Swallowtails, others come a'calling

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

New visitors to the backyard

I bought a butterfly nectar feeder this spring, hoping to expand the visitors to my backyard this summer. I hung it right next to the hummingbird feeder, which is still being used independently by a male and female hummer.

The bright yellow butterfly feeder is hard to miss. It sorts of glows where it is hanging. To assure success, I bought a pink butterfly bush to grow near it. Finally, the pink blossoms on the bush have emerged. We have been delighted to see that butterflies are now attracted to it for long visits at a time.

I caught sight of this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, a female, the other day, and soon after noticed a male of the same species stopping by. I also spotted a Great Spangled Fritillary (photo below) today.

None of them has used the nectar feeder, so I may eventually take it down and store it in the garage, next to the Baltimore Oriole feeder which has never gotten a nibble from those beautiful birds.

But I will keep putting the the feeders out and hope to be rewarded with stunning visitors like these.

Great Spangled Fritillary

Be Careful Out There: Avoid Falling

Watch out!
 
By now I am sure you know that I broke my arm last winter by falling on the ice on my driveway while shoveling.

The funny thing is that I heard about SO MANY other women who had fallen and broken their arms, too, this past winter, most of which were worse than my situation.

At my book club meeting last night, we had seven members in attendance. Of the seven of us, three, count 'em three! of us had broken our arms during the winter. Whoa. That sounds like way too much of a coincidence.

I find this very scary. Yesterday as I was walking along a main street in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, where a lot of our medical services are located as well as the University of Pittsburgh, I noticed a large gouge in the cement smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk. I moved around it, but I thought to myself: Someone could fall! And it could have been me!  

I also noticed while walking around our high school that several other holes in the cement had been marked with spray paint. Hopefully that means they will be repaired soon.

The only advice I can give is to keep your eyes on the ground when you walk. I know that doesn't help us "smell the roses", but it might just keep us safer.

The Calm Before the Storm

Caught sight of this robin mom at a local conservatory while some friends and I were taking in the beauty of the summer flower show.

This lovely lady was non-plussed to have her picture taken, and basically refused to even acknowledge the visitors who one-by-one spotted her sitting in a bird feeder off the path.

The robin was so still that we had to ask ourselves if she was real, but realized pretty quickly that she was.

Just sitting around, taking care of her eggs, resting a little before the chaos begins when her baby birds break through their eggs and demand to be fed.

Rest, mama, rest.

Spring Late, But Finally Here

This is how spring has been here. The green leaves and buds would pop up through the cold ground, but then would pause as snow covered them, several times over.

This photo, though taken indoors, shows the dichotomy of spring: Bright, beautiful flowers with snow in the background.

I hope spring is bursting through where you are and that you are enjoying it. I am waiting for the lilacs, my favorite to mature and flower. My mom and I picked a bunch of them to decorate tables at my wedding reception in mid-May years ago. The lilacs always evoke that beautiful memory.

Happy Valentine's Day!

T

There is nothing sweeter than vintage Valentine cards. I found this charmer in an antique store recently. I can't seem to resist buying these for an unspecified project that never happens. But that doesn't mean I don't want more.


I still have a heart-shaped box of Valentines I received when I was in grade school. (I suppose that makes them vintage, too?) I remember decorating shoe boxes to put all of our treasures in, the parties at school and what a nice ray of light the day was in the middle of winter.

My mother used to buy us small gifts for this day, something I have tried to continue in our family. Nothing big, just a reminder that the day is worth celebrating with everyone you love.

Wishing you a beautiful, Happy Valentine's Day and many gifts as the year continues.

Avoid These Fire Hazards in Your Home

Here are 20 ways to prevent fire hazards in your home. You probably do a lot of these things already, but it never hurts to get a little reminder sometime on safety.

I especially was interested in No. 8: I often walk out of the kitchen with something on the stove and forget all about it as I sit in another room. Setting a timer makes good, safe sense!

1. Keep heat-generating items like computers, TVs and cable boxes well ventilated.
2. Switch them off (and unplug if you can) when nobody is going to be around.
3. Store flammable items securely (locked if possible) in a cool area, away from flames.
4. Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children.
5. Know which clothing and furnishing fabrics are flammable and keep them away from flames.
6. Use fireguards to protect against accidental contact with flames.
7. Avoid loose clothing, especially sleeves, when you're using the stove.
8. If you leave items cooking, set an audible timer to remind you to check back.
9. Have the gas company check your appliances regularly.
10. Regularly inspect appliance wiring and plugs for signs of damage or heat.
11. Don’t use extension cords with space heaters (actually, always avoid them where possible).
12. Don’t plug too many items into one outlet or too high wattage a light bulb into a restricted fitting.
13. Avoid storing stacks of combustible material like paper that sometimes ignite by themselves.
14. Put a proper fitting over an exposed closet light bulb and don’t store items too close to it.
15. If there are smokers in the house: no smoking in bed or when they/you are sleepy.
16. Ensure all fire and dryer vents are clear and regularly cleaned.
17. Monitor all outside burning (yard fires, BBQs etc.) and extinguish them fully.
18. Position barbecues at least 10 feet from walls and fences when in use or cooling.
19. Don’t set electric blankets too high when you're not there, or allow pets to sleep on them,
20. Workshop tools that throw out sparks should be used away from all combustible material.

This list kindly provided by D. Aaron Buhl of the  Buhl Insurance Agency Inc., Gibsonia PA.

Grow Your Brain by Walking

We all know that walking is good for us, but did you know you can actually prevent shrinkage in the memory retention part of your brain by walking?

According to an item in a national magazine, middle-aged adults who took three 40-minute walks a week for a year saw a two percent increase in the size of their hippocampus, the part of the brain that deals with memory.

The article goes on to say that "preventing shrinkage could improve a person's retention for years", something that should be worth walking for.