release, and my settings were f/8, ISO 100, shutter speed 1/200.
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"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive." ~ Gilda Radner
These two pups bring so much joy into our lives. I can no longer imagine how my life would have been without them in it. Border Collies are a special breed, so darn smart! These two are no exception.
Gracie (black and white) will be 15 this year! She's amazing and the most loving dog you will every meet. She is terrified of thunder and fireworks, but loves a stick.
Sam will be 10 this year. He's always been a bit quirky, but the best boy ever! He's scared of children - go figure. He can handle a bit of thunder, but doesn't like it. He loves to cuddle with me, while Gracie is a Daddy's Girl.
As we go into the new year, I am thankful for every minute I'm in their presence.
Gracie (black and white) will be 15 this year! She's amazing and the most loving dog you will every meet. She is terrified of thunder and fireworks, but loves a stick.
Sam will be 10 this year. He's always been a bit quirky, but the best boy ever! He's scared of children - go figure. He can handle a bit of thunder, but doesn't like it. He loves to cuddle with me, while Gracie is a Daddy's Girl.
As we go into the new year, I am thankful for every minute I'm in their presence.
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"Let me tell ya 'bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above - and a thing called love." - Herb Newman
Well this is a different kind of Christmas post! It's summertime in Uruguay and the bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming, and the birds are chirping their little bird brains off.
I'm still not used to a summertime Christmas, but it's hard to not be jolly in the beautiful sunny weather. (even without the holly)
I've been out and about with my camera lately. There are so many images to capture. I've complied my favorites for a Christmas delight. There's no better way to feel love than to be out and about in nature.
I'm still not used to a summertime Christmas, but it's hard to not be jolly in the beautiful sunny weather. (even without the holly)
I've been out and about with my camera lately. There are so many images to capture. I've complied my favorites for a Christmas delight. There's no better way to feel love than to be out and about in nature.
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I had never seen an agapanthus bloom until we came to Uruguay. I know they exist in the U.S., but I was an agapanthus virgin! And thus originated my addiction...
They really are a no-brainer plant. In a temperate climate, even with a handful of freezing temps every winter, they stay green and flourish as a plant year-round. Come late spring, they burst into bloom. The first year, I made several trips to the nursery and requested ONLY blue ones. Well, that didn't work, but I love the white ones too. I get so excited in December when they begin to bloom.
You can divide them in the early spring and they will replicate. Good plants to give to friends! Did I mention the bees and the hummingbirds are addicted to them, as well?
They really are a no-brainer plant. In a temperate climate, even with a handful of freezing temps every winter, they stay green and flourish as a plant year-round. Come late spring, they burst into bloom. The first year, I made several trips to the nursery and requested ONLY blue ones. Well, that didn't work, but I love the white ones too. I get so excited in December when they begin to bloom.
You can divide them in the early spring and they will replicate. Good plants to give to friends! Did I mention the bees and the hummingbirds are addicted to them, as well?
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"Cats invented self esteem. There's not an insecure bone in their body." ~ Erma Bombeck
Our silly porch cats are simply the best! Benny is gray and white and his mother, Sissy, is the black and white. Benny is guardian of the porch and the garden! Sissy shows us how to love.
A porch is not a porch without a cat!
A porch is not a porch without a cat!
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We decided to move our garden from its inconvenient location past the barn to one closer to our house. Like any good wife of a German, I investigated Hügelkultur, a German method of building garden beds. It's also known as lasagna gardening in the States - making raised garden beds with layers of decayed wood and compostable materials.
Pictured here are the four beds we made with concrete blocks. The wooden raised beds were made a bit earlier in the year and they're going to rot! But for now we'll have lots of raised beds.
First we put down some cardboard boxes laid out flat, old firewood we're never going to use, and a few tree branches. Tree branches are scarce because - we have very few nearby trees!
Next we layered sand, soil, and rice hulls. The higher sides on the concrete block beds are for a wind block. (We ended up taking the high sides down and building another bed!) I'm excited to be able to weed and plant without stooping down or getting on my knees.
Here's a step-by-step link to building a raised bed garden:
Hügelkultur Raised Gardening - Sunshine Farms
Pictured here are the four beds we made with concrete blocks. The wooden raised beds were made a bit earlier in the year and they're going to rot! But for now we'll have lots of raised beds.
First we put down some cardboard boxes laid out flat, old firewood we're never going to use, and a few tree branches. Tree branches are scarce because - we have very few nearby trees!
Next we layered sand, soil, and rice hulls. The higher sides on the concrete block beds are for a wind block. (We ended up taking the high sides down and building another bed!) I'm excited to be able to weed and plant without stooping down or getting on my knees.
Here's a step-by-step link to building a raised bed garden:
Hügelkultur Raised Gardening - Sunshine Farms
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Change is inevitable, but many times unwanted. Our dear friends - one of whom is our piano teacher and art teacher moved to Mexico. I totally understand their move, but it doesn't make it any easier.
When you've uprooted life to move to a new country, leaving family and old friends behind, it's difficult to see new friends leave! The feeling that you've invested a part of yourself into a new friendship is there and now it's being snatched away.
We became close friends with this couple because we had so much in common - a love of music, art, and the nature of healing. We've been through some emotional times with them, both happy and sad. We will both truly miss them.
UPDATE: August 2022 - They're moving back to Uruguay this November!!!! I am beyond thrilled for selfish reasons, sad that their stay in Mexico didn't work out, and happy they feel returning to Uruguay is the best thing.
When you've uprooted life to move to a new country, leaving family and old friends behind, it's difficult to see new friends leave! The feeling that you've invested a part of yourself into a new friendship is there and now it's being snatched away.
We became close friends with this couple because we had so much in common - a love of music, art, and the nature of healing. We've been through some emotional times with them, both happy and sad. We will both truly miss them.
UPDATE: August 2022 - They're moving back to Uruguay this November!!!! I am beyond thrilled for selfish reasons, sad that their stay in Mexico didn't work out, and happy they feel returning to Uruguay is the best thing.